More Scary Tales From The School Library

Shane really likes to read. And I'm really happy about that. Definitely. He likes to read a wide variety of stuff from his Pokemon books to Captain Underpants (which I hate by the way) to June B. Jones to A Wrinkle in Time.

His favorite thing to read is Baby Blues, a comic strip that centers on the life of a family with children his age. I love them too.

Last year, (in third grade) he brought home a book that he checked out from his school library. He started telling me about the book (More Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark) and said that he didn't want to read it anymore because it scared him. I asked him to show me the book.



I flipped through the book and was just flabbergasted at what I saw. It's suppose to be a "suspense" book but, to me, it's just a book about senseless violence. I couldn't believe that this was acceptable reading for elementary school students.

Reading reviews of the book on Amazon.com and other sites, it became clear that this book is very controversial. People either love it because they're very well written books or they hate it because the stories are completely inappropriate for the target audience (kids).

In fact, the American Library Association lists it as the number one most challenged books.

The illustrations in the book are insanely inappropriate for an elementary school aged kid to look at.

If this book was made into a movie, it would be rated R for sure.

For books that are suppose to be "suspense" books, they're way too real. They're not talking about ghosts and things that kids can (maybe) separate as fact from fiction. They're talking about murder, kidnapping and cruelty.

As an adult, I can separate them and know that these things aren't real. But, they are things that could really happen. You see it on CNN daily, which is turned off when my kids come into the room if we're watching it.

But can a child separate it as fiction? And, let's not forget that an 8 year old (when Shane first read this book) is a child. When I was his age, my friend and I thought that we could put invisible cream on ourselves and no one could see us. Which is completely absurd looking back on it but it was reality to me at the time.

Does that sound like an age that can distinguish between reality and fantasy?

No it doesn't and I was really worked up about these books. So what else was I suppose to do?

Well, you know what I did. If you know me you should know anyway.

I went and talked to the school librarian and the reading resource teacher at the school. Their response was that the kids love the books and they can't keep them on the shelf and they were approved by the school board. They saw nothing wrong with the kids reading these books.

Even after I showed them the pictures in the books.

I could not believe that I was hearing. I should state here and now that I'm all for freedom of speech and I understand censorship. I was an English major and journalism minor afterall. I understand the issue.

But damn. When in the world did we get to the point in our "civilized" society that these types of books are now tolerated, and in fact acceptable, for our children to read?

Why should a child be reading about murder and shootings and such violent things? I'm still not grasping how anyone can think that it's appropriate for an elementary age child to read but to each his own I guess.

Good grief. I'm not talking about Huck Finn. Oh for the days where Huck Finn was the most controversial book in your kids school library.

And they wonder why there is so much violence in this world. Oh I don't know. Why don't we start by looking at what we are telling our children that is acceptable to read?

So, why am I on my soapbox about this now - 6 months after the fact, you ask?

It's because Shane has rediscovered these books, wants to read them and has turned it into a major battle. Screaming, crying, "we don't love him"...the whole nine yards.

So, I said that I would be willing to let him read them if Nanny and Grandma read them and approved them.

Sorry, y'all. You're going to have to get the book, read it and give me your honest opinion. If you both think they are appropriate for him to read, I'll relent.

Obviously I have a very strong opinion of these books. If someone has children who have read these and they liked them, I'm certainly willing to listen to your opinions.

These books just make me sad really. Sad that this is acceptable and encouraged reading for my 9 year old. Is this really the best that we have to offer to our kids? I'm thinking no but maybe I'm wrong.

Why can't kids just be kids and not have access to this kind of violence and reality?