http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/2009/05/25/a-bit-of-the-old-ultraviolence-kids-edition/ Daily updates from the blog division of Quill & Quire, Canada's magazine of book news and reviews Sun, 12 Feb 2012 21:47:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/2009/05/25/a-bit-of-the-old-ultraviolence-kids-edition/comment-page-1/#comment-190720 Rachel Sentes Tue, 26 May 2009 01:36:26 +0000 http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/?p=4122#comment-190720 While I'm not a big fan of violence in children's books, it reminds me of when I first read Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio which portrayed the violence of physical abuse with illustrations of Jiminy the Cricket being stepped on and slammed against the wall, and the image of Pinocchio hanging from a tree was burned in my brain. Then I watched the real version of The Little Mermaid where she killed herself in the ocean. And I grew up with the Brothers Grimm. The difference was I had parents who read them with me so that I could discuss what I was seeing. As a former preschool teacher I think in this day and age parents need to step up to the plate and make decisions with or for their children. Are they going to offer a sanitized version of a story or one that will create a forum for discussion and creativity? I vote for discussion. Find out what they think. What they have to say is so important to having them understand what a moral tale is really about. While I’m not a big fan of violence in children’s books, it reminds me of when I first read Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio which portrayed the violence of physical abuse with illustrations of Jiminy the Cricket being stepped on and slammed against the wall, and the image of Pinocchio hanging from a tree was burned in my brain. Then I watched the real version of The Little Mermaid where she killed herself in the ocean. And I grew up with the Brothers Grimm. The difference was I had parents who read them with me so that I could discuss what I was seeing. As a former preschool teacher I think in this day and age parents need to step up to the plate and make decisions with or for their children. Are they going to offer a sanitized version of a story or one that will create a forum for discussion and creativity? I vote for discussion. Find out what they think. What they have to say is so important to having them understand what a moral tale is really about.

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