From: Pat McCorkle <mccorkle>
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 00:04:04 -0500

I received this from M.E. Kerr. I think it needs to go to the whole list.



 Delivered-To: mccorkle at qwerty.com

From: Mekerr13 at aol.com

Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2002 22:20:27 EDT

Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] NYTimes.com Article: Young Readers, Harsh Reality


To: mccorkle at qwerty.com

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 Yes, the New York Times article June 13,2002 is worth comment. I was amused

by the heading Stories That May Shock, Introduced Earlier and Earlier. I wonder why that is. Could it be that elementary and middle school kids, without having read about it in any book, are familiar with school shootings; with AIDS; with a hearing into what the President of The United States was up to in the oval office with a young intern;the abuse of children by priests overlooked by bishops; the murder of young children by mentally ill mothers; the murder of Matthew Shepard because he was gay;rock star idols dead from dope, from booze, from suicide, on and on, the reality of our day as seen on TV, as discussed by other kids, in movies, on cable. Heaven forbid that their literature should address it, try to make sense of it, help them understand it, give them courage, empathy, sympathy, insight. Why not let them read pap?

I agree with Mark Aronson that literature is not supposed to be undisturbing. Why make reading the most insipid part of a teenager's life?

What do others think? Is there any subject inappropriate for a YA audience? I'd truly like to know what others think?

Mekerr
Received on Fri 14 Jun 2002 12:04:04 AM CDT