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[CCBC-Net] Lucky
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From: Sally Miller <derbymiller>
Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2007 14:20:04 -0500
If it had been my dog who was bitten, I'd certainly have used the word
"scrotum," but not "nuts," or "balls" or any other of the euphemisms brought up in a post-church discussion with fellow parishioners this morning. What on earth is in our minds that we think we need to be ashamed of parts of the bodies we were born with? (Or, as some of us would say, the bodies God gave us.) And even if we are, what gives us the right to impose our prejudices on others for whom we are performing a service? As a mother, I don't cede to any librarian or teacher the right to decide for me what my child can read. If I'm uptight about how books can affect my child, I can read the books they bring home and make up my own mind. But, also as a mother, I have constantly to be aware that I need to let my child make his/her own decisions about a world he will have to cope with after I'm no longer there to "protect" him from his experiences. How does keeping him in ignorance safeguard him?
And I think all of the writers and illustrators who have been laboring through our books to change the traditional image of sensibly-shod librarians with glasses on their noses and buns at the back of their heads have just been set back on our heels by a silly uproar over "male genitalia." And if this makes my relatively unimportant picture books objects of increased scrutiny, so be it! Sally Derby
----- Original Message ----- From: "Jackie Rodenberger" <jrodenberger2 at hotmail.com> To: <ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu> Sent: Sunday, February 18, 2007 11:22 AM Subject: [CCBC-Net] Lucky
>I have been reading the comments about "the" word in "The Higher Power of
> Lucky".
> I guess I'm old-fashioned, but I was raised that certain words and actions
> might be okay in our home, but not necessarily appropriate in other
> settings.
> Those of you who think people are being squeamish about the word scrotom
> in a children's book, I have a question: Just how often do you use the
> word "scrotom" in your everyday conversation?
> The same with the word "farting".
> Did the word add to the story? Was it really necessary to describe the
> rattlesnake bite that way in a children's book? I'd certainly have no
> problem in an adult book.
> Just my opinion.
>
> Jackie Rodenberger
> School Librarian
> K-2, 3-5
> Perry Elem.
> Selma Elem
> Selma, IN
> jrodenberger2 at hotmail.com
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian.
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>
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Received on Sun 18 Feb 2007 01:20:04 PM CST
Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2007 14:20:04 -0500
If it had been my dog who was bitten, I'd certainly have used the word
"scrotum," but not "nuts," or "balls" or any other of the euphemisms brought up in a post-church discussion with fellow parishioners this morning. What on earth is in our minds that we think we need to be ashamed of parts of the bodies we were born with? (Or, as some of us would say, the bodies God gave us.) And even if we are, what gives us the right to impose our prejudices on others for whom we are performing a service? As a mother, I don't cede to any librarian or teacher the right to decide for me what my child can read. If I'm uptight about how books can affect my child, I can read the books they bring home and make up my own mind. But, also as a mother, I have constantly to be aware that I need to let my child make his/her own decisions about a world he will have to cope with after I'm no longer there to "protect" him from his experiences. How does keeping him in ignorance safeguard him?
And I think all of the writers and illustrators who have been laboring through our books to change the traditional image of sensibly-shod librarians with glasses on their noses and buns at the back of their heads have just been set back on our heels by a silly uproar over "male genitalia." And if this makes my relatively unimportant picture books objects of increased scrutiny, so be it! Sally Derby
----- Original Message ----- From: "Jackie Rodenberger" <jrodenberger2 at hotmail.com> To: <ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu> Sent: Sunday, February 18, 2007 11:22 AM Subject: [CCBC-Net] Lucky
>I have been reading the comments about "the" word in "The Higher Power of
> Lucky".
> I guess I'm old-fashioned, but I was raised that certain words and actions
> might be okay in our home, but not necessarily appropriate in other
> settings.
> Those of you who think people are being squeamish about the word scrotom
> in a children's book, I have a question: Just how often do you use the
> word "scrotom" in your everyday conversation?
> The same with the word "farting".
> Did the word add to the story? Was it really necessary to describe the
> rattlesnake bite that way in a children's book? I'd certainly have no
> problem in an adult book.
> Just my opinion.
>
> Jackie Rodenberger
> School Librarian
> K-2, 3-5
> Perry Elem.
> Selma Elem
> Selma, IN
> jrodenberger2 at hotmail.com
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian.
> http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600&bcd=EMAILFOOTERAVERAGE
>
> _______________________________________________
> CCBC-Net mailing list
> CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
> Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe...
> http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
>
Received on Sun 18 Feb 2007 01:20:04 PM CST
