Children's Books discussion

So I was browsing the Author/reader group and I came across a request to review a "controversial" children's book.

The book supposedly was a two level book that would read differently for children and adults.

Now the main character was a girl named Harlot. If it had simply been using adjectives as names I could have stomached it. After all as long as you keep a straight face while reading aloud your kiddywink isn't going to notice.

Anyone remember "Rodger the cabin boy" and "Master Bates" from Captain Pugwash? (though I must point out that in the case of Captain Pugwash the effect was unintentional)

However as I read the blurb I got more and more uncomfortable at the fact that this book is being released as a children's book. It sounds like soft porn hiding behind the mask of a children's book.

The bit that got me most worried is when in the blurb it mentioned "carnal intentions" . Given that most kids have smartphones and google at their finger tips I dread to think what the result of them googling this new phrase will be.

In the hope that the author has not realised the potential impact of his wording I have let them know of my reservations. The thing is if they don't care or worse if its intentional what do you do? Is there anything you can do? If this author wants to write soft porn set in a children's book world then fine stick it in the adult fiction section, I'm not going to burn his books (I'm not buying them either) but IF he is writing porn then he should be stopped from listing the book in the children's section of shops and libraries surely????

Without knowing the author's name or title of the book, or what age the book is aimed at, I really can't comment much. However, I certainly would not have purchased soft porn kid's books for my kids when they were still kids. (They're all grown up now.) Nor would I have intentionally checked it out of a library. It is to be hoped that it either receives bad reviews in the library reviewing journals, so that libraries won't purchase it either. If it is a self-published book, then the library system where I live would not even consider it.

Hi Beverly thanks for getting back so quickly.

The book is The Land of Ick and Eck: Harlot's Encounters it is being sold on Amazon for 10 to 12 year olds.

I must point out to be fair to the author I haven't actually read the book. So I don't know if anything explicit is actually mentioned in it. But it certainly sounds it from the write up.

His blurb got me worried.

I would never expect any adult (bar a few weirdos) to intentionally choose to read soft porn to their kids. What worries me is given that children over the age of 7 are allowed to go into libraries unaccompanied (at least in the Highlands they are) the potential is there for kids to pick it up unaware of what is actually inside.

By the looks of amazon it is only available as kindle but our local library makes e-books available on temporary loan.

I work professionally with my local library as a sign language interpreter and storyteller so I know that with the limited resources libraries have they don't personally check every book.

I think maybe I will let Highland Library Service know that if it does turn up this is a book they may want to check the content of before shelving.

Ok, looking at it I really doubt a library is going to pick it up. The cover and title alone are distasteful. The blurb is very badly written.

I would consider contacting Amazon. Also giving it a bad review here, not to give it publicity, so don't send your review out on your feed, but simply post it to the book's page.

I'm going to do that right now.

Thanks

Elspeth wrote: "Thanks"

I checked the author's other books and they ALL sound vile.

I can't be completely sure, but it looks self-published. As far as I know, most public libraries would not order it without professional reviews in a professional journal.

It sounds strange and silly but not inappropriate for the age group, in my opinion. Please don't rate a book you haven't read. That positively drives me up a wall when I am searching for honest reviews by people who have read the book-whether good or bad. It skews the ratings if you leave a review for a book you have not yet read. If you don't like the sound of it, don't read it and allow others to judge for themselves and their families which books they would like to read. Just my 2 cents.

I'm going to take off my review. The author commented, thanking me. :sigh:

As far as rating a book we've not read, well, that's why I write and rely on reviews instead of on ratings. Star ratings themselves are just about worthless.

Elspeth wrote: "So I was browsing the Author/reader group and I came across a request to review a "controversial" children's book.

The book supposedly was a two level book that would read differently for children..."

You make some good points in regard to the title and the blurb. I feel that you would be justified in writing a review based on the impression those two items are making.

While I generally do not rate and review books I have not read at all, I personally have no issues and qualms whatsoever reviewing and rating books that for one reason or another I have not been able to or willing to finish, especially if the reasons why were that I found the contents offesive and inappropriate or could not stand the author's writing style (but in these cases. I always specifically point out that the book is a DNF and also my reasons why). Now I do know that some will review but not rate DNF books, but since I usually try to plough through even novels etc. I find horrible, if I do not or cannot finish reading a given tome, it usually means that I really cannot stand said book and that in my opinion, it therefore is a one star read.

Actually reading the book in question now. (About half way through). Definitely not soft porn, and is completely fine to be classified for both adults and children.

Shoot me a message if you'd like info on the actual book/content.

Or....
Just read the book.

In general I'd definitely recommend reading a book before rating it, and definitely before attempting to ban it from a library.

Kis wrote: "Actually reading the book in question now. (About half way through). Definitely not soft porn, and is completely fine to be classified for both adults and children.

Shoot me a message if you'd li..."

I wasn't trying to ban it.... I can't think of a single book that should be banned. Even Mein Kampf deserves to be studied by the appropriate audience. There are certain books that aren't for general consumption and there are certain themes that aren't age appropriate. I just was concerned about the shelf it was destined for.

I shall take your word for it that the content is not as inappropriate as the cover and blurb. I have made it clear in my review that I have not read beyond the cover. If the author asks me to remove it I shall. Until then (or the author changes the blurb) the inappropriate nature of the blurb is a genuine point to make.

Manybooks wrote: " if I do not or cannot finish reading a given tome, it usually means that I really cannot stand said book and that in my opinion, it therefore is a one star read. "

Ditto.

People are entitled to know a book is potentially unreadable. Normally I will persevere until at least 1/4 way through before writing a book off as 1 star.

This is the first time I have ever rated a book I haven't physically opened.

I only went this far because the author's reply to me pointing out the potential danger of certain phrases in his blurb (to google enabled children) was

"Nice ideas, I like your passion, PM me"

:shudder:

Elspeth wrote: "Manybooks wrote: " if I do not or cannot finish reading a given tome, it usually means that I really cannot stand said book and that in my opinion, it therefore is a one star read. "

Ditto.

Peop..."

Ugh, I would block him.

I am a lot less willing the older I get to plough through a book until the end if I cannot stand the writing style.

I read the blurb more to be reminiscent of classic fairy tales. Which were in nature quite dark as they alluded to harsh realities that children should be aware of but not explicitly told. (Regarding coming of age and innocence).

If you have concerns and aren't willing to read the book the better route would be to wait for others to review it or PM the author and ask your questions. You mentioned that even Mein Kampf deserves to be studied. Studied implies a thorough assessment of context, agenda, or even structure. Not making assumptions based on one paragraph.

I understand the concern for books related to children- but one of the main things we teach the youth is to never judge a book by its cover or blurb I guess you could say. Im not saying kids should be able to read anything, but as adults we should lead by example to take the time to make our own thorough assessments. Never to make a value judgement for someone or something based on someone elses, or even our own quick subjective inference.

I don't mean to come across aggressive, this just hits home for me as I have a lot of experience growing up in a small town with adults telling children books they could not read, books they themselves had not read. From the "devilworship" in Harry Potter to the "slutty girl" in Lolita. The book list was extensive.

Yes Mein Kampf should be studied but not by the general public; in an educational setting by those studying the effects of fake news, propaganda and antisemitism with the relevant instruction on why the contents are bad.

And that's my point I'm not trying to ban Ick and Eck I wanted to know how to, and wether to, alert those that needed to know, that this book would need to be checked for suitability before being shelved. Because believe it or not most librarians haven't read every book in the library. They rely on book data provided by the author and digested by computer crawl bots. Which usually amounts to no more than the title, the age of audience and the date of publication.


And I am well aware of the darker side of fairytales. For my living I travel around Scotland telling the original versions of fairytales. The ones where Goldilocks is murdered, the ones where little girls don't play and dance with the fairies, they are kidnapped. raped and used as baby factories before being dumped as empty husks.

The thing is all these things were not explicitly stated, they were alluded to, they were not told to children under the age of 14 (most fairy stories are written to prepare the young adult about to enter adult life - which was 14 for an apprentice) AND (this is the big one) there was no google when these stories were written. If a young adult did not understand a phrase and the storyteller did not think they were mentally ready for the explanation the phrase remained unexplained (eg. watered his old nag = he raped the girl)

Today anyone can look up anything instantly and the internet will not take into account the age of the user when giving it's answer. Just think what the phrase "carnal intentions" will produce and ask yourself if a 10 year old should see those results.

That is my issue with the book, I have already contacted the author and his answers were creepy, not constructive or explanatory. That is why I have given it a one star, clearly marked that it is based on the cover and blurb alone. If it is a decent book others like yourself will give it a good review and my 1 star will become less and less statistically relevant.

I don't mean to be aggressive either. As a parent I am concerned not just by the blurb and potential impact of the wording of this blurb but also by the authors attitude, he could easily make the same points using less dangerous language.

You could say this is an emotive issue for the both of us.

ps. I have never banned my daughter from reading anything, there are a couple I have told her she needs to wait until she is older. But once she is old enough to understand the content then it's up to her.

A 10 year old IS and WILL look up "carnal intentions" even without this book. They probably already know. Most of the 10 year olds I know watch YouTube but I don't hear them talk about Google much. They would rather ask someone to tell them what something means. They also don't usually have unfiltered access to the Internet. Phones can have blocks and tablets have multiple accounts set up so the kids can play their games.

Elspeth wrote: "Yes Mein Kampf should be studied but not by the general public; in an educational setting by those studying the effects of fake news, propaganda and antisemitism with the relevant instruction on wh..."

I agree!