MrsBanjoClown Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 What books have you assigned to your dc and been surprised by content, or have you not assigned because of objectionable content when you pre-read it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 I've been surprised by the number of old novels with the n-word and/or really racist content. I've posted a few times about this, but a few that come to mind are * The original Dr Dolittle (which I found at a library sale) * The Further Adventures of the Family from One End Street (sow's ten babies are called "ten little n-s", which is also a chapter title) * E Nesbit book Treasure Seekers (?) A Little Princess also has a rather interesting beginning, both in India and in England. I had no memory of that! Apparently the original Mary Poppins contained a racist segment that has been purged, but I've never seen that in person. I've also come across weirdness in vintage books that my kids never saw. There have been others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jar7709 Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 I am currently reading aloud "The Land of Curiosities: Adventures in Yellowstone, 1871-1872" with my DC in preparation for our trip in a couple weeks. After I read the first couple chapters with the kids it became obvious the tone was different than I expected, so I pre-read the rest. It is much more scary and has serious themes (including poaching, beatings/murder, and one of the main characters goes missing) than I anticipated, and it has some religious content (mostly bible verses) that I was not expecting...I can edit/omit a little on the fly and so far the kids want to stick with the story, because it is interesting and the history is solid, but if it gets too scary or uncomfortable, we'll just drop it. It isn't like we can't get that information elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 (edited) Well, I'm reading Robinson Crusoe right now, I had thought of doing it as a read-aloud and wanted to see if it would be sufficiently engaging for my dd9 (it's not) but it also is shockingly brutal, callous, racist, etc. I know, I know, it's a product of its time, and as an adult I can appreciate that and I can appreciate the literary aspects of the book within the historical context of its time - but I sure as heck wouldn't expect a child to do that, so I am really surprised I see this on so many reading lists for younger kids. I wouldn't think of assigning it before 11th grade, simply because I would have wanted to have lots of historical study and discussion of slavery, colonialism, racism, etc. under the student's belt before they tackle this book. The other book that I got for dd, and thankfully skimmed before giving it to her, is Calico Bush by Rachel Field - a Newberry book on lots of historical fiction lists. Well, I'm skimming through it and getting near the end, and I realize that the baby that the main character was hired to take care of falls into a fire and is burned to death (!). Not what I'm looking for for my 9 yo. I don't shy away from heavy topics - we read and discussed To Kill a Mockingbird this year, and went to see a local theatrical production of it, and it was the best single topic we studied all year. But I guess that I want to be sure I'm dealing with these issues by reading/discussing them *together* rather than turning dd loose on a book that has themes she won't know how to process. For this, I think at least pre-skimming is pretty indispensible. I also pre-read the first chapter or so of anything I am thinking of doing as a read aloud, to make sure it will be sufficiently engaging to all three of us - I figure life is too short, and too full of great books, to slog through something as a read-aloud that we aren't acutally enjoying. So we're reading the Princess and the Goblin, but I'm not so sure about At The Back of the North Wind - the first chapter didn't really grab me, and I can remember starting it and putting it back on the shelf when I was a kid . . . I also decided to skip the Guerber American History books after reading the first few chapters because of its treatment of Indians. Again, I realize that this book is a product of the attitudes of its time, but I believe this is a difficult and important topic of American history for us to grapple with, and I don't want to gloss over it or imply acceptance of such attitudes by offering the student a book like this to read as their teaching text without commentary. There are other good american history books for this age that don't have this problem, so my preference is to choose one of those. Edited June 14, 2012 by rroberts707 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 I forget the title, but something about being Impossibly French. We found it at the library book sale and dd is a Francophile, so she bought it. I read it about a year later when I found it on the bookshelf. I was COMPLETELY horrified. Luckily, I think it was boring for her and she didn't read more than a chapter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Oh yeah, that reminds me - I got a book called Shakespeare's Dog at a library book sale, thinking it would be a nice supplement to our Shakespeare studies (she had just finished King of Shadows and Shakespeare Stealer). It sat on the shelf for awhile, then I grabbed it to pre-skim it, and then realized it was *not* a children's book. Very adult content! Luckily, she wouldn't have understood much of it even if she had tried to read it :lol:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Totally my own fault, but I was surprised by the detail of the whole fish ejaculate thing in a Magic School Bus book we got from the library yesterday. DH was reading it to them and was surprised and uncomfortable. The book doesn't say what it is (but the way it is written it really leads to the kids asking about it) and of course my kids wonder what the white stuff is that the male fish is putting on the eggs... So, now my 4yo knows the word sperm and that adult males have it to combine with eggs to make babies (I know, I know, it isn't just sperm, but I don't personally want my 4yo running around mentioning ejaculate!). ;) So, watch out for the Magic School Bus! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Totally my own fault, but I was surprised by the detail of the whole fish ejaculate thing in a Magic School Bus book we got from the library yesterday. DH was reading it to them and was surprised and uncomfortable. The book doesn't say what it is (but the way it is written it really leads to the kids asking about it) and of course my kids wonder what the white stuff is that the male fish is putting on the eggs... So, now my 4yo knows the word sperm and that adult males have it to combine with eggs to make babies (I know, I know, it isn't just sperm, but I don't personally want my 4yo running around mentioning ejaculate!). ;) So, watch out for the Magic School Bus! ;) :lol::lol::lol: Yesterday my girls watched the David Attenborough doco "Life in the Undergrowth" which is absolutely amazing - but basically 2 hours of insects mating. My 6 yo is *full* of questions today! "Mom, what were they doing? Why was he sticking that thing in there? Ok, why is he pulling it out now? What is sperm?" All questions have been duly answered, but I'm just waiting till she makes the connection between bug mating and human reproduction . . . :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Not objectionable, but I pre read the Newberry award book, Holes, which was made into a Disney movie and decided to skip it. It was for a book club we are in where we read Newberry books at home and have a meeting and discussion with the group. It was a little too descriptive in its descriptions of abuse of the kids and in the boys' illness in the dessert. The fact that the adults were actually trying to kill the boys in the final scene was disturbing to me. I thought it was just a little too dark and realistic. It wasn't a bad book. But it was too mature for my young children. I realize Newberrys are written for a slightly older crowd, so I just have to scan them for us. Most have been awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freerange Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Just today I vetoed the physics comics from.I think it was physics central. Whiny, mean Girls? No thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elfknitter.# Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 * The original Dr Dolittle (which I found at a library sale) :iagree: I downloaded a copy from google books for my iPad. I'm glad I had the foresight to check about it. There's a couple of uses of the n-word, some of the period illustrations of the Africans are horrid, and we skipped over 2 chapters of the book. I would have stopped entirely, but dd enjoys the animals and overall the text is fine. (Personally, I'm appalled at the parrot's, Polynesia's, behavior and the Doctor's insistence to follow what she tells him.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 (edited) Yeah, the key bit is that the prince wants to be turned white. After a while the King's son laid the book down and sighed a weary sigh. "If I were only a WHITE prince!" said he, with a dreamy, far-away look in his eyes. and later "White Man, I am an unhappy prince. Years ago I went in search of The Sleeping Beauty, whom I had read of in a book. And having traveled through the world many days, I at last found her and kissed the lady very gently to awaken her—as the book said I should. 'Tis true indeed that she awoke. But when she saw my face she cried out, 'Oh, he's black!' And she ran away and wouldn't marry me—but went to sleep again somewhere else. So I came back, full of sadness, to my father's kingdom. Now I hear that you are a wonderful magician and have many powerful potions. So I come to you for help. If you will turn me white, so that I may go back to The Sleeping Beauty, I will give you half my kingdom and anything besides you ask." "Prince Bumpo," said the Doctor, looking thoughtfully at the bottles in his medicine-bag, "supposing I made your hair a nice blonde color—would not that do instead to make you happy?" "No," said Bumpo. "Nothing else will satisfy me. I must be a white prince." "You know it is very hard to change the color of a prince," said the Doctor—"one of the hardest things a magician can do. You only want your face white, do you not?" "Yes, that is all," said Bumpo. "Because I shall wear shining armor and gauntlets of steel, like the other white princes, and ride on a horse." "Must your face be white all over?" asked the Doctor. "Yes, all over," said Bumpo—"and I would like my eyes blue too, but I suppose that would be very hard to do." .... At last the Prince lifted his face up out of the basin, breathing very hard. And all the animals cried out in surprise. For the Prince's face had turned as white as snow, and his eyes, which had been mud-colored, were a manly gray!.... "I feel sorry about Bumpo," said the Doctor. "I am afraid that medicine I used will never last. Most likely he will be as black as ever when he wakes up in the morning—that's one reason why I didn't like to leave the mirror with him. But then again, he MIGHT stay white—I had never used that mixture before. To tell the truth, I was surprised, myself, that it worked so well. But I had to do something, didn't I?—I couldn't possibly scrub the King's kitchen for the rest of my life. It was such a dirty kitchen!—I could see it from the prison-window.—Well, well!—Poor Bumpo!" "Oh, of course he will know we were just joking with him," said the parrot. "They had no business to lock us up," said Dab-Dab, waggling her tail angrily. "We never did them any harm. Serve him right, if he does turn black again! I hope it's a dark black ." Although maybe it's got it's own disturbing insight into something?? Anyhow it appears that this edition has removed that part completely. Edited June 15, 2012 by stripe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 I don't pre-read but many times I realize that I SHOULD HAVE. We have had several surprises and I have become quite adept at skimming and recreating. :p There were parts of Stuart Little that I skipped recently... don't remember why, but I liked my version better. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cottonmama Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 (edited) Yeah, the key bit is that the prince wants to be turned white. ... Anyhow it appears that this edition has removed that part completely. I was hoping to read Doctor Dolittle off of my Kindle as my print copy is really dusty... but I think I will have to switch to my (1988 edition) print book for chapter 11. The Project Gutenberg version that I put on my Kindle does not use the n-word but does include the chapter where the prince wants to turn white. Edited June 15, 2012 by cottonmama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 There were parts of Stuart Little that I skipped recently... don't remember why, but I liked my version better. :D I remember being somewhat surprised at his pursuit of and attempts to meet up with the small girl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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