Should scatological children's books be censored?
From a piece in the National Post...
All of the librarians “strongly defended” the place of scatologically themed books in the public library system (hey, even Beowulf and Shakespeare included references to feces). More than half said the “intellectual freedom rights” of children to have access to books they enjoy was important. Many said they used such books as Walter the Farting Dog to encourage boys to read, in light of troubling literacy data that shows boys don’t enjoy tucking into a book like girls do.
“One of the main reasons librarians defended these books was they felt children [when they start to understand stories] have just gone through a very difficult stage right after potty training — it’s been the entire focus of the child’s life and focus of much of the interaction between parent and child,” Ms. Curry said.
“But as soon as the child is potty trained, then all of a sudden you’re not supposed to talk about it. A child yelling in the library, ‘Mommy, mom I need to poo poo’ is met with a shhhh…. That’s why kids are enjoying this. They’re trying to figure out what is taboo and what isn’t.”
Having a book in the library that celebrates this taboo is “something they find really funny” because they know they’re not supposed to exclaim the words out loud, Ms. Curry said. It also helps make children more aware of their bodies, able to identify their various parts and not be ashamed, she added.
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