Inappropriate reading book (in my opinion)

adea

I think I said before that I like the premise behind the book, the dealing of racial segregation/prejudice and would have no problem in her reading about that.
There is only one sex scene and a brief mention of abortion and are more scenes of violence that I am uncomfortable with. An example happens very soon into the book where " Without warning, Mr Hadley slapped his wife full across the face. The force of the blow sent Mrs Hadley's head snapping backwards to strike against the door frame. " This was four pages into the book and was the first thing that made my husband concerned.
I find the book interesting and would read it myself but I think it too much for younger children.

bigmomma051204

iammumtoone wrote: »

That is true and a very interesting point.

As some who used to read a lot I am feel the same about reading v watching films, however I wonder if this is the same for a say 15 year who the book is aimed at? At 15 do you have same ability as an adult to visualise and immerse yourself in the story as an adult. If they do then surely books should follow classification that follows the same rules as films.

At 15yrs old I absolutely had the ability to visualise and immerse myself in a book!

And although I can understand why the idea of using age classification for children/literature would horrify some people, actually I think that if people are going to try and encourage my child to read a book which he would never choose for himself, and that book is not age appropriate then yes! At 13yrs+ then no classification is needed, in my belief but under 13yrs? Absolutely!

Nicki

iammumtoone wrote: »

If the book was made into a film, what classification do those who have read it think it would have?

Like bigmomma and I said to us a book is far more powerful than a film, but to a child I am not sure if this is the case especially a child of 12-13 a film would probably have a more lasting effect on them.

Classifications don't relate to the ideas or themes in a work but how they are portrayed. Sleeping Beauty as made by Disney is a U clasification suitable for any age. Not all films which feature sexual jealousy by a stepmother, stalking, deliberate poisoning a love rival and a male making sexual advances to an unconscious stranger would be given a U

bigmomma051204

Some people on this thread are getting pedantic (what a surprise!)

Bottom line.

Do 10 & 11year olds need to be exposed to Domestic Abuse, Sex, Rape and Abortion in written, descriptive language?

I do not believe so. And I have to question why anyone WOULD believe that beneficial!

My son will come across all of these topics I suspect over the next few years but I for one am not going to encourage and introduce the topics to him via a book written for an older age child.

Nicki

Bottom line (for me)

It depends on how the ideas are expressed and explored, and the individual maturity of the child. There is a sliding scale and some year 6 children will be ready for this and some will not. I'd say that some descriptions of these issues would never be suitable for the age group if they were simply salacious and portrayed in very vivid terms. I wouldn't put Noughts and crosses in that category though my son was around 13 when he read it not 11.

I think Noughts and Crosses is a worthwhile and challenging book and I wouldn't ban my child from reading it based on skimming though it and picking 2 or 3 isolated passages out of context. But once I'd read it if I did decide my child wasn't ready for it, I'd tell the teacher just that. I'd never ever describe a book as inappropriate for an entire class however just because my child wasn't ready for it.

bigmomma051204

Nicki wrote: »

Bottom line (for me)

It depends on how the ideas are expressed and explored, and the individual maturity of the child. There is a sliding scale and some year 6 children will be ready for this and some will not. I'd say that some descriptions of these issues would never be suitable for the age group if they were simply salacious and portrayed in very vivid terms. I wouldn't put Noughts and crosses in that category though my son was around 13 when he read it not 11.

I think Noughts and Crosses is a worthwhile and challenging book and I wouldn't ban my child from reading it based on skimming though it and picking 2 or 3 isolated passages out of context. But once I'd read it if I did decide my child wasn't ready for it, I'd tell the teacher just that. I'd never ever describe a book as inappropriate for an entire class however just because my child wasn't ready for it.

I would hope that NO children this age would be "ready" for the topics I listed in my previous post! I am no prude but I simply cannot comprehend why a parent or teacher would think the subject matter important for a young child to read when there are so many alternatives :cool: Plenty of time to read challenging and thought provoking books when they are teens.... must we use literature as another tool to force our children to grow up and leave naivety and childhood behind as soon as possible? :cool:

KARO

adea wrote: »

My 11 year old daughter is in year 6 at Primary school.
She and others in her class, including 10 year olds, have been given a book to read called 'Noughts and Crosses' by Malorie Blackman.

When she first got the book, she showed me a sentence that said "I didn't rape her!"
My reaction was one of slight bemusement.
She then read the first 2 chapters and in that a male character slapped his wife across the face and she fell to the floor.
Later on in the chapter, it described the main two characters a 14 year old girl and 15 year old boy, kissing for the first time. My daughter felt very embarrassed and did not want to read that aloud.

She came home yesterday and said that later on in the book, the principal characters have sex.
I read further on in the book and there were descriptions of more domestic abuse, heavy petting between the two characters, the girl getting drunk, and later having sex. No intimate parts were mentioned but it was definitely a "sex scene". Later in the book, it is revealed that she is pregnant.

After reading this, my husband who was unhappy at the slap part at the beginning, said that she is not allowed to read anymore and we will be taking the matter up with the headteacher.

I spoke to the mother of a friend of our daughter and she was not happy either. She hadn't been very impressed when her 11 year old daughter asked her what "tonguing" is, as she had read that in the book!
I also posted about it on the dreaded Facebook and others were in agreement that it's not appropriate reading for year 6.

My question is, are we overreacting to this or would you think the same as we do?

Sorry I have not yet read all of the replies but no, this is not suitable reading matter for a primary school child. For an older teenager (maybe 14-ish) maybe.

Nicki

bigmomma051204 wrote: »

I would hope that NO children this age would be "ready" for the topics I listed in my previous post! I am no prude but I simply cannot comprehend why a parent or teacher would think the subject matter important for a young child to read when there are so many alternatives :cool: Plenty of time to read challenging and thought provoking books when they are teens.... must we use literature as another tool to force our children to grow up and leave naivety and childhood behind as soon as possible? :cool:

The only one not present in your list in Snow White is abortion though that's alluded to in sleeping beauty!

Have you read the book big momma? These issues aren't dealt with in detail. There are glancing references to them in the context of a dysfunctional apartheid society. It is challenging and more suitable for a more mature 11 year old but it's not going to corrupt a child with the capacity to understand injustice. It's very much on the same vein of books as To Kill a Mocking Bird for example rather than a Jackie Collins pornfest.

maman

bigmomma051204 wrote: »

I would hope that NO children this age would be "ready" for the topics I listed in my previous post! I am no prude but I simply cannot comprehend why a parent or teacher would think the subject matter important for a young child to read when there are so many alternatives :cool: Plenty of time to read challenging and thought provoking books when they are teens.... must we use literature as another tool to force our children to grow up and leave naivety and childhood behind as soon as possible? :cool:

I think we'd all hope that but sadly too many children have seen things like domestic violence etc first hand.


I'll be so interested to hear the school's reasoning behind the choice of book.


My money's on they chose a KS3 book for challenge for their most able readers and fully intend to discuss the issues it raises as a preparation before they go to wider world of secondary school.


Whatever the outcome, I would like to congratulate you adea on taking such an active interest in your DD's schooling.

Jagraf

bigmomma051204 wrote: »

I would hope that NO children this age would be "ready" for the topics I listed in my previous post! I am no prude but I simply cannot comprehend why a parent or teacher would think the subject matter important for a young child to read when there are so many alternatives :cool: Plenty of time to read challenging and thought provoking books when they are teens.... must we use literature as another tool to force our children to grow up and leave naivety and childhood behind as soon as possible? :cool:

I don't think anyone can 'blanket ban' certain topics just because some parents might find a subject too much too soon. Each is entitled to have opinions on what their own children may and may not read, but not on other people's children.

My DD is 15 now, she read it independently at about year six (someone bought it her). I haven't read it but she said it was fine and it doesn't appear to have affected her.

I might dig it out and read it myself