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Do Magic Tree House books need to be censored?
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mommy3b2c




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 01 2016, 6:35 am
amother wrote:
I work for the publisher. I won't show them this thread, but if I did, I can guarantee it would raise some eyebrows and cause many people here to burst out laughing. Censor MTH? I have to admit, that's one of the funniest things I've heard in a very long time! Rolling Laughter Rolling Laughter Rolling Laughter


I also thought it was pretty funny. Then again, I'm not really into censoring my kids books. I just read the back synopsis and if the theme is okay, then I buy it. Recently I was in the library and a book looked interesting so I read the flap and the story was about a second grader that was a boy but really felt that he was a girl. Needless to say, that book stayed in the library. But that was one of the only times I actually found something wrong in a childrens book.
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cnc




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 01 2016, 6:43 am
mommy3b2c wrote:
I also thought it was pretty funny. Then again, I'm not really into censoring my kids books. I just read the back synopsis and if the theme is okay, then I buy it. Recently I was in the library and a book looked interesting so I read the flap and the story was about a second grader that was a boy but really felt that he was a girl. Needless to say, that book stayed in the library. But that was one of the only times I actually found something wrong in a childrens book.


I've had similar issues with books except that the flap gave no evidence that the book needed censoring . After running into this issue a couple of times I stopped getting books from the public library.
I may resume when I have time to read through all the books before allowing my kids to read them.

(I actually needed to read hundreds of children's books for a college project and was pretty surprised to see the topics in some books. )
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PinkFridge




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 01 2016, 9:14 am
cnc wrote:
I've had similar issues with books except that the flap gave no evidence that the book needed censoring . After running into this issue a couple of times I stopped getting books from the public library.
I may resume when I have time to read through all the books before allowing my kids to read them.

(I actually needed to read hundreds of children's books for a college project and was pretty surprised to see the topics in some books. )


And don't even bother going to the YA section.
But have you seen the secular book list on chinuch.org? That might be helpful if you run out of books from the non-public libraries.
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amother
Crimson


 

Post Thu, Dec 01 2016, 3:37 pm
Speaking of censoring, I just caught ds 13 reading The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.

Still trying to figure out where I stand on that Scratching Head
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MagentaYenta




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 01 2016, 3:41 pm
amother wrote:
Speaking of censoring, I just caught ds 13 reading The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.

Still trying to figure out where I stand on that Scratching Head


I actually read it at that age. My father had thousands of books and didn't censor my reading. Usually if I didn't understand what was going on I'd leave that choice behind and move to another.

TBS My father seeing me with that book asked me what I thought it was about and I told him. He said it was a pretty complicated book and he'd enjoy talking to me about it as I read through it. (A first.) Any how we had lots of conversations about the books, the society that permitted the rise of the Reich etc.

Have you or your husband read the book?
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amother
Crimson


 

Post Thu, Dec 01 2016, 5:18 pm
MagentaYenta wrote:
I actually read it at that age. My father had thousands of books and didn't censor my reading. Usually if I didn't understand what was going on I'd leave that choice behind and move to another.

TBS My father seeing me with that book asked me what I thought it was about and I told him. He said it was a pretty complicated book and he'd enjoy talking to me about it as I read through it. (A first.) Any how we had lots of conversations about the books, the society that permitted the rise of the Reich etc.

Have you or your husband read the book?


Dh has read it many times; it's his book.

I'm happy to discuss political concepts, but I wasn't sure how heavy the book gets.
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MagentaYenta




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 01 2016, 5:25 pm
amother wrote:
Dh has read it many times; it's his book.

Political concepts are fine, but I wasn't sure how heavy the book gets.


Well it outlines the final solution in detail, so if your 12 yo doesn't know about it, she could have a problem. This is a comprehensive history book, and doesn't spare any details. What does your husband think?
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tigerwife




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 01 2016, 5:32 pm
My reading material was never censored, and I think I was able to figure out on my own what was appropriate and what was not. A kiss in the last chapter following a subtle romantic journey is fine to me; I would be uncomfortable if heavy graphic romance was the theme of the book.

I dislike reading gory details and excessive violence but it depends on the book. I love the Squire's Tales series but yes, if I think about it, they are pretty violent but not in a serious way.

Interested in how 'xtian' undertones really bothers anyone. Narnia is a fantasy; I loved the series and it made no impact on my religion. Same with LOTR- does fantasy not count as imaginary anymore? Don't we realize that it is made up, and can include imaginary beings of power? Just curious as I always thought Narnia in particular was a straight- out kosher choice for all. (And Gerald Morris is actually a priest; yet his books portray many of the priests in a dimwitted, greedy light and he is quite positive about Jews).
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bigsis144




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 01 2016, 6:18 pm
tigerwife, it's not general fantasy "theology" that's problematic AFAIK

Aslan is pretty much Lion J-sus. He dies on the stone table for our sins. And comes back from the dead.

I think that's more what people have a problem with Wink

--

I've typed and retyped multiple attempts to get into the subject of general Xtian tropes that have become inescapable in our culture. Obviously, Xtianity doesn't have a monopoly on resurrection narratives, but you know what I mean?
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amother
Crimson


 

Post Thu, Dec 01 2016, 6:33 pm
MagentaYenta wrote:
Well it outlines the final solution in detail, so if your 12 yo doesn't know about it, she could have a problem. This is a comprehensive history book, and doesn't spare any details. What does your husband think?


Thanks for telling me this. I don't know how much detail exactly he knows about the final solution...I will definitely need to discuss with dh.
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Notsobusy




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 01 2016, 7:24 pm
mommy3b2c wrote:
I also thought it was pretty funny. Then again, I'm not really into censoring my kids books. I just read the back synopsis and if the theme is okay, then I buy it. Recently I was in the library and a book looked interesting so I read the flap and the story was about a second grader that was a boy but really felt that he was a girl. Needless to say, that book stayed in the library. But that was one of the only times I actually found something wrong in a childrens book.


I quickly check over my kids' books. Just recently in a few otherwise innocent looking books, the kid had two mommys or two daddys. I know a lot of you wouldn't have a problem with your kids reading that, but I personally don't think my 7 year old needs an education about gay people yet. Obviously they will learn about it eventually, but I think 7 is young and I don't want her reading such a book.

I have no problem with them reading about Christian or any other non-Jewish holidays. I also love driving around looking at x-mas lights with them.
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gp2.0




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 14 2016, 7:50 pm
Well this thread made me start reading the series to my 6.5 yo DD. She loves it but I find myself annoyed by the portrayal of the characters. Oh well, I guess the focus of the series is on plot so the characters became two-dimensional.

My real gripe with the series is that I find myself reluctant to use some of the phrases in the book. Does every book really have to include Jack saying "You're nuts!" to his sister? Couldn't they have replaced that with "No way!" or "Not again!" or pretty much anything else?

I didn't think I was that sensitive to content but I guess I'm sensitive to language. I just can't in good faith read Jack muttering things like "you're nuts" and "I'm going to kill her."
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Mimisinger




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 14 2016, 9:13 pm
5mom wrote:
To those who would censor a book because of Xmas (just as religious as writing out the whole word, not sure why one is acceptable and the other not. But I digress ..) - do your children not know that non-Jews have holidays of their own? What's offensive about this? Would you expect non-Jews to censor a book in which Jews observe shabbos or yom tov?

As to the larger issue of themes, as in Narnia, A Wrinkle in Time etc, that depends on the child's sophistication. I think it's possible to discern an underlying message and still read the book on a different level. I don't see any insidious brainwashing at work. Some authors with a religious bent see the world through the lens of their religion. So what? It's an interesting dimension but it's not the whole book. Critical thinkers can recognize and reject messages that are not for them.


There are millions of books in the world. BH we have a library system that we can access thousands of books for free. So I ask you, as a frum Jew, why should my child be reading a book about x-mas? Yes, my children know all about the non-Jewish holidays, because we live in the US and they are aware about what's around them, as well as having family that's not Jewish as well as neighbors and some friends. BH we live in a mostly free society in which we can choose what we read. I am not for censoring books in the broader scope, but I do believe in choosing the good.
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5mom




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 14 2016, 9:30 pm
Mimisinger wrote:
There are millions of books in the world. BH we have a library system that we can access thousands of books for free. So I ask you, as a frum Jew, why should my child be reading a book about x-mas? Yes, my children know all about the non-Jewish holidays, because we live in the US and they are aware about what's around them, as well as having family that's not Jewish as well as neighbors and some friends. BH we live in a mostly free society in which we can choose what we read. I am not for censoring books in the broader scope, but I do believe in choosing the good.


Classic children's books rarely discuss the meaning of the holiday; the characters are simply observing it. What's the problem?
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