October 2009

  • Judy Blume and Censorship

    By becksta on 10/28/09 12:26pm
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    ForeverForever

    Judy Blume’s “Forever” was pretty much my first exposure to sex. Every girl in my elementary school had the page ear-marked where the young lovers first “did it”. From what I could tell, none of us turned out too bad as a result of reading and thoroughly discussing the book at the ages of 11 and 12. I’m sure there were non-virgins in the class, but I doubt anyone in the class actually had sex because they read “Forever”.

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  • Maurice Sendak Tells Concerned Parents They Can "Go to Hell"

    By becksta on 10/21/09 3:06pm
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    Where the Wild Things AreWhere the Wild Things AreLet’s hear it for Maurice Sendak who just reminded parents that every single re-make of every children’s book or story does not have to be a watered down piece of regurgitated garbage. When told recently that the “Where the Wild Things Are” might be too frightening for kids, he suggested that the concerned parents to go hell and recommended that frightened children go home and wet their pants if necessary.

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  • Another Reading Holiday is Upon Us

    By sarajean on 10/14/09 12:12pm
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    National Book Month is upon us, which means another good excuse to read. What I keep wondering is, why do we need all of these excused to read? It seems like every month has either a weeklong, daylong or month-long observance related to reading somehow or another. Can’t we just read because we want to in the first place? I’m not knocking any opportunity to read—if it works, let it work, and I’ll definitely use any excuse to read than to do anything else!

    But it’s almost as if we’re being conditioned to hate books. With so many reading observances, “Reading is Fun!” posers plastered around schools and libraries, and book reports assigned, it’s no wonder that kids often turn to TV instead of a page-turner. And it’s not like we have a “Watch As Much TV As Possible!” Week to encourage them to do that particular activity.

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  • Children's Magazine Month

    By sarajean on 10/14/09 8:08am
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    When you think of kids’ magazines, you might remember the Highlights or Ranger Rick magazines from when you were a kid. Those were the days, right? When animal pictures ruled your world and ethics all came down to Goofus & Gallant.

    But today’s kids have a wide variety of magazines to choose from—many of them quite educational. Here are just a handful of great young kid’s magazines you might want to check out.

    Time for Kids: Now they can chronicle the world’s events just like you! A Time magazine with different categories for different age groups—Grades K-1, 2-3, and 4-6—it’s perfect for your curious young one. Topics range from space to careers and more. I’m betting my sixth grade teacher, who had us do current events reports, would have loved these magazines in her classroom.

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