Some of these are my favorite books! What does that mean?? Some of these books changed me profoundly, when I first read them. Some of these books (I’m thinking of Forever . . .
Another book along those lines was Go Ask Alice
Some of these baffle me. Blubber
Some of these books were really really upsetting to me when I first read them. The Chocolate War
I don’t understand what is the problem with Ordinary People
Fine. But – er – people do commit suicide.
I love that book. It’s one of those cases where the book is equally as good as the movie – only in different ways.
I also am consistently baffled as to why Shel Silverstein ruffles so many feathers. A Light in the Attic
And A Wrinkle in Time
I’ll bold the ones I’ve read.
Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
Daddy?s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
Forever by Judy Blume
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Giver by Lois Lowry
It?s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Sex by Madonna
Earth?s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L?Engle
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
The Witches by Roald Dahl
The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
The Goats by Brock Cole
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
Blubber by Judy Blume
Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
Final Exit by Derek Humphry
The Handmaid?s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
What?s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
Deenie by Judy Blume
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
Cujo by Stephen King
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
What?s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
Are You There, God? It?s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
Fade by Robert Cormier
Guess What? by Mem Fox
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Native Son by Richard Wright
Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women?s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
Jack by A.M. Homes
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
Carrie by Stephen King
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
Family Secrets by Norma Klein
Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
The Dead Zone by Stephen King
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
Private Parts by Howard Stern
Where?s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
Sex Education by Jenny Davis
The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
The list just makes me want to go out and buy all the ones I don’t already own….
You know, I challenge anyone who says they grew up in a more conservative household than I did, and my parents NEVER once said, “You shouldn’t be reading that.”
I asked my mom once why she never said anything about me reading “Forever” (she worked at my school and the librarian is one of her best friends, so I KNOW she knew that it was about sex) and she said, “I figured you were curious and didn’t feel comfortable asking me, so if you needed to work out your curiosity, I thought it was better than you got your answers from a book than from a back seat.”
Lisa – I had a sheltered childhood. Except for the stranger danger conversations in our school when I was 8 – I knew nothing about the perils of the world. Except from what I read in books.
Because I read those books – I knew the dangers, and I knew I would have to be strong, and just keep saying No. And that’s what happened.
Eh, if you look at the actual stats, this is not a really a serious problem. Most of the challeges revolve around schools and school libraries, which makes sense, if a parent doesn’t think that certain books are “age appropriate”.
I’m very suspicious, that the ALA didn’t break down the stats of the TYPES of schools and school libraries where the challenges took place. For example, if I was to find out that most of these challenges occurred in elementary schools and their libraries, I’d agree that at least 25% of the books on that list SHOULDN’T be part of the curiculum or available in the school library.
I’m not saying there aren’t far right and far left moonbats wanting to ban everything that doesn’t fit their world view, but I’ll bet they don’t make up the majority of the claims…
I’d LOVE to get my hands on the raw data, to pursue my theory.
I think we were sheltered as kids too…I know I learned a lot from many of those books, too. The main thing I remember learning (at school) with regard to the dangers of the world was not to stick your arm out the school bus window. I vaguely remember some horrible movie, shown in school, about how to behave on and around the bus – and the awful things that would happen to you if you didn’t…some kid’s arm was (off camera) severed…I think a bus backed over another kid. So you can bet I’m well-behaved on public transportation….
Which, I know, is kind of off-topic….ok, I’m going back to work now….
Wrinkle in Time has been “challenged” ever since it was published by Christian groups who fear that there is no God in the world she describes. Which is completely bizarre if you actually read her book.
I’m sure they don’t make up the majority of the claims either, JFH, but I still think it is completely bizarre that Where’s Waldo and I know why the caged bird sings would ever be challenged. I’m telling you: it is those people who are only on guard for smut who see smut EVERYwhere.
I remember reading I Am the Cheese in 8th grade – it was in the curriculum. There is a lot in that book that is way way “off” – it’s terrifying, first of all. But then there’s his relationship with his girlfriend, the frankness she uses to speak about sex … Cormier has always been seen as a huge threat. This is not deniable. His books have always created uproars. But they were sure on the curriculum when I was in school. After the First Death is one of the scariest most upsetting books I have ever read.
Am I sorry I read it?
Am I scarred for life?
Ha. No way.
By the way – I’ve seen the mistake made around the blog-world by calling these “100 most banned books”. That is incorrect. These books have not been “banned”. They have been “challenged”. Huge difference.
I just think it’s fascinating to see the books that are challenged. Really gives you an insight into how the right-wing nuts and the left-wing nuts walk hand in hand on this issue.
Jayne – good lord. we never saw that video about getting your arm cut off!!! Good lord, what was up with our school system – throwing us to the wolves like that!!
Also …
How to eat Fried Worms … hahahahaha
That book was so HUGE when I was in grade school. Everyone read it. I still remember the illustrations.
Shiela,
Since over 10% of the challenges were from patrons and library administrators, I wouldn’t be surprised if “Where’s Waldo” was challeged because if doesn’t promote reading.
I actually heard a rumor that apparently there is a naked person in one of the drawings – like a Mad cartoon where you see lascivious things happening off in the corner. I cannot confirm this – but I read it somewhere.
Now of course I feel like poring through Where’s Waldo, looking for nudity.
Ah yes – I have recalled where I heard it. Weirdly, it was on my own blog, in a comment to this post.
Tommy writes:
“There was a Where’s Waldo fiasco going on back where I used to live, just south of Nashville.
In one of books, there’s a Where’s Waldo puzzle where you find Waldo on a beach.
Somewhere in the cartoon, there is a smiling prankster who has just pulled the bikini top off a cartoon woman. She is topless.
This was the basis of the furor in my neck of the woods. Not sure it’s the reason elsewhere, but I’d be willing to bet it’s somewhere along those lines…”
Sheila – I know. It was horrifying – and effective, of course. It has stayed with me all these years…this fear of raging yellow buses….
But (desperatly trying to get back on topic) – it worked. I never stuck my arm out a bus window, and I never sat down in front of the back wheel of a bus just as it was preparing to drive away. Knowledge is good, even if (or especially if) it’s about scary things or “taboo” subjects…maybe yes, there’s an appropriate age for some of the books on the list…but still – a little fear can be a good thing. But well-informed, realistic fear. Not the ignorant kind of judgemental fear that results in these banned and challenged lists.
I’m rambling. I will stop typing now.
I am sure that I read Forever way too early. I was 11 years old. But it was a dog-eared taboo book being passed around the 6th grade. I participated. It was WAY too early.
Am I sorry I had that ‘way too early’ experience? no. Because that book scared the crap out of me.
I actually bought my oldest the book about puberty that’s on this list, “What’s Happening to Me?” On the one hand, I don’t know that I’d want it in my elementary school library — it’s pretty graphic in its descriptions and illustrations — but on the other, it NEEDS to be in all middle school and junior high libraries. It’s very very good.
Especially for boys like mine who have parents who can’t even SPEAK THE WORDS “wet dream” without stammering and blushing like idiots.
lisa – hahahaha Good for you. :)
Lisa,
That’s the book my parents gave me when I was a kid! I remember bringing it to school in the sixth grade to show my friends. We all loved it. My teacher asked me not to bring it in again. I still have the copy hanging around somewhere. It’s a pretty funny book and I thought it dealt with the subject of puberty very well.
Sheila
The mistake of calling the list the 100 most banned books probably wasn’t helped by the ALA calling it Banned Books Week.. I’d like to see the list of any actual banned books though.
But the list of the 10 most frequently challenged authors by year is also interesting.
JK Rowling tops the list for 2000, 2001 and 2002.. then second in 2003 before dropping off completely last year.
Evil Literature.. indeed.
peteb –
Yeah, Harry Potter. Those evil un-Christian books! People who challenge those books are probably the same no-fun morons who want to ban Halloween.
The last time I posted on this I lost a couple of readers. I remember the kerfluffle. It was hysterical, in retropsect. Some self-proclaimed Christian conservative was rude to my dad, and that was the clincher. I banned his ass so fast. talk about banned books! So ironic and not surprising at all to me that it was Mr. Family Value Christian dude who was rude to his hostess’ father. Typical.
Sorry. Got no patience with such types. If you’re looking for cool objectivity (on this issue especially) you’ve come to the wrong place.
But still: what interests me in this whole thing – is stuff like:
What exactly IS it about How to Eat Fried Worms that bothers people? Is it … the lack of parental overseeing in the book? Those kids are CLEARLY on their own.
I’d like to see the “why”s of some of these books.
Blubber really baffles me.
What are the odds that JK Rowling will make a reappearance on this year’s list?
And I should probably point out that at least one of the books on that list of 100 was actually banned in Ireland.
OK, so it was Sex by Madonna.. but still..
I think that book should have been banned – but only because it was a shoddy piece of craftsmanship. Member its weird cover – and ring-binder binding … It was so shoddy. Blah.
hahaha
Not really a reason to ban a book, but still. It was so FLIMSY.
peteb – Rowling’s books are probably challenged before they’re even published.
“Ooops … another Harry Potter in the pipeline – put that on the list!!”
Oh, that first comment of mine was about the Sex book debacle. Sorry for any confusion.
I remember the brou-haha leading up to that book coming out – and then it being published … and everyone being totally confused, like: Huh? This is a piece of CRAP and … even more than that … it is so shoddily put together!!
hahaha.. Madge.. your book was shoddy!
There was a somewhat out-to-lunch local councillor [an elected representative] here in NI who put out a press statement condemning the latest Harry Potter.. his claim – the official launching of the book at midnight was evidence of sinister overtones.
Btw Did you see the report of the premiere of Guy Ritchie’s latest movie.. He and Madge were booed by the crowd.
You’ve never read Daddy’s Roomate? It’s a classic. A masterwork of story telling.
peteb – I did see that!! Amazing! To be booed on your own red carpet going into your own premiere. Woah.
Also – advance word on his new film is horrific. I’ve never read such bad reviews. “Too much Kabbalah” is one of the themes of the reviews.
patrick – hahahahaha No. Somehow I skipped that one.
Yeah.. that is not a good sign, Sheila.. and the crowd hadn’t even seen the movie!
Universally bad reviews from what I saw.. “Too much Kabbalah” and, I seem to remember, “An absence of plot”.
The ALA link says “Seventy-one percent of the challenges were to material in schools or school libraries”. While I’d be more cautious about what’s in the grade schools, kids should be allowed to be kids, by the time they are in junior high or high school ignorance is probably more dangerous than anything in those books. My parents never censored the books I read but they did take an interest in what I was reading. They made sure that I knew they were there if I was disturbed or had questions about something and they trusted me to let them know.
As far as books read a little too early, for me it was The Cross and the Switchblade, which I read when I was 10 or 11. I had no clue about ghettos or gangs (except for Our Gang) or such misery in America until I read that book. Talk about an eyeopener. I don’t think that was a bad thing, but like I said, I had good parents to talk to about it.
Yeah, if you’re gonna have a Kabbalah themed movie, then you BETTER compensate with a good plot. Or SOMETHING.
Ouch. The reviews I’ve seen have been vicious, and very personal. It’s almost like Guy Ritchie has over-stayed his welcome – that’s the feeling I get from the tone of the reviews.
And I’ll say this, too – some kids DON’T have good parents to talk to. That’s just a fact. So some of these books can honestly be life-savers.
I read that the booing was because they didn’t sign autographs like the cast was doing when they arrived at the premiere. Either way, I’m finding myself sadistically delighted at the bad reviews Revolver is getting. There’s something about Guy Ritchie’s “upperclassman trying to play tough guy fromt the streets” routine that just bugs me. The irony of it is that his wife really is a working class girl who made her way to the top and I find watching her trying to wiggle her way into the British aristocracy kind of amusing. Look at me! I wear silly hats and ride horses and hunt on my castle grounds just like you! Please give me a title!
I read “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” when I was 12. I used to see a little of the Today show with my mom before going to school, and I saw this magnificent, self-possessed, elegant and eloquent woman in a kente cloth dashiki and matching turban being interviewed by Barbara Walters. She was Maya Angelou, of course, and she recited her poem, “When I Think About Myself.” I was thunderstruck. This was a goddess in my 12-year-old eyes, and I got the book within days from the library (we went every week).
Never has a book rocked my world so much as Caged Bird – and who whould think that a pudgy gay white kid in suburban Seattle could feel such an affinity with a skinny black girl growing up in dirt-poor Stamps, Arkansas? Marguerite and I were kin, no question. I identified for the first time my “otherness” and that there were many of us out there who didn’t fit society’s mold and dared to embrace our difference.
Yes, it contained sexual moments, but the overreaching message of that book, and the beauty of its writing, outweighed whatever perceived negatives by a landslide. I’d encourage anyone who was drawn to it to read the book, and I’d wish anyone who condemned it a swift kick in the ass.
I have a certain sadistic delight in the whole thing, too.
And I’m sure you’ve been reading on the Cult News Network, Emily, about the “rumors” of problems in their marriage because of kabbalah – there are enough reports in that Network that makes me think it is no rumor. Like – she is eschewing traditional medicine to heal her arm, yadda yadda – and Guy, apparently, has had it.
Seems to me he’s been roped into this powerful silly cult (because if you’re in Madonna’s life, you have to be on board with Kaballah) – and now it’s hurt his career.
stevie – it is a truly powerful wrenching book. I read it in high school – I’ve never forgotten it. Thanks for sharing your memory of it.
I’ve been reading about the marriage rumors, and I could see why his rejecting Kabbalah in any way would threaten it. But now that he’s tinging his movies with it (I haven’t seen it yet, but I will when it hits the bargain bin on DVD in, oh I don’t know, about a week) and getting a backlash for it, I could totally see the whole thing ending in divorce.
(Which I kind of did anyway — I just can’t imagine how crazy it must be to be married to a self-absorbed control freak like Madonna.)
Emily
That might be true.. about the booing coming after they refused autographs.. but it’s a reaction that shows a crowd that’s an inch from walking away for good.
gotta share these two quotes.. from the same review
“..after Revolver, Swept Away now looks like Citizen Kane. Ritchie’s new film lands on cinema-goers’ collective head like a sack of wet sand.”
and
“Words cannot easily express how emphatically this film withholds the pleasures of film-going. ”
heh heh
I read that review, Pete. It was mercilessly funny. I hope audiences *do* walk away. Madonna is pretty long overdue for a good dose of humility and Guy Ritchie is just an over-rated pretentious poseur.
emily – yeah. She’s such a big fat phony now. Ew.
And as far as HE is concerned – it just goes to show you that you actually DO need to have some substance and not just style. People won’t let you get away with all-style-no-substance forever.
To reiterate/redefine one of my first comments on the subject, the ALA doesn’t break down the challeges by the “grade level” of the schools, although the top two do give us a clue. No high school (and probably middle schools) would even have these books in their collection as the reading level would be far below (hopefully) the students they were serving. While I’m not defending the “challengers”, there is a BIG difference in trying to remove a book from an elementary school curriculum or library, than trying to ban these books in a public high school library.
Bottom line, I don’t trust the ALA any more than any other special interest advocacy group.
On topic, I think JFH makes a great point. I’m not sure exactly what the ALA is trying to say, but looking at the stats they present causes me to want to see raw data.
On Guy Ritchie, I love Lock, Stock … and Snatch, but couldn’t even bring myself to watch Swept Away and it seems like I’ll be avoiding Revolver also. I also dig Jason Statham and unfortunately this seems to mark two horrible films in one year for him.
I kind of liked Lock, Stock and Snatch. They had moments, but I always got the sense from those two movies that Ritchie was trying way too hard to be cool and the whole “tough guy” thing was stretched a little thin for me.
I always wonder about people from the upper and middle classes who find it cool pretend to “slum” like the working and poor classes. Um, I’ve been poor in brutal neighborhoods plagued by gangsters and it actually kind of sucks, you know? This guy makes a career of it. Like I said, poseur.
I also have a big problem (and regardless of what the ALA says or does not say – it cannot be denied that this is a fact about certain special interest groups) with those people who want all of life to be G-rated. These come from the right and the left, and I despise them.
They want ALL of life to be appropriate for children.
No patience with those types, either.
I didn’t disagree with JFH’s point, by the way.
emily – Yeah, I think that’s quite a good observation of Guy Ritchie – “slumming” as a tough guy on the tough streets.
Kind of a hard pose to keep up when you live in a country mansion!!
Oh, I’m not saying you did. I’m just offering my agreement.
I cannot fault someone for wanting their children to live an innocent childhood. I fault those who want to censor the world so they don’t have to work at maintaining their own level of morality.
I agree with you Sheila. It bothers me when folks don’t understand why people don’t think the same way they do. It bothers me more when they refuse to hear explanations about the things they’ve already made their minds up about.
Case in point. My mother is extraordinarily religious. This isn’t an entirely bad thing. I envy her faith and believe it’s a source of great strength in her. However, she is one of the anti Harry Potter crew and I cannot understand why. Every time I ask her all I get is some nonsense and when I try and refute it, somehow I’m wrong. It’s when people refuse to question the things they’re being told, when they refuse to listen to other sources, that things start to get really bad.
“censor the world so they don’t have to work at maintaining their own level of morality”
Very interesting and apt way to put it. Thank you for that.
I think, too, that sometimes kids just want to have fun – and certain adults are very threatened by that. They think all fun should come with a moral at the end. I see no reason why a little Christian kid would be “tainted” by losing himself in the escape that is Harry Potter. Kids are perfectly fine, for the most part, with knowing what is supposed to be entertainment, what is fun … it’s the adults who get it all messed up.
But again: that’s up to the parents to decide for the kid. If they don’t want him to read Harry Potter, then fine – tell him he can’t read Harry Potter. He’ll probably read it on the sly anyway … but the parents have the right to monitor the kids reading and say what is okay and what is not. But does that mean it shouldn’t be available ANYwhere?
THAT’S the kind of shite that makes me see red. It’s indefensible.
But does that mean it shouldn’t be available ANYwhere?
THAT’S the kind of shite that makes me see red. It’s indefensible.
Agreed.
It’s the same nonsense as overly sensitive asswipes who contact the FCC every other day about some other thing they find “offensive” on TV. If we give these people free rein, they will dominate our entire culture. It’s already happened, to some degree.
Uhm – you’re offended by something on TV? There’s this thing? It’s called the remote control?
Urgh…there’s nothing worse than people who think they are entitled to go through life not being offended. EVER.
“Oh no! I read a book and my whole world view has shattered!!”
Well, maybe you need to get a world view that is not so easily shattered, hmmmm?
Or wait – no – my last comment is not right.
Fine. If you want to have a black and white world view, that is completely your right. I personally believe that rigid world views are actually very fragile – BECAUSE of that rigidity. If the tree refuses to bend in the wind, it snaps in half – you get my drift?
But anyway – who am I to say that they SHOULDN’T have that world view. Fine. Knock yourself out.
If that is the case, though, then they need to be realistic. (Which, I realize, they cannot do. Because a black and white view of the world is inherrently unrealistic.) But here are some suggestions: they need to get rid of their television, only have pre-approved books in the house, and homeschool their kids.
And leave the rest of us alone!!!
We all have choices in this life. We have to recognize that saturated pop culture and 800 television channels, etc. etc. is pretty much here to stay – and we all have to figure out what is right for us and for our families.
The entire MPAA rating system for movies is a great example of the G-rated drift of our culture – Roger Ebert is practically on a crusade about it. I would LOVE to see it change – so that truly adult films were no longer punished by not getting distribution. I believe there should be an adult sphere, in our culture. I know it’s all about the bottom line – but if you look at the past, some of our classic films are obviously rated R films – huge successes – and in NO WAY could be considered family fare.
I love the studios that have the balls to produce these purely adult films – knowing that they will, necessarily, have limited distribution.
I admired Eminem for insisting that his film 8 Mile be rated R – as opposed to PG-13 – which would have downplayed the harshness of that story. It was a film for grown-ups. Plain and simple.
The insistence that everything be appealing and acceptable to the 12 – 18 crowd is ridiculous. And insulting to those of us who like to be ADULTS.
I remember from the commentary on Gosford Park where Robert Altman explained that he had the word “fuck” scripted in a certain number of times explicitly so the film would get an “R” rating because he *knew* it was a film that younger kids would not enjoy and wanted to keep them away on purpose. I always loved that story and Altman’s approach. Like you said, it was clearly meant to be a film for ADULTS and would completely go over the head of most younger kids.
The insistence that everything be appealing and acceptable to the 12 – 18 crowd is ridiculous. And insulting to those of us who like to be ADULTS.
Agreed here also. However, I would argue that there needs to be some bastions of safety for those of us who want to ease our children into the adult world.
When I get a Paris Hilton commercial at 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning, during cartoons, that is simply wrong. The FCC does have a mission, I believe, and I think it has lost sight of some of it.
I am referring specifically to broadcast TV as it is free and will come into my home if I just turn on the TV. I think cable should be left alone. It’s a pay service, let folks get what they pay for.
My kids love to read, but they like to watch TV also. My wife and I monitor as best we can, but it’s nice to know that I can rely on some relativley safe fare at certain times of the day on certain channels, you know what I mean?
That said, anyone who expects to watch Law & Order with their 6 year old and not be offended is deluded.
I remember getting, like, Cocoa Puffs commercials on Saturday morning. And Cap’n Crunch. So yes, some control (and common sense) is needed.
What about Schoolhouse Rock? How cool was that?
Oh, how I loved Schoolhouse Rock!!
Emily – hahahaha I love that story about Altman!
“I’m just a bill.
Yes, I’m only a bill.
And I’m sitting here on Capitol Hill.”
I got “and”, “but”, and “or”,
They’ll get you pretty far.
I’ve got the DVDs. My kids won’t watch them. They’ve so dated in their eyes. I have a 6 and 4 year old, and they already sense it’s dated. I’m in trouble.
Lolly, Lolly, Lolly get your adverbs here!
They were just so HIP. Sorry – but I still think they’re hip. Which means I am, tragically, unhip.
I STILL recall those lyrics and I haven’t seen the damn thing since I was 10.
In 1787 I’m told
Our founding fathers did agree
To write a list of principles
For keepin’ people free.
lolly lolly lolly … hahahaha I love that!
I still remember that little guy in the striped overalls walking on the top of the train cars labeled “And” “But” and “Or”
I agree 110 percent!
A cartoon short that’s educational? How novel! Teaches grammar and U.S. History? Amazing!
These days they’d get sued for only teaching English or U.S. History.
Hey, I’m reading The Pigman to my eighth graders and they are asking for it everyday – ‘Are we reading the pigman today?” and when i tell them we are, a big “Yesss!” I mean, that’s all I really wanted to say.
Jean – God, I love that book! The Marshmallow Kid. I remember Mum having to tell me to be quiet in the B&B in Ireland because I was laughing so loud.
How do you even read it to them without guffawing???
Yeah – I mean, to have hip little songs about the preamble to the constitution? I love that! I didn’t even know how cool it was at the time – I just absorbed it all.
I remember seeing some special on Schoolhouse Rock on Vh1 I think – and all of these stars – were expressing their sadness at the passing of it. Liz Phair – “I just loved those songs. I still remember all the words. I’m so sad they don’t have stuff like that anymore…”
I remember Rob Thomas saying, “I learned so much from that stuff.”
And then suddenly they had a shot of an interview with Destiny’s Child, and the three women spontaneously started singing “Conjuntion junction …”
Sad.
In Illinois you used to have to take a Constitution test (US and Illinois) to graduate from HS. One of the questions was to write out the preamble to the US constitution, during the test I took, ALL throughout the cafeteria, you could hear people singing under their breath, “We the people, in order to form a more perfect union. . .”
Lisa,
That is a GREAT STORY. Hahahahaha. How adorable.
Lisa – hahahaha
Awesome!
No lie. We were discussing U.S. history in the office a couple of days ago (well often, actally, but this particular time) and the subject of the preamble came up and one of the Marines in the office asked, “What’s the preamble?”
I left the office.
God. Unbelievable.
Isn’t that great? I think if someone had sung loud enough, we all would have joined in.
Lisa….
That is SO true about the IL Constitution test… exactly what happened at my school, too. For some reason, I feel like there was one “exception” in the song. Oh, yes. It’s really “We the people of the United States, in order…” and I *think* the schoolhouse rock song was “We the people in order …” and as I recall many people got points taken off or something for missing the “of the United States” phrase.
Man, it’s amazing that this comes back to me, but I can’t remember to pick up my dry cleaning.
“In Illinois you used to have to take a Constitution test (US and Illinois) to graduate from HS.”
Impressive in a way and disappointing if it’s no longer like that (as I sadly suspect it probably isn’t). The federal constitution I can see, but seriously, who the hell knows ANYTHING about their state constitution? I mean, I could probably bore almost anyone to tears with reams of stuff about the paper trainwreck known as the Florida Constitution, but that’s only because it was a big part of my job for three years. I certainly don’t remember the Massachusetts Constitution ever being mentioned even once in high school, despite the fact that it’s the oldest written constitution in the world that’s still in effect.
“…one of the Marines in the office asked, “What’s the preamble?””
That’s just beyond comprehension. Someone who swears to support, uphold and defend the US Constitution really should be required to fucking read it.
Dave,
We live in an age where troops join simply for the GI Bill alone. No sense of responsibility or duty. It was a major reason I got out of the Army. Not that these people couldn’t be trained to do a good job, but I’d never trust them to have my back in a fight.
This is mostly for you Sheil-babe as I am way late in commenting on this buried topic. My mother, who is not an intellectual, as you know, was an avid reader. But she mostly read “pop” books. However, she knew I loved to read and would give me her favorites when she was done. Her favorites were invariably Steven King. I remember finishing “The Shining” somewhere in Junior High School, and was so utterly blown away by it I gave it to my best friend at the time, “Dude, you gotta read this!” Not for a second did I think this was inappropriate in any way. He gave it back to me the next day, with a gesture of scorn and disbelief that my mother would let me read this (later I realized his mother wouldn’t let him read it and instead of being bummed he turned it against me). When I asked him what was wrong with it he directed me to the opening of a specific chapter which started with something like this, “Wendy lay in bed with her legs slightly parted and Jack Torrance’s seed dripping down the inside of her thigh” (I’m dying to see how close I am to the actual sentence, but I don’t have the book anymore!).
Inappropriate for a Junior High Schooler? I think so. But man did it turn me on to reading. I ate up Steven King and loved every minute of it.
The freaking news is way more disturbing, or maybe as disturbing, as some of these books. But I’d much rather my kids get deeply disturbed by something that is done by an artful and sensitive writer than a plastic anchorman.
David – awesome story!! I think I remember you telling me about it … except not the part about the “seed” dripping. Ew. hahaha
I so know what you mean. It’s weird – when you’re a kid – and maybe you encounte something “too soon” – but you realize what a huge world is out there – what writing (and reading) can really be – It is mind-blowing.
We have a ton of Stephen King fans here – it was recently his birthday, David – so we had a huge Stephen King discussion in a post – and “The Shining” came up for many people as their favorite Stephen King book.