chapter 16

Tunnell, Michael O. and James S. Jacobs. Children's Literature, Briefly. 4e. Upper Saddle River NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall, 2008.


The first sentence of this chapter bothered me. "Books are dangerous". The author made the statement, but did not sufficiently back it up. It said that they can "undermine morals, fuel revolutions, and indoctrinate our children". No examples were given. I believe that people, and not books are dangerous. A person has to be willing to change their beliefs or morals before a book, movie, or c.d. can do it for them. It is far more dangerous to with hold information. This chapter seems to support this idea. It is far less dangerous for a child to learn about sex from a sex education book than from the child's peers. This especially holds true if the child's parent is unwilling to share information with the child. I think that sex education should be a requirement for all children in school even if their parents disagree. Of course, I say that as a teacher not a parent. I always want the final decision when it comes to my child's education. Over all I know it is best for a parent to have the final decision when it comes to their children. So many different people are offended by so many different things. I am glad I will be teaching at a pre-k level. There is much less controversy concerning books that are appropriate for this age.