In a recent Babble article called "Where, Oh Where Is Superfudge?" Rachel Shukert compared today's children's books to the ones she grew up with. Gen-X books were about clever middle-class kids like Judy Blume's heroes. By contrast:In the New Children's Literature it's the hapless middle-classes - the normal kids - who ruin the fun, through either graceless social-climbing or trenchantly decrying the excess and shallowness that make being wealthy so delicious, so desirable, so sympathetic.
She makes a pretty great case that kids' entertainment has become all about the rich and beautiful.
The warning label on Sesame Street Old School (which we all talked about here) confirms that tastes have changed. We've been watching those DVDs pretty compulsively with our toddler. They instill great values, taught our son where his nose was and, refreshingly, the kids on the show don't attend prep school. They run around '70s New York with little-to-no supervision, finding joy in the alphabet. They turn a curbside mattress spring into a trampoline.
The new National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, Jon Scieszka, who wrote The Stinky Cheese Man, encourages parents to find books that kids connect with, even if they're graphic novels or books about sharks or volcanoes. He recalls, "I remember trading Hardy Boys books or reading the new Mad magazine, and that opened up a whole crazy world."
So, what books do you think kids can get something out of today? (Our top-ten list for toddlers is here.) And do you agree that books like Gossip Girl and Fancy Nancy have gentrified the children's section of the bookstore?
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 3)
1. Children's entertainment is no fun these days.I liked Sesame street old school because it was almost like real life.Today it's I Love you,you love me,let's keep the kids happy,at all cost.Give me a break.I'd rather be in Oscar's trash can for a day,than in Barney playgroup for a lifetime.
aniekan thomas at 3:07PM on Feb 15th 2008
2. TOO MUCH SEX , VIOLENCE AND TOO MANY MEDICINE ADS.
J. C. Wolf at 3:17PM on Feb 15th 2008
3. ATHEIST
I don't think there's anything wrong with children's entertainment today.
Most TV series are now available on DVD. You can select the ones you think are suitable, and play them 24/7.
Sure, there's a lot of questionable stuff, but all you need to do is invest in a $ 3,000 Sony VPL-VW40 projector and a screen, and only hook up the DVD player. Given the choice between an ordinary TV and a motion picture theater, kids will love to watch the DVDs you pick. And their kids will come over to join them.
William Hays at 4:06PM on Feb 15th 2008
4. Wonderful topic! The writers of so called "Children's Entertainment" include a hidden "Gay Theme." It's been that way for years and we wonder what's wrong with our children? Mr. Rodgers wasn't a little weird right? Yogi Bear and Boo Boo had a unique and special relation. Batman and Robin sliding down poles in tights? Sponge Bob Square Pants and his buddies need to be scrutinized too. What type of message is Squidward sending? Secret messages are dangerous. I've got way too much time on my hands.
Cecil Jones at 4:16PM on Feb 15th 2008
5. I went to the book store to buy brothers grimm for my friend's child's birthday. I couldn't find it, so I asked the front desk. It was in the over 18 section.
way to much "I'm not responsible for my kid being a piece of shit and instead its the cartoons or books"
you are responsible for yourself and your kids, not the state, not me, not anyone else, and not things like brothers grimm fairly tales
chris at 4:53PM on Feb 15th 2008
6. @5 -- "I went to the book store to buy brothers grimm for my friend's child's birthday. I couldn't find it, so I asked the front desk. It was in the over 18 section."
Yeah, but was it the watered down version, or was it the complete version in all of it's gory glory?
Not having kids myself, I can't truthfully say what I'd do about today's entertainment. If they got TV time at all, it would probably be stockpiled TV shows on DVD.
X at 5:39PM on Feb 15th 2008
7. Oh, yeah, I had forgotten about the whole "Sponge Bob" thing and James Dobson accusing the cartoon of being part of the "gay agenda" - whatever that is. Not sure how a cartoon character - and a sponge - can have a sexual orientation, but whatever.
I think when we all start worrying about kids cartoons and entertainment, it really means we are just getting old.
Didn't we all get upset about the violence of "Power Rangers?" It did not turn our kids into homicidal maniacs. Well - most of them.
David S. at 5:51PM on Feb 15th 2008
8. Buggs Bunny was non-violent.
Someone mentioned brothers Grimm- not violent.
Pick any Samuel Clemens work, positive message with course dialogue.
Sesame Street? Bert and Ernie were not gay? Big Bird wasn't taking hallucinogens, What the hell was Snufalupagus? The Count sucked.
point is, we always remember things as more wholesome than they were.
mac at 6:26PM on Feb 15th 2008
9. bugs bunny isnt violent?
i guess all those sticks of dynamite and all the traps he used on others isnt violent?
smashing others on the head with a mallet isnt violent?
and i guess elmer fudd and yosemite sam werent violent either, with the guns constantly blasting in all.
mike at 6:41PM on Feb 15th 2008
10. also, what would be the positive message in samuel clemens work "huckleberryfin"?
its a great novel, a classic to be sure. but it certainly doesnt send "a positive message". in fact, huck and tom spend most of their time swindling others, causing mayhem, and constantly breaking the law.
ya........great positive messages for our youth.
mike at 6:45PM on Feb 15th 2008
11. mike, It's called sarcasm, look it up.
Mark Twain always had a message, don't ever question his works.
mac at 6:54PM on Feb 15th 2008
12. Gosh Cecil,
A little homophob are we.
Kids don't care about that shit. 2 year olds don't know what is "gay" or not gay. Only when you point out your homophobic nonsense do they "learn" what you consider to be gay. I never realized that Burt and Ernie were supposedly gay until I was an adult. Nor did I know that Shaggy was a pot smoker.
I'm glad I didn't have any homophobics watching these shows with me when I was younger - I would have been warped.
TJ at 7:36PM on Feb 15th 2008
13. Cecil, a little caught up in the "gay agenda conspiracy theory" are you?
There have always been violent children's books. In Germany, I grew up with stories like "Max und Moritz" (two violent little boys who ended up paying with their lives), "Suppen-Kaspar" (stubborn boy who starved to death not eating his soup), the Grimm fairy tales (REALLY violent...remember in the original Cinderella, one evil step sister cut off her toes to fit in the slipper, the other her heel, blood gushing out etc).
It wasn't an issue then. The truth is, kids get pulled in by stories like that and there was always a message, usually telling us not to get into mischief or harm others, listen to our parents, be brave in the face of adversity.
I can't stand books like the Gossip Girl series. Why? They are completely shallow, no meaningful message, nothing to make a kid think.
This is a huge topic, but it boils down to the parents who buy the crap, because some tween wearing way too much lipgloss and way too little skirt is on the front cover and the daughter "can identify with it."
No wonder kids are losing their independent thinking skills. Oh, and when a good book comes out, some radical religious group is all over it trying to get it censored.
emma at 10:41PM on Feb 15th 2008
14. EMMA
Really banning books. Not keeping up on book bannings. What books have been banned recently???
robert okane at 3:51AM on Feb 16th 2008
15. I think the real issue is that parents dont want to parent. The entertainment industry is not to blame for your child's shortcomings. The real influences come from your home. If you choose to let your children watch questionable material, than you should be prepared to answer questions, or deal with consequences. TV's are not subsitutes for human interaction, and if you teacher your kids to appreciate good books...they will naturally weed out books that dont hold much substance. So parents,parent your child and the industry will again make materials that are more age appropiate...after all the entertainment biz works on supply and demand!
Sue at 7:22AM on Feb 16th 2008