The Amazing Bone

My son loves books and being read to. After finishing a story he will take the book and "read" the story back to you. This is a good thing. He has lots of books and we are also blessed because my mother who is a teacher has boxes of books that she has given him that are former school books. Every so often he will grab a book she has given him off his shelf and specify that we read it to him for bedtime story. Last weekend he did just that with the book The Amazing Bone by William Steig.

This book looks to be a bit older. It has a stamp inside from my mom's old school but also says that it's a Caldecott Medal Winner which is a prestigious award for children's books. Plus his grandmother gave it to him. It should be no problem right? Ummm it's a problem. Let me give you some excerpts of how children's literature is different today than it was in 1976. A little background.

This book is about a young pig named Pearl who lives in London and decides to walk home on a beautiful spring day. She finds a talking bone in the woods who eventually helps her to escape from being a fox's dinner.

My wife starts reading this book to our 21 month old and gives me a look when she reads this line:

"On Cobble Road she stopped at Maltby's barn and stood gawking as the old gaffers pitched their ringing horseshoes and spat tobacco juice."

OK so they chew tobacco... a little odd for a child's book but whatever. Then a few pages later after Pearl finds the bone we have this:

"Who should rush out from in back of the boulder and spoil everything but three highway robbers with pistols and daggers....they were fierce and spoke in chilling voices."

Robbers and guns? Are you serious?

"You can't heave my purse," she said, surprised at he own boldness. "What's in it?" said another robber, pointing his gun at Pearl's head."

It was at this point that we stopped reading to our son. What kind of kids book has robbers pointing guns at the head of the main character? Who wrote this Quentin Tarantino?

There's more. Just a few more quotes from The Amazing Bone after Pearl meets the fox who wants to eat her:

"The bone commenced to revile the fox. 'You coward!' it sneered. "You worm, you odoriferous wretch. These expletives were annoying. "Shut up or I will eat you."

"I regret having to do this to you," sighed the fox. "It's nothing personal." (a line apparently stolen from the Godfather)

"He's sharpening his knife," the bone whispered.

How did this book become a Caldecott Honor Book? Times were different back in the 70s. Can you imagine the uproar if a child's book today had guns being pointed at the head? HA! I searched a little bit more online and found some instances where this book has been banned. Now I'm not a fan of banning books, I feel it's the parent's responsibility to monitor what the child reads and has access to.

What do you think? Is this book no big deal? Are kid's books today just to P.C.? do you have any other examples of not so appropriate material in books that are supposed to be for kids? I would love to hear what you all think.

-Doc