Tabook!

What happens when a beloved children's classic has something problematic, outdated, or just plain boring in it -- and the author isn't around to fix it?  Sometimes editors take matters into their own hands. We discuss editing controversies involving Shakespeare, Roald Dahl, Doctor Seuss, and even Goosebumps, and Maria offers up a much better version of Twilight.

Sources:
> BBC: Roald Dahl: The fierce debate over rewriting children's classics
> NYT: The Truth About the ‘Censorship’ of Roald Dahl
> Smithsonian Magazine on Thomas and Henrietta Bowdler
> RL Stine editing controversy [x] [x]
> Edited "Night Before Christmas"

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Shel Silverstein was a beloved children’s book author, poet, illustrator, and f*ckboy.  Is The Giving Tree super misogynistic?  How much should an author’s life affect our judgment of his work?   How bad does your childhood have be to make you hate happy endings??  And … most importantly … would you?

Sources:
>Carnegie Mellon University's Banned Books Project
>LA Times
>Banned Books Awareness Blog Post
>Biography.com - Shel Silverstein
>"The Early Life of the Talented Shel Silverstein"
>New Yorker Retrospective

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We take a wild ride through the 1950’s American South, meeting a racist state senator, some hate groups, and a badass librarian ... all fighting over a couple of rabbits getting married in Garth Williams’ picture book The Rabbits’ Wedding.  Also in this episode: the undeniable body horror of Stuart Little.

cw: 1950’s American racism :(

Sources:

>Bookriot: "The Controversy of The Rabbit's Wedding by Garth Williams"
>New York Times: "Banned Bunnies" 

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With its two sequels, Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark was some iconic 90's horror. They're still cult classics today -- but they were the most banned books in America in the 90’s, just for being too scary for kids.

We (gulp) read them and discuss some of the gory bits.  How scary is "too scary", anyway?

Sources:
>Smithsonian Magazine: "Why ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’ Frightened So Many Parents in the 1990s"
>New York Times (1995): "What Johnny Can't Read"
>Seattle Times (1992): "Fearful Books Versus Fear of Censorship"
>Star News (1995): "'Scary Stories' Alarm Parents"

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Maria and Adrianna discuss the controversial novels of author and activist Judy Blume — from “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” and “Forever” to the slightly sus “Then Again, Maybe I Won’t”.  We talk about deranged first kiss fantasies and the importance of children reading about experiences that are different from their own. 

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In the first episode of TabooK!, we meet Anthony Comstock, historical anti-vice campaigner and guy-who-hated-fun-children's-books.  We discuss our extremely specific childhood fears, and María takes a quiz.

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María and Adrianna introduce the podcast and hope you will join us on Sundays.

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