Comments on: Moralizing in Books

By: Mary

Mary — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:34:10 +0000

Melissa — First of all, Neil Gaiman — note the correct spelling — can pretty much do anything he wants. But yes, I’d say that darker humor in picture books and darker stories have found a foothold recently but I don’t know how much of the market is really buying those books or how many houses will continue to publish them. My friend is reading Gaiman’s CORALINE to his four year-old right now and she loves it, so there are all types of kids out there, but the market tends not to serve readers who are too far outside the norm.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:02:25 +0000

My question about “edgy” content was in reference to picture books like Neil Gaimon’s, Wolves in the Walls or The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish. Both the writing and the illustration is dark and looks geared for an older crowd. Is this a trend or an anomaly?

By: melodycolleen

melodycolleen — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:45:48 +0000

Ha! I love that last line, Christine. All very good points.

By: christine tripp

christine tripp — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:14:34 +0000

Moralizing, in this sense, is more like: “… And that’s when Jimmy learned about the power of sharing, and that the best friends help each other in times of trouble,” etc. Picture books that have a moral and are didactic in knocking readers over the head with it.

Or worse yet, the mother/father is solving the problem, telling the child how and what to do to fix the situation and the child in the story becomes a pawn in order to offer the moral. To add it to what Mary has written, ” And that’s when Jimmy’s mom told him all about the power of sharing…” ewwwww!!!
I do love anthropomorphic animals however. In novels, such as “Watership Down” or the much sweeter, “Charlottes Web”, in GN’s like the “Baby Mouse” series, but nothing beats the pic book humour of Mo’s Pigeon, Ian’s Olivia. Perhaps “Pigeon” could have been a mischievious cartoon boy, Perhaps “Olivia a little girl but….. the funny in these books is the FACT that they are the animals they are.
I’m not saying Anthro animals will always work, nor should they be used often, and we can always find exceptions to rules if we try hard enough, but…. animals can get away with things in a story that no child character could. They also encompass all genders, races and cultures, often a “safe” alternative (and not too fond of them used for those reasons… too safe)
I think it boils down to the story and the action going on it the tale as to whether make the protag. a human child or a talking animal.
If a pic book author writes, “Alfonso pushed open the window and took a flying leap into the clouds”, the hero had better be a duck:)

By: Elen

Elen — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:37:14 +0000

I have been told (in the UK) that the reason why so many picture books have animals/obects is so that it can be sold internationally, without having to change the characters’ appearance. Is this not true? Or is it that the US has such a big local market, they don’t need to worry about co-editions in China or India etc

By: Kristi

Kristi — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:13:30 +0000

I recently attended a 1st pages event run by two literary agents and was surprised at the number of manuscripts that involved talking animals (and they weren’t even picture books). The agents’ responses were lukewarm at best. What I interpreted was: if you’re dead set on writing a book with this element, it had better be one amazing, hilarious, out-of-this-world animal. Cute doesn’t cut it!

By: melodycolleen

melodycolleen — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:51:39 +0000

I love PBs and anthropomorphic animals are my friends! Seriously, when a child is first introduced to the pleasures of reading, it needs to be FUN reading. Zany, crazy, over-the-top characters in hilarious situations that will be remembered, not a lesson. There’s a time and place for everything, and the lessons can come in another form for now.

That’s all the preaching I’ll do today.

By: Erica Olson

Erica Olson — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:49:36 +0000

I have taught preschool for 14 years and the most loved books involve human relationships at this level – friendship, love, caring for others. The pictures can be of people or animals (bears come to mind most often), but the words will always make the difference. I also wonder about the original questioners interpretation of “edgy” picture books. Although my 3rd grader reads Jan Brett alongside JK Rowling on any day, my preschoolers stick with Jan Brett. I worry about any book marketed as a picture book that could be inappropriate for the under-seven bunch.

By: Mary

Mary — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:22:55 +0000

Ken — I was talking about picture books mostly. A lot of darker and older YA novels tackle organized religion. That’s when most teens start to question the beliefs they’ve grown up with and this is a reflection of that.

By: Ken McDaniel

Ken McDaniel — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:19:10 +0000

Sorry, neither. My comment was poorly worded. I’ve noticed several paranormal YAs seem to go out of their way to espouse the evils of organized religion, almost to the point where it seems like a trend. Is this the kind of moralizing you’re referring to, or am I misinterpreting this as something else? Either way, I’m going to be quiet and go back into my hole.