Changing words or rewriting history? Many classic children’s books are getting a modern update
Many adults grew up reading “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and the books by Dr. Suess.
A growing number of children’s classics are changing their stories, or going out of print, because they contain language or stereotypes that no longer seem appropriate.
Augustus Gloop, a character in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” is no longer described as “fat.” Now he’s “enormous.”
An earlier revision took out a description of the Oompa Loompas as pygmies from “The deepest and darkest part of the African jungle.”
Roald Dahl also wrote another beloved classic, “James and the Giant Peach.”
It previously contained the line “I’d rather be fried alive and eaten by a Mexican.” That was changed to “I’d rather be fried alive and eaten.”
“Those are his books, and so does it make sense to change the language in those books, or does it make sense to have conversations about language use?” asked Mary Ann Cappiello, a professor of language and literacy at Lesley University in Cambridge.
She says many of these books can offer a teachable moment.
“Because children are really smart and savvy readers, and strong, and so do we need to protect them from this language of the past, or do we need to talk to them about it?” Cappiello said.
When “Make Way for Ducklings” recently premiered in Boston as a musical, the authors made a change in the story.
Robert McCluskey’s award winning book from 1941 had Mr. Mallard leaving Mrs. Mallard to raise their ducklings alone.
“It was really important to the writing team to honor the original and to make it for contemporary audiences,” explained Emily Ranni, artistic director at the Wheelock Family Theater at Boston University. “So, in this story, Mr. Mallard stays and in staying, Mr. and Mrs. Mallard have to learn how to co-parent together.”
“Books are artifacts of a time and place,” said Cappiello. “Any book is an artifact of when it was published and what was happening in the writer’s mind at the time.”
While some people support updates that reflect a modern society, others say an author’s work shouldn’t be tampered with.
A mother of two children told Boston 25 that she thinks “the message is still the same, most of them teach good values, like respect, and making sure you make the right choices.”
A young man told us, “When you read between the lines, they aren’t really kid friendly, so they need do better than that.”
A grandmother of seven said “I sometimes feel like a lot of these things get a little too much fuss, and that we need to respect how people feel, but also trust that parents will guide their kids in a way that they feel appropriate.”
Cappiello says parents should realize it’s east to get guidance navigating all these books. “Draw upon the resources available to you at your local public library, your school librarian.”
She advises parents to make sure their children are selecting a broad range of books, both in topics and dates of publication. This will allow them to contrast different perspectives.
Finally, she says to be available to talk over any questions or concerns they might have.
Two years ago, the entity that oversees the Doctor Suess books decided to pull six of his works due to the presence of Chinese and African caricatures. Theodor Geisel, aka Doctor Suess, was a Massachusetts native.
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