One fellow is a chubby superhero that flies around in his red cape and white underwear and the other is a rebellious lad from the 19th century who embarks on a great American adventure. They are both controversial characters, even banned.
I must admit that I was a bit surprised when I read TexMex’s comment on my previous post, Teachable Moment or Missed Opportunity: The Return of Huck Finn and found that Captain Underpants also has a history as a banned piece of literature. Looking at it from a different perspective, I can recognize the subversive elements found in Capt. Underpants. I see that some of the exploits of the characters in Captain Underpants might encourage some of our mischievous-minded little friends to engage in similar deeds. One example, George and Harold changed the bathroom sign in their school, which read: PLEASE WASH YOU HANDS AFTER USING THE TOILET. After the two unripe protagonists altered the sign it read: PLEASE WASH YOUR HANDS IN THE TOILET. I’m revealing both my position on the matter and my inner 8 year old when I state, that’s funny!
Judy Blume (frequently challenged for her kid's books) addresses the subject of censorship more effectively than I can on her personal website.
You can read more about the controversy from the CNN archives.
Also, pay a visit Dav Pilkey's fabulously fun website
3 comments:
Most book banners are long on "blocking" and short on "marketing." That is, they fail to grasp the knowledge that the best publicity a book or movie can receive is to be "banned." As soon as the ban is announced, there's a mad dash to see the movie or read the book. This is so generally recognized that many Hollywood observers claim some "bannings" actually have been orchestrated by the production company to give a mediocre movie a much needed publicity shot.
Libraries and book stores attest to the same pattern among readers when a book is banned. If such bannings were effective, then John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men would be out of print, as would Harry Potter, Bridge to Terabithia, and Judy Blume's books. Instead, they stay in print long after other books have gone out of print. As an author, my daily prayer is that someone will ban one of my books; better yet, ban ALL of them!
Thus I am sure Dav Pilkey is somehow thrilled with your school's banning. Further, the true measure of a book is taken over time. Good books last, bad books die. Their average life: 4 years in print. This is exactly what happened to the "Goosebumps" books that so many people were concerned about a few years ago. Within six years, they've pretty much disappeared. R. L. Stine's 15 minutes finally expired.
Do the book banners really think those Columbine or Santee killers were inspired by books like Captain Underpants? If they'd been reading and laughing over that instead of downloading "How to Make a Bomb" from the Internet, there would have been less tragedy in this country. People concerned about "bad behavior" models should spend a little time watching the NBA, the WWF, or the NFL. Now there are some real negative role models!
I have a seven year old son that will take his books anywhere! Last year as he was entering the 1st grade, it was a task to get him to read. He would be frustrated and so would I. Then, one Saturday, we were in Barnes and Noble and he started looking at this book. He told me that someone had it in school. He has been hooked ever since, and he understands the story line. It is also not one of those books that you think is for children and has adult undertone, it is just as goofy as he is and he loves it and I love it for him!!!
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