Thoughts on updating classic children's books

No Ban

Using footnotes when an update is necessary could provide the reasoning behind any altered sentences or to added context.

One of my Favorite Books

"The Homework Machine" by Dan Gutman was published in 2009. Let's say it was originally published in 1963. With outdated phrases and words from a bygone era. No offensive words. Only words that impact comprehensivebility. Several footnotes were included for contextual edits related to the author's life. No fundamental character traits have been updated. That said, I don't think 9-13 year old me would have cared either way about any potential updates or changes.

My Nuance: Posthumous Edits

They are necessary when words become offensive due to cultural sensitivity concerns. We can capture the "spirit" of the text in modern language. But what about censorship? People always have different definitions of what constitutes cultural insensitivity based on their upbringing. It's like the idea PG-13 movies are allowed one "F" slur in their film runtime – go beyond and you enter R-rated territory. This reminds me of a Soviet cartoon called "Hedgehog in the Fog," released in 1975. It's about a Hedgehog bringing some raspberry jam to his bear friend. Before star gazing the night sky. In the beginning, a wide-eyed owl follows him, mimicking his movements. Like staring at his reflection in a log puddle. I found it quite unsettling. However, owls, have characteristically large staring eyes. Maybe banning books due to cultural sensitivities is a knee-jerk reaction from adults who initially interpret certain content as offensive to them.

Children don't understanding what is culturally sensitive if not influenced by the opinions of their parents, friends within school, as well as guidance from teachers and staff. As a kid, I always found it fascinating how certain words or themes sparked gasps among my peers. Feeling compelled, I flipped through my dictionary to lookup "bitch". "Hey, it's just a female dog" (in my mind). In one of my groups during 3rd-grade. It's insensitive. Like banning a book because of two pages. The word was devoid from the gasps that shouldn't happen. In my opinion, the idea that students might react differently to offensive content inside versus outside of school seems like a superficial attempt to address the issue.

Refined Stance

News headlines sensationalize the topic. But, I don't think classic children's books need to be updated. Unless for what I wrote before. The author's book is a time capsule of their perspective in writing. When the issue is sensationalized, it's not respecting the author's original "spirit" of the work. Instead, important aspects of who they were or their influences are obscured, making their deliberate choice of words appear outdated and irrelevant. Some authors believe children today have the same curiosity reading their books as they did when they were younger and that doesn't change. On the other hand, the cultural values and access to information changes through time going forward. They might not be consistent with those of the past 30 or 40 years after the publication date. For me, as long as the story remains engaging, entertaining, or in my interest then it shouldn't matter per se.

What I read growing up

In elementary school, I read DC's The New 52 comics from the school library most of the time until 7th grade of middle school. However, before 4th grade, I had already read some books like The Compound by S.A Booden, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Winter Fever by Jeff Kinney, Goosebumps series by R.L Stine, Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey, and The Hardy Boys by Frank and Joe Hardy (absolute bilge).

Rant

I didnt' hate the book. More learning English by reading it. At the same time, reading it made me feel smart. Also, writing five paragraphs every day. In reality, "The Hardy Boys" was crappy. Every other book I picked up was always better than The Hardy Boys.

Re: Final Thoughts

I personally don't find an issue with modifying books to preserve cultural sensibilities. On one condition; the publisher adds additional book pages with footnotes while keeping the same language and scenes in tact to add context.