Controversial Books

Controversial Books

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble is written and illustrated by author William Steig. It is the winner of the Caldecott medal. It is thought of as a controversial children’s book but is still a popular story among school-aged children. It was selected as one of the 100 Best Books of the Century by the National Education Association (Amazon.com). The target audience of this book is first and second grade students.

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Summary: Sylvester is an avid pebble collector and one day he finds a very unusual pebble with magic powers. The pebble grants the wishes that Sylvester makes but he makes a terrible wish to turn into a rock to hide from a lion and cannot fix the problem. Will he ever turn back? The ending is clever and suprising.

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble is considered to be a controversial book. The police in the story are represented as pigs in the story. All the characters are animals (Sylvester’s family are donkeys) but the police were specifically chosen to be pigs. People sometimes refer to cops as “pigs” because pigs are generally people who are disliked and police are usually not liked by too many people, especially in a bad situation. In return, police officers do not like the term “pigs” When the book was first published in 1969, schools and libraries banned Sylvester and the Magic Pebble because the cops were depicted as pigs and that upset a lot of people. Controversial books evoke a certain reaction from readers and can make people feel uncomfortable. Whether or not Steig was trying to make a statement or not is up for interpretation based on the opinion of the reader (http://www.best-childrens-books.com/sylvester-and-the-magic-pebble.html).

Controversy aside, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble has a larger underlying theme of appreciation of family and being careful what you wish for, sometimes all you need is family. This would be a great book to use for a family unit and understanding the dynamic of family or understanding how to appreciate family. The only issue is that not all students come from a family orientated home where there is an aspect of family dynamic. But, at the same time, it is appropriate for students who do not have a perfect home life to understand what the meaning of family is or what the meaning of family is to other students in the classroom.

Smoky Night is written by Eve Bunting and illustrated by David Diaz. The target audience of this book is second and third grade students. Smoky Night was the winner of the Caldecott Award, an American Library Association Notable Children’s Book, and winner of the Parent’s Choice Award (Amazon.com).

-Rating: 5 out of 5 *****

Eve Bunting

-Summary: Smoky Night is viewed as a controversial children’s picture book because it talks about rioting and how children think about or question riots. Some people question whether or not it is too violent or complex of an idea for young students to be learning about in schools. This book is the tale of a child and his mother who live in a neighborhood prone to riots until their apartment building is set fire and they come together with people that they least expect.

When Smoky Night was first published it sent many parents, teachers, and librarians into an uproar over whether or not rioting was an appropriate subject for students to be reading and learning about at a young age. Rioting deals with a lot of violence and emotion and sometimes it is too big of an issue for children to even understand. Eve Bunting wrote this book from a standpoint that rioting is a reality and a truth of the world that why shouldn’t students be exposed to it? She wrote her book from a perspective that is easy for young children to understand what a riot is and how it affects people. The book is not graphic but issues of looting and violence are discussed (http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/bunting/transcript).

David Diaz is the man responsible for the incredible illustrations of Smoky Night that earned the Caldecott. The illustrations are a mixture between pictures that are hand drawn with vibrant colors and collages of real life objects pertaining to the story. It is very creative and different than other children’s picture books and gives the story a sense of reality. This is a great example of mixed media in art classes and can be used as a reference.

Even though this book as viewed as controversial, I would use this book in my classroom. It explains the very intense topic of rioting not only in a gentler way but a way that students will understand. Rioting is such a complex topic and so are the ideas behind why riots occur and I cannot think of a better way to explain and lay the basic knowledge of what a riot is. There is also a central theme of being able to accept people and acknowledge cultural difference, since that is large factor contributing to riots. People can reach out to people they do not know or do not like and still be able to come together. I truly believe that is something that should be talked about in the classroom and understood by students especially since bullying is a huge issue in schools today and schools are constantly becoming more diverse.