Censored: Lindsey Gardiner and the offending scenes
Posted on 11/18/2007 1:58:49 PM PST by Stoat
A leading children's author was told to drop a fire-breathing dragon shown in a new book - because the publishers feared they could be sued under health and safety regulations.
It is just one of the politically correct cuts Lindsey Gardiner says she has been told to make in case youngsters act out the stories.
As well as the scene showing her dragon toasting marshmallows with his breath, illustrations of an electric cooker with one element glowing red and of a boy on a ladder have had to go.
Ms Gardiner, 36, who has written and illustrated 15 internationally successful children's books, featuring her popular characters Lola, Poppy and Max, says such editing decisions are now common.
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Censored: Lindsey Gardiner and the offending scenes
In Who Wants A Dragon? - published by Orchard Books last year - Ms Gardiner says: "I was told, 'You can't have the dragon breathing fire because it goes against health and safety.'
"It doesn't really make any sense.
"Sales and marketing departments are worried something might offend somebody, or that a child might copy something in a book and their parents will sue the publisher."
Pointing out that classic fairy tales such as Hansel And Gretel or Little Red Riding Hood would not get published today, Ms Gardiner said: 'It's a sad reflection of modern society."
In When Poppy And Max Grow Up, published by Orchard Books in 2001, Max was originally shown on a ladder "They didn't allow that because they thought it was precarious," said Ms Gardiner.
"Then I had to change the element on a cooker from glowing red to green.
"It is crazy. When I go to book signings, I sometimes take with me some colouring pictures, and the kids draw the elements as red because the cooker is on and it's hot. They are not stupid.
"I've had books published in Japan, France, Spain and Holland and they don't ask for the same changes.
"It seems to be in Britain and the U.S. that there are problems."
Nobody from Orchard Books was available for comment but a spokesman for the Publishers Association said: "We are aware of some concerns by authors and it is something we can talk about in the industry."
“I have vivid memories of that poem and picture from when I was a very, very young stoat....you probably couldn’t get that published at all nowadays.”
Yeah, they sell it as a double feature with Little Black Sambo....
/s
LMAO!
Around here there used to be a chain of restaurants, much like Denny’s, called Sambos! They lasted up until around the early 1980’s as I recall, before they were Mau-Mau’d out of existence. It was all quite innocent, with pictures from the children’s book decorating the interior. It had been a successful venture while I was growing up, and I didn’t think anything of it in my youth because I hadn’t yet been told that it was “racist” to refer in a complimentary way to a popular children’s book that had to do with a particularly brave and virtuous young child, who just happened to be black.
I remember good pancakes and pretty, smiling waitresses at Sambo’s. Oh well.........
That would be banned, too...at least it would be if the kids were catching them.
Do you remember the Lemonhead commercials where kids would throw one up in the air and catch it in their mouth? Havent seen that in a long time have you? I happen to be aware of a woman who sued lemonheads (whoever it was that owned them), claiming that her son choked to death because they taught him to do that in the commercial...
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