Tuesday, June 1, 2010

#98: I Saw Esau by Iona & Peter Opie

Book Info:

160 Pages
Reading Level: Ages 4 - 8
ISBN# 0-7636-1199-9

Synopsis: A collection of rhymes used by children on school yards.

Reason for being Banned/Challenged: Offensive illustrations

Notable Comments by the Author in the Introduction: "They (the rhymes in the book) were clearly not rhymes that a grandmother might sing to a grandchild on her knee. They have more oomph and zoom; they pack a punch. Many are directly concerned with the exigencies of school life: the need for a stinging reply when verbally attacked; the need for comic complaints in the face of persecution or the grinding drudgery of schoolwork; the need to know some clever rhymes by heart, with which to win popularity."

Hhhmmm....

2 comments:

  1. What sort of offensive illustrations??

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  2. well, even though they're not drawn to scale (thank goodness!), there are illustrations of nude children, male and female. There are illustrations of the devil, evil children, etc. It was just sort of unnerving to see all of that in what's supposed to be a children's book.

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