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Who is a Book for Anyway? by Cassie Beasley
My parents never said no to a book.
Every year they said, “No, we can’t have an extra week of vacation.” (You’d think they would have given in at least once.) And they said, “No, you can’t stay up until midnight. You’re sleepy.” (I wasn’t.) And on one memorable occasion my mother shouted, “NO! Did you just bite her?” (“Her” was my sister. It was an accident.)
But they never once told me I couldn’t read a book. In fact, it didn’t occur to me that someone might object to any book at all until I was in the sixth grade. That was the year our homeroom teacher decided she was going to read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to us. After describing the book, she explained that we would only proceed if our parents were okay with us hearing about witches and wizards.
I was baffled by the whole idea. I was an avid fantasy reader. Who on earth would have a problem with wizards? Convinced I had somehow missed the point, I spent the night trying to imagine what sorts of horrors the book might contain. Torture? Instructions for ritual guinea pig sacrifice? What?
I thought it must be something truly gruesome if we needed permission. All reading was good reading, right?
We were halfway through the book with nary a damaged guinea pig in sight when a friend from the other homeroom finally explained to me that I had it all wrong. Her mother would never let her read Harry Potter, she assured me. There were rules about books. You couldn’t just go pick something up off the shelf at random. Some books were for you. Others were not. Didn’t I know that?
I didn’t.
Like pretty much everyone else, my classmates and I became obsessed with Harry Potter. A few years after our teacher read that first book to us it was challenged by some concerned parents and, as far as I know, quietly removed from the school library.
I was in high school, and the idea that someone thought a book I loved wasn’t good for me offended me on every level. It still does sometimes.
But I’m all grown up now, and I get it. Or at least I try not to worry about it. As awkward as it can be, I don’t argue when people tell me they think it’s immoral to read fantasy. We all have our own values, and most of us aren’t too comfortable with the idea of some stranger with a pen telling the children in our lives that we’re wrong.
At the same time, I’ve become aware that the “rules” of reading for some people are so much more complicated than I ever imagined they could be. I hear adults in bookstores and libraries telling children they can have a book, but not that one. That one, they say, is not for you.
That book is only for girls, obviously. See the pink on the cover? Or it’s for boys. Or it’s got too many pictures, so it can’t be a real book. Or it’s a movie tie-in, which is also not a real book. Or they are willing to pay for The Catcher in the Rye, but if their daughter thinks they’re going to leave the store with a copy of Twilight she’s got another think coming.
And now that I’ve written a book, I find myself fielding questions about whether or not it is “for” certain children. I smile. I tell people Circus Mirandus is a middle grade novel about a boy trying to find a magic circus.
But that’s not always enough.
Some people want to know if their daughters will like it even though it’s about a boy. Other people want to know if their sons will be interested, since I have never been a boy. One mother told me her children were only allowed to read “the good books” over the summer. Maybe she meant classics. Maybe she meant award winners. Perhaps she was concerned about swear words. I told her mine was one of the good books because I wasn’t sure how else to respond.
I don’t know. These are wonderful, dedicated parents who care about what their children are reading, and the world could use a whole lot more of that. But has it always been this complicated?
How does anyone ever find the right book if the right book has to have a certain ratio of words to pictures, a certain number of starred reviews, two girls, two boys, a dog that doesn’t die, and at least a paragraph about the importance of brushing your teeth?
I want kids to read great books. Doesn’t everyone? But so much of what I read when I was growing up wasn’t great. It was just easy to get my hands on. As far as I was concerned, every book was for me even if it wasn’t perfect for me. And I was an awfully happy reader.
Who is a book for? I’ve come to think of the question as something that unnecessarily narrows a book’s potential. What if the story that turns a child into a lifelong reader is the one that has the wrong colors on the cover? What if it’s the one filled with pictures? What if there are wizards?
I’ve noticed lately that many of my favorite superheroes—librarians, teachers, booksellers, other authors—are adept not only at helping people find the book they need but also at convincing them that it’s okay to read that book. It’s a skill I’m still developing. For now, when people ask my opinion about a story, I tend to fall back on my standard answer.
A book is for anyone who wants to read it.
Cassie Beasley is from rural Georgia, where, when she’s not writing, she helps out on the family pecan farm. She earned her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Circus Mirandus is her first novel. Find her online at cassiebeasley.com and follow her on Twitter @beasleywrites.
Nerdy Book Club 
I understand this categorization of books as “good” or “bad” is kind of disappointing, though fortunately I never experienced any of this as a child! The only time my parents had an objection with reading a book was when I wanted to stay up late for reading!
Aha! So true, a book IS for whoever wants to read it! That’s exactly what I tell my students everyday.
Your post reminds me of the old joke about not finding Mr. Right but being ok with Mr. Right Now. While, in general, every book is for everyone, there are some books – and some kids – that need to be kept apart for a little while. Subject matter, language… there are kids like us who can handle just about anything and you can confidently let this kid take Shakespeare or Dostoevsky off the shelf and say, “Have at it, kid. Let me know what you think.” But there are lots of kids who will take a look at that stuff and if they’re not ready for it, will put it down and walk away saying “I hated that book.” We don’t want that to happen. So we have to be careful to say, “Maybe not today. Maybe next year.”
I’ll give you an example specific to me. I first read “A Wrinkle in Time” when I was really young, maybe 8. I fell in love and have read it literally dozens of times since. When I last read it a couple of years ago as a parent with pre-teen kids, I was shocked to realize how mature the vocabulary was. I couldn’t possibly have understood all of those words at 8 years old. And there’s no WAY I grasped the depth of the themes. Had I been a different child, I would have dumped that book at the first three-syllable word and been gone forever. Thankfully, my teacher understood me and recommended the right book at the right moment. So, to me, it’s not about “good” books or “bad” books, but the “right” book.
Thanks for letting me go on. 🙂
Maryanne, I understand where you are coming from, but disagree. What you are saying is kids should read only books they will like. I disagree. How will they know unless they read books they don’t like. Learning to make decisions is important part of education. They need practice deciding what is and isn’t goid for them. How will learn to do if it is always done for them? Choosing a book is a good way to practice the skill of decision.
I agree that each child is different and how much guidance is needed should be gleaned carefully.
Funny, I actually agree with what you are saying, Cynfranks, even though you said you disagree with me. I’m not saying that kids should only read books they will like; I’m saying that kids should read books they are ready for. I have no doubt that my daughter would have liked, say, “Twilight”, at age 10, but was she ready for the concepts? Perhaps not, and it’s part of my job as her parent (and teacher) to make that call. A kid who isn’t ready for a book in some way — whether it’s maturity or reading level or emotional ability to handle the subject matter — will come away with the sense that reading is stupid or worse, that she is stupid because she didn’t “get” it. That would be the worst possible outcome. Does that make more sense? It’s about guidance, not censorship which I do not in any way condone.
You are right! We agree! I guess I have seen to many parents use the same arguments to make their kids like the same things they liked as kids; or keep them away from things they don’t like.
Great post. My parents never limited what I read, either. I remember my sister teacher sending a note home with my sister advising my mother she was reading JAWS. My just said not to take it to school.
Oops! Hit the wrong button. The book or books that made me a life long reader were The Hardy Boys Mysteries–books a girl should not read. I hated Nancy Drew. Not sure why.
I like your answer.
Libraries inherently offer choice.
Thank you for this beautiful testimony to the power of choice. It’s gut-wrenching to hear an adult tell a child they can’t read a book (for whatever crazy a#% reason). I can almost get on board if we’re trying to be sensitive about a book that may have content that’s not appropriate for growing minds and tender hearts. That makes some sense.
What have we to fear?
You said it best, ” I’ve come to think of the question as something that unnecessarily narrows a book’s potential. What if the story that turns a child into a lifelong reader is the one that has the wrong colors on the cover? What if it’s the one filled with pictures? What if there are wizards?”
Yes, let’s celebrate the potential of every book. Every reader. Every choice.
A woman after my own heart! I do hold back some books for content (some YA books aren’t appropriate for 6th graders, others are fine.). But I think we need to fit good books with potentially interested readers and let the magic happen!
Indeed it must be a lot harder for kids to find books these days. I was lucky enough to have parents who never said no to books either. I believe the right book for a kid is the book that they pick; the book they just can’t keep their eyes off and begin reading right there at the book shop. I don’t think I would’ve fallen in love with books if I hadn’t been allowed to choose the stories I read.
Funny, I don’t remember my mum telling me I couldn’t read a certain book but then again she probably didn’t she probably just distracted me in some way. I do remember a few years ago my aunt came over from America and during her visit Harry Potter was mentioned, I can’t remember why I’m sure I mentioned the film or the fact that my dad wanted to buy me a set for lending to friends and a set just for me. Don’t ask, the guy is a weirdo. Anyway, she asked me why I read Harry Potter. I thought it was a “what drew you to it, what do you like about it” kind of question so when I answered it like that she looked confused and clarified that she meant why would I read something about witchcraft. Remembering that she was Christian and trying not to verbally explode on her that I am an atheist and to keep her views to herself, she’d not even my real aunt, blah blah blah, all that very immature stuff I would have thought was a very reasonable answer back then I calmly explained that it wasn’t a witch’s handbook (although even if it was leave me alone) it was a kids book, about a magical world and friendship and good vs evil etc. That seemed to soothe her until the end of that conversation but I remember exhaling very hard that anyone would miss out on such an experience for fear it was something from Merlin’s shelf.
If some parents are worried about what their children read, I wonder if they are as diligent with the television shows and movies they allow them to watch. Take the evening news for example, now that’s horror!
I enjoyed reading your thoughtful post and you sparked my own thinking. I read everything as a child and also don’t remember adults setting limits. (Well, except the time I snuck Judith Krantz’s book Scruples to read–my mom wasn’t too pleased with that!) Every vacation was preceded by a trip to the book store where we were allowed to choose 2 books–Heaven! With my own children who were precocious readers, I was most concerned about them encountering content that was too heavy or totally inappropriate. I certainly couldn’t read everything before them and had to trust them to make some of their own choices. (My young son’s request for me to pick up the book The Color of Her Panties involved, after my jaw dropped, a bit more research on my part!) Like Gina Amos, I suspect that parents are sadly not as vigilant about what their children see–movies, video games, TV shows. I personally find that I am much more able to handle upsetting content when I form the images in my own mind from reading than when those images are flashed before me. Besides, I can always skim through those parts in a book while I don’t have that option with a visual. Great post!
I had been banned from buying or reading any books that weren’t related to what I had been studying for about 3-4 years, and recently now that I’ve finished my A-levels, I’m catching up on all those years that I haven’t spent reading!
CIRCUS MIRANDUS is one of those books that will stretch some readers, fascinate others and delight all. My job as an elementary librarian is to do the same-stretch, fascinate and delight the kiddos by putting all kinds of books into their hands. Thank you for reminding me of the power of different books for different kiddos.
I’m sad that I’ll miss meeting you at Nerd Camp! I was so looking forward to gushing on about how much I loved Circus Mirandus!
I mostly agree. Like, 99.9% agree. My mom never forbid me to read any book. Her favorite story to tell is one of a librarian’s conference she attended. I was in sixth grade and was reading V.C. Andrews. A fellow librarian was horrified that my mom would allow me to read “that trash.” Mom said, “If that was ALL she read, I might be concerned. But she also just finished ‘Gone with the Wind.’ So no, I’m not too worried about it.” I’ve adopted the same philosophy with my kids…which is why my 8 year old is reading “Maus.” Is a lot of it going over his head? No doubt. But he wanted to read it, so why not? (Though I did debate about it a bit…no book about the Holocaust is light reading.)
All that said…there are some books I won’t buy my kids. I would be the mom who told my kid, “I’m not going to buy you ‘Twilight.'” I am the mom who won’t buy my daughter Frozen tie-in books. I think they’re crap books and I’m not going to spend my money on them. That said: if she wants to spend her OWN money on them (which she has done) or bring them home from the library, go for it. But as long as it’s MY money being spent, I get some say-so.
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