In case you haven’t heard… Laura Ingalls Wilder’s name is being stripped from her literacy award because of some controversy on the way she described the natives in the Midwest in her “Little House” series. I’m no stranger to banned books, controversy over books, etc. but I also would never say that any of it is justified. I have a list of banned and challenged books a mile long that I have read or want to read. I get that people get offended and upset by things because they have such closed off minds. However, I chose to have an open mind and want to learn – even if it is about something or contains something that I don’t agree with!
I never thought the day would come when the “Little House” series would become controversial. I guess I wasn’t born when the initial issue apparently started, but I remember reading these books and watching the show and visiting Laura Ingalls Wilder’s childhood home growing up! (I grew up not far from her home in Missouri.) As a child, who these books are geared towards, I never saw an issue with the story because I was raised to understand that it was historical – not current. If you want your child to understand their world, let them know how people settled this land, let them know that slavery was real, let them know that people are different, let them know that bad things happen. Stop banning and changing history – especially for children who are too young to know otherwise
These books are history, the “Little House” series is based on her observations growing up as a settler in the Midwest. I am very saddened to say that I live in a world where people’s attitude is no longer just banning and challenging books but also taking away the awards and recognition from well-deserved authors. When history is irradiated from literature, when words are changed because “times change”, when censorship is this heavily practiced – we lose who we are!
When honors are taken away from people who had a heavy part is history – especially with the sharing of history with the world – I just don’t know what to do with myself. I was initially furious upon seeing the news that Laura Ingalls Wilder will have her name stripped from the award that used to be in her honor, but after thinking about it I’m angry and completely dumbfounded.
How can old stories like this even begin to survive with this type of criticism? The Little House series, Huck Finn, and many others are old stories written in a completely different time! They had a different mindset, different habits, a different way of talking, and a completely different way of life than we do now. However, that doesn’t make it wrong for its time. The books were written well before anyone who complained was born! People today shouldn’t have any say about what is in or goes in these old books, and they definitely shouldn’t get to influence a literature award!.
Here’s the bottom line: Stop being butt-hurt over history and get over yourself. If you don’t like something, just don’t participate in it! Don’t like a word, skip over it! Stop ruining things for people than can appreciate history for what it was and know that it’s different from our current world.
Who’s next to be sacrificed to the literature haters? Beverly Cleary, Mercer Meyer, E.B White, Lemony Snicket, Dr. Seuss? Your favorite author? You?
❤ Squared
*The book cover image is not my own, I do love this series though*
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