Rated G (for General Audiences)

I am generally not in favor of kids versions of regular books.  I think having kids versions has the tendency to keep kids from making the big step to regular books.

This New York Times article focuses on a recent trend: non-fiction adaptations for kids.  Doing non-fiction kids versions makes more sense to me than doing that with fiction, but I'm still not a big fan of it.

I think kids can and should make the leap from kids books to regular books in late junior high and high school, rather than sticking to the comfortable world of YA.  In today's world more children than ever before, and earlier than ever before, are experiencing very "adult" problems and exposures, (smoking, drinking, drug use, profanity and explicit behavior on television, pornography, sexual activity, abuse, and war, just to name a few). Yet we think they can't handle reading books written for the general audience?

I believe when books are truly quality, they are genuinely suitable for general audiences.  As a great example, the scriptures.  Kids will be challenged by the King James Version of the Bible, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't experience the challenge.  Someone else's summary of God's word is naturally inferior to the real thing. We may make it easier for kids to digest, but in doing so we remove the beauty of language that is the hallmark of the original.  And reading something "difficult" can improve your reading skills.  I know Bible reading did that for me during elementary school.

The Sound of Music is an example (albeit in movie form) of something made for general audiences but has merit for all ages watching.

Many examples in classic fiction, written for general audiences, and suitable for kids to cut their teeth on: Treasure Island, Hiawatha, -------

Some non-fiction that I think would be great for kids and teens: The Hiding Place, -------

Okay, I'm out of time, so I'll leave the lists of titles to be continued.  But I'm sending the post out anyway!



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