Henry Huggins by Beverly ClearyMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I remember reading a bunch of the Ramona books and the Mouse and the Motorcycle when I was little, but I'm not sure if I had read Henry Huggins before. While it felt like a walk down memory lane, reading it with my 7 year old also made me aware of how many derogatory words are used in the book, such as stupid, dumb, and shut-up. I know there are worse things she could read, but I don't want her talking like that. The character, Scooter, can be rather a bully.
We're going to continue in the series. Henry's fascination with animals is right up my daughter's alley, and Ribsy is a very loveable dog. I just was more sensitive to the language now that I'm a parent.
Whenever I would comment on the language in books (or movies) Alex would say "Mom, do you have any idea what I hear all day long at school????"
ReplyDeleteSo for us parents who want to raise our children to use civil, kind language; I guess we use those moments as a teaching time... "Why do we choose NOT to use that kind of language?" "How do you think those words made the other person feel?" And best of all, you set the example by not using that language yourself... they DO notice the difference. Thank you for being such a good mother to my grandchildren. I do appreciate you.
dana