Here we go again! Enid Blyton’s Famous Five series is the latest to be attacked by censorship, with some phrases to be reworded so they will be more suitable for today’s young readers.
These books were written in the 1930s and were relevant to the times, which is how they should stay.
If terms such as ‘shut up’, ‘don’t be an ass’ or ‘don’t be an idiot’, offend anyone, then don’t read the books.
If these sayings are the worst our children can read, then surely, we don’t have a problem.
Children read for enjoyment, not to find fault with the terminology.
They read and see a lot worse on TV and the internet and even in modern children’s books.
Please let children read books as they were written and enjoy them without adult interference.
Why are some people so sensitive to all these great books and why are some authors singled out?
The books were written for children to read, or for parents to read to them, not for some adults to censor.
They give children an insight as to how children lived and behaved decades ago and they can let their imaginations loose and immerse themselves in the fantasy laid out before them.
As far as I’m concerned, reading stories about people’s lives from long ago is really history.
Thalia Phelps
Narrabri
