Judy Blume — whose books have been frequently challenged in schools and libraries — is skeptical of the idea that parents need to be worry about whether the books their kids read are “appropriate”. Bloom says that any book a kid is captivated by is, by definition, “appropriate”: “[Kids] are very good, I think, at monitoring what makes them feel uncomfortable. If something makes them feel uncomfortable they will put it down.”
“A lot of people worry much too much about what their children are reading,” she said.
“A lot of people will want to control everything in their children’s lives, or everything in other people’s children’s lives.
“If a child picks up a book and reads something she has a question about, if she can go to her parents, great.
“Or else they will read right over it. It won’t mean a thing.
“They are very good, I think, at monitoring what makes them feel uncomfortable. If something makes them feel uncomfortable they will put it down.”
Judy Blume: Parents worry too much about what children read [Hannah Furness/Telegraph]
(via Diane Duane)