to feel uneasy about my son reading Enid Blyton books

Kimi - Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawkins??!! Blimey - bright child there!

Xenia that made me laugh

Yes ginger really does help with sickness.....

Desiderata, I think you talk a lot of seance and are not at all racist.
Now why did you let the sodding dog get the ginger beer? His pee will burn now.

humph at kimi [poke tongue out emocion]

I dont have a huge chip of ginger nut biscuits on my shoulder

will ginger beer help with morning/all day sickness?

DS1 age 11 is very in to Artemis Fowle, Darren Shan, Horowitz [sp] as well as just about everything else he can get his hands on.
He is looking forward to the new Harry Potter, and like asomov, he has read EB and Anderson.

He even read a spot of Richard Dawkins and some Stephen Hawkins.

bookwormmum - I liked your post very much

Thank you, Collision.

Yes, there are about three people on MN who think I am. That said, they're always in the minority on posts.

I can take it, because they're wrong. But I do worry about other people they might accuse, who might be younger, for instance.

It really is a lot of bollocks.

In the 1970s my sister and I would reverse the names and read the books out loud (they were so sexist so we'd get boys doing cooking and crying etc). It was great fun. They were just books of their time. I like some of the morality actually and the fact they call parents mummy and daddy as our children do - so in some ways they are more similar to us than other "right on, working class" etc stuff.

Sorry awen [kimi hangs head in shame] although DPis a red head so I am a ginger lover

Desi Rhodan wrote children's sifi that some could interpret as being a little on the fascist side.

I don't like the underlying assumpton by some posters that having read EB once, children will never read anything else or will take on board the set of attitudes in the book and not form their own opinions on literature or anything else. I read a lot of EB's works but since then I've gobbled up several hundred books in the interving 30 or so years and reread several dozen of them as well, some more than once. By the age of 10 I was tackling the easier books by the Bronte sisters, having perhaps dealt with EB 2 years earlier. She's just one author that a child might encounter int their lives. Children will form their own tastes and for myself, I never liked any book anyone tried to 'guide' me into. But that could be just me .

Desiderata....I cannot believe anyone would think you are racist!

Ridiculous.

some people like to be over sensitive and make ishoos out of nothing.

Cannot believe chinky is derogatory either and I am no racist.

ronshar, I would cry with you.

What a world!

Have read the whole thread, I wouldnt like to be uneducated before entering a debate!
Can I add since when did the sheep cloning factory make pink/multicoloured sheep.
I am currently in a battle of wills with my 2yr old that it is baa baa black bloody sheep.
Does that make me racist???? or grounded in reality.
Also has any one read Tracey Beaker. Now that is appaling. as is my spelling.
Ps I love EB my 7yr old said it was boring. I cried in shame.

kimi you said ginger beer!! I am completely offended by that, being of the red haired variety lemondade for me please.

Cant believe this thread is rambling on. Still of the opinion that if ds pick up an EB in library then I will let him read it. I enjoyed them growing up and think I am a pretty decent person. I am confident that I would be able to address and issues that come up from reading her books. Have to say I dont care for the name Gwendoline Mary tho thanks to EB

I would love to, kimi.

But who is he/she?

Haven't read all of thread because I skimmed it and it looks a bit barking in places, but in answer to OP, briefly:

Enid Blyton is a bit dodgy in places, racist, sexist, classist etc, but some children really love it and pre-Harry Potter she used to be seen by many teachers and librarians as an author that some kids who won't read anything else will read.

So whether I would encourage my children reading it would depend on the child and what their particular needs were.

Eg. if I am desperately trying to encourage my child to read I might give it a go. If the child isn't smart enough to see through the racism etc (and some children are - there was an article by Anne Fine about when her daughters got hold of Enid Blyton and were very sarcastic about the sexism in Famous Five) then I would be more circumspect.

Now can we discuss Perry Rhodan????

Collision

How true.

Oh, ladies (hello Bristol contingent). It looks bad, but it has context. I'm generally so laid back I'm horizontal, but a thread started last night which made me (and many others), very cross, and a certain poster came on this thread again tonight.

Any how, I do find excessive PC counter-productive. It makes me cross that certain people extrapolate from that that I'm a racist.

I shall revisit (and thanks for the cake) the meet-up thread in a minute. I'm favouring Ashton Court or Central Bristol, but let me know your thoughts.

But are you a winging pom?

we have discussed the fact that chinky is a derogatory term for a chinese person and that the chinese are offended by this.

why am i not offended if i am called a pom and why is DH not offended if he is called an I-T (ie he is italian)

are some people over sensitive or........?

Whats morning cresent?

Blimey...some people have fallen out of their pram havent they!!

I wasnt trying to argue really.

I like EB and so does ds and that is it really.