To please check children's books!!

[MrsTermites]

It seems The Boy and the Dog by Seishu Hase is being bought by some older family members for children in the belief it's a lovely story like The Incredible Journey. It is not a children's book - a fifth of it is about a prostitute who gives blow jobs and hand jobs and there is a LOT of other detail. None of this comes up in the blurb, which of course is fine if you know it's an adults book, but it is getting some very shocked young readers I understand.

You'd have to be very careless to buy an adult book as a gift for a child. Most adult books don't mention sexual content anywhere in the blurb.

Thanks toocold54, it hadn't occurred to me this would be difficult!
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Yes but that' carelessness has already happened if the gift is given, it clearly is careless, but is possible.

Never heard of it. Looked it up on Amazon.

Nothing on Amazon to suggest it has adult content. It has a picture of a nice fluffy dog on the front and the title references a Boy.

I can totally see how this could be bought for an older child.

@toocold54 loads of adult books have children as the main character (off the top of my head - To Kill a Mockingbird is one)
@Arniesleftleg Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is studied at school - usually in Year 6 or 7 (so ages 10-12). It is a children's book.

Yeah, when it's sold alongside Tellytubbies and Peppa pig, I don't really think it's appropriate. The book might not be as graphic as the DVD as I certainly wouldn't let my ten year old watch it. 13 is a different story as they probably learn more about it at school.

Thanks for the warning OP!

A similar one this can happen with is Fifty Shades of Grey. Mistaken as a colouring book - you should probably start a thread warning about this too.

Perhaps a sequel to The Day the Crayons Quit?

@Arniesleftleg I don't think children who are into Tellytubbies or Peppa Pig are going to be interested in a Boy in the Striped Pyjamas DVD.
Loads of 'childrens' DVDs are 12 rated (Harry Potter, Star Wars etc) and are sold on the shelf next to Peppa.

Yes, exactly. I believe this is where the confusion came from.

This book sounds really interesting, thanks OP.

There is also a lot of discussion online about how The Boy With The Striped Pyjamas is a very bad tool for teaching about the Holocaust, so I probably wouldn't buy that for a kid either. Maus is great, though.

A similar one this can happen with is Fifty Shades of Grey. Mistaken as a colouring book - you should probably start a thread warning about this too.

Why are you being so obtuse.

The online bookstores do not mention that this book is for adults or has inappropriate language.

The synopsis and reviews read like it would be suitable for children, whereas most adult books like Fifty shades of grey will be very obvious that it’s not.

OP is just letting people know that if their child was given this for Xmas then it probably isn’t suitable for them to read.

Probably good practice to skim through any book you are giving as a gift to a child - there might be something inappropriate to that individual even if the book is generally age-appropriate.

loads of adult books have children as the main character (off the top of my head - To Kill a Mockingbird is one)

Yes you are correct but the synopsis says how the book is about racism, violence and rape.

The girl with the dragon tattoo will also be very clear that the book is for adults.

The title, synopsis and reviews have no mention of clue that it is not designed for children so I can see how relatives might buy this online and not realise.

No, but they aren't necessarily going to know what its about are they? So they may ask to see it as its in the children's section. It's inappropriate for young children hence my comment about it being in the childrens section.

My early teens daughter asked me to buy her a book once that she had seen recommended online on some website. Good thing I checked the reviews etc before buying it as it was full of filth and more suited to adults.
My daughter was mortified when I told her.
So I can see how it can be easy to get confused.

Because The Boy and the Dog is an adult book. It won't be found in the children's section of a physical or an online bookstore any more than Fifty Shades of Grey would.

If the OP has daft relatives who think "awww, doggy" without considering they are buying a translated text from the adult literature section and that maybe it might be worth finding out what it actually is, then the OP should be mindful of that in the future. It doesn't require a general warning to the rest of us.

Off topic but I have never considered to kill a mocking bird as an adult book. It is most frequently read by school children. I read it when I was 12. I re read it as an adult - but always considered it a children’s book.

@Arniesleftleg DVDs have age certifications. Parents should know not to get a 4 year old child a dvd that says "12" on it despite how much the 4 year old night really really want it.
Last time I checked 12 year olds are still children. Why shouldn't films, books, toys etc aimed at them be available in the 'childrens' section.

I agree there's nothing on the cover that indicates it's not suitable for children however that's the case for most adult books - the girls are currently speeding through my old jilly cooper novels and nothing on the cover says explicit, and they most certainly are (don't worry they are all over 21!)

If the OP has daft relatives who think "awww, doggy" without considering they are buying a translated text from the adult literature section and that maybe it might be worth finding out what it actually is, then the OP should be mindful of that in the future. It doesn't require a general warning to the rest of us.

Really? You actually find this annoying that I'm worried that, despite knowing more than my own child who received this, because I asked around to check, that I would just mention it to others?

Which ones? My old editions of Riders etc have covers showing crotches/bums being fondled 😄 The 'name' series are just women's faces though.

@Stripedbag101 Mockingbird has been published by various publishers over the years. In the UK it appears to be published by Penguin (an adult publishers) and there are no Puffin Books editions (Penguin children's book section).
Some classics will be found under both Penguin and Puffin versions (like Dickens, Sherlock etc).
I have never seen a children's publisher version of the book. Except for graphic novel versions.
I wouldn't consider it a "children's" book the same way I wouldn't consider Dickens, Sherlock etc as "children's" book even though (older) children frequently read them.

How many people do you know whose children received this for Christmas? Seems pretty random that they should all suddenly receive a book by a Japanese crime novelist that was published over 2 years ago!

I think people are being unfair to you, OP. The title and the Amazon picture/description don't give away anything that suggests it's very much an adults-only book.

It's difficult when buying books for teens - especially those who have a high reading level and interest for their age - as they will start to get in to books that are not specifically 'for children'. They can cope with increasingly 'grown-up' emotional themes and ways of coming to terms with the world - even touching on the reality of adult sexual relationships - but an overblown gratuitous sex-fest is not appropriate at all.

Most of the classics - Austen, Dickens, Brontes, Shakespeare, Hardy, Little Women etc. - were not written 'for children' but are nevertheless great books for more confident teenage readers.

Call me a prude, but I hate the way that 'adult' has come to be used as a synonym for 'smutty'. Also, I've not read this book in question, but if OP's description is accurate, do people really want mainstream books (for adults) to be so packed with tedious descriptions of sex? At least the likes of Fifty Shades Of Grey doesn't pretend to be anything other than porn for people who want porn but don't want other people to think that they want porn.