Teacher Banning 8 y.o. DS from bringing Bunny vs Monkey books to school for his friends to read

[alixpally]

First day of school, and DS, 8, has been banned by his new teacher from bringing Bunny vs Monkey books to school for his friends to read - am I being unreasonable to be a bit miffed? Last year, he developed a habit of bringing lots of his favourite books in to school to lend to his friends to read during class reading time. This included Jamie Smart books, which were very popular. Today he came home crying because his new teacher has banned him from bringing any more Jamie Smart books, deeming them "rude, violent and inappropriate". I mean, yes, there is a bit of toilet humour, but it's not exactly Marvel comics - these are award winning books and frankly pretty cute and funny actually.
I can understand she may wish to discourage anarchic behaviour (and humour, I guess) but practically every book has violence built into the plot in some way (witness Grimm bros). I feel uneasy about a teacher who would discourage children from reading and sharing books. Should I do anything?

You need to hear her version of events. It's entirely possible that your DS's mobile library, whilst very sweet and laudable in its intent, has caused all sorts of disruption during reading time due to arguments or fights over a particular book.

I'm also sure you are not the kind of parent who would aggressively hold the teacher accountable for damage caused to the books that your son has taken in voluntarily but she doesn't know that, and I'm afraid we can't afford to take the risk these days.

I've just ordered a set of Bunny vs monkey for my secondary school library - please thank your son for the recommendation, @alixpally

When the library club kids at your school go on a murder rampage, we'll know who to blame, MrsH

If you can get hold of them, I'd recommend the graphics novel version of the Alex Ryder series. I don't think they are the cheapest but they are great because the content works for the end of primary and high school without the need to be a high reading age.

I think they've just started doing Percy Jackson too.

I really think they are great for boys because graphic novels are cool and 'not for babies' either. The bonus is that these kids can then relate to the kids who are reading the 'full version' because they know and understand the same story.

Comic books are a massive changer of the dynamics of reading for kids who struggle with reading. There's some really good titles out there now and the market has expanded massively in the last 4 years. There's now a whole section for them at most Waterstones. We bought dogman during the pandemic and there was nothing else similar.

The crucial point is the kids WANT to read these books. That's massive in an era of phones, TVs and computer games.

We should be embracing it, not pushing back against it.

True fact!

Agreed. None in our school library.

@RedToothBrush my bank account is unhappy but the students will thank you :)

Most schools don't allow toys/books to be brought in from home unless it's for a specific activity (eg) for a talk or to show as part of a topic. Bringing in own things causes so many problems. They often get lost, damaged or stolen.

I honestly cannot fathom anyone who sees the casual violence children are exposed to on TV, film and video games and decides Bunny Vs Monkey is the problem here. 🫠

Also if you think Bunny Vs Monkey is an issue I'd hate to see what you make of Looshkin.

Tom and Jerry versus Call of Duty. For 7 year olds.

Mental

Well that's essentially what we are comparing here. There's a few people who havent seen the content of BvM. It's like modern tom and jerry with sci-fi and fart jokes.

Kids have to get used to rules. That’s life.

Kids in my child’s class also going mad for Bunny v Monkey. It’s a publishing phenomenon and really encouraging that it’s published by a small independent publisher (last time I checked anyway, who knows now as Random house hoovers up everything).

It’s wonderful to see children devouring any books- especially the reluctant readers enjoying the same titles as bookworms. That’s the power of good comics/ graphic novels as they can be enjoyed by all. My daughter reads the chunky Harry Potter books one week and a Bunny v monkey the next.

Annoys me how snobby some people are about comics.

I agree. These books are often the first ones a kid reads alone. They teach kids that reading alone can be fun and not-scary. The whole point is that they are accessible and absorbing. They're not the end of the journey, they're the beginning of it.

There are also some amazing graphic novels and webcomics out there for adults that are as absorbing, well-written, densely plotted and creative as any "proper book".

Op you do not know the children, you do not know their readings ability, you do not know their parents and whether they are likely to come in and complain.
She maybe does not want your ds playing favourites with his books.
Most of all they are cartoons strips.It I'd all dialogue.where is the descriptive writing, where are the literary devices?
You are not responsible for the children learning these things. She is!

There is nothing in the op to say the teacher publicly criticised his reading choices. She said to her DS ( we jave no knowledge this was privatelu or publicly) they were inappropriate for her reading class.

Finally, an 8 year old still crying about this at home is frankly bizarre! Thr reason he is so upset is because he was using this to boost his popularity and influence amongst his peers, which is another good reason for stopping it.
It isn't your class, it isn't up to you to decide how to run the class.Butt out!

It does make me laugh when people get all snobby about comic books/graphic novels.
I recently joined a Facebook group for old British comics (Eagle, Bunty, Battle, Tammy etc).
Basically if someone was a child between the 1940s and 1990s they would have read at least one weekly comic. More if they had generous parents or swapped with siblings/friends. For 50 or so years children had the fantastic pleasure of weekly chapters of sometimes up to 10 different stories.
Different genres all in one comic.
You had your Victorian orphans, ponies boarding schools, comp schools. Sci fi ones. Futuristic utopia/distopia, War stories, Spy stories, adventure stories, silly stories, stories about step families, stories about friendship, stories about haunted dolls and evil cameras.
Oh I could go on......
Sadly these most excellent comics mostly died out towards the end of the 80s/early 90s. Now we have whole generations who have never had that pleasure and joy.
I keep meaning to read these Bunny vs Monkey books. I must get on with doing that 😂

@Needmorelego that's a really good point. I wonder how much the decline in comics has harmed literacy rates in young children?

@shockeditellyou it's sad that most comics are gone. They were cheap and easily available from newsagents everywhere.
Bunny vs Monkey is from the Phoenix Comic which was started as a way to get children excited about reading again.
Unfortunately it's often not available in actual shops. WHSmith sell it but I rarely see it in supermarkets or newsagents. Most readers get it on subscription through the post. It's fantastic it's popular but unless you know of it's existence (ie seeing it on the shelf) you wouldn't be buying it.

😁

My granddaughter's class last year went through a really silly phase. They are 8/9. The boys were very disruptive and the girls suffered for it. The school has now stopped pupils coming in with PE kit on because the boys behaviour was different on those days. They allowed football kits, now they've gone back to uniform. I wouldn't necessarily question what a teacher needs to do to manage a class. She can deem them inappropriate for the classroom, but shouldn't be putting them down re reading at home.

Come the revolution…

Most of all they are cartoons strips.It I'd all dialogue.where is the descriptive writing, where are the literary devices?

Yeah, you can't do anything with cartoons....(this is also Jamie Smart)