Author/illustrator of 'Grandads Pride' chosen as artist for the Summer Reading Challenge

[RolledDahl]

Anyone here work in a Library?
For those of you who don't, you may know that every summer we promote the Summer Reading Challenge from the Reading Agency. It's a lovely way to encourage children to keep reading over the summer holidays.

This year the Reading Agency have chosen Harry Woodgate as the illustrator - he is the author of the controversial book Grandad's Pride, which included images of fetish wear...many of you may remember the concerns over some of his illustrations.

I shouldn't be surprised, knowing how captured the literary (& library) arena is in general, but it does seem to be a very deliberate decision.
And I'm not entirely convinced that his use of baby blue and pink as predominant background colours in the posters was completely accidental 😒

Thanks for answering my questions. I think I understand that your point is that he shouldn't be judged for one illustration on one project?

Normally I would agree, but I am uneasy about someone who could have so little awareness of what is appropriate, continuing to illustrate or influence for children's books or reading.

In a nutshell, if he had had an appropriate awareness, he never would have conceived of and drawn the illustration in the first place. I think it takes a real leap (his) to think that it would be absolutely necessary to include it in the book. So I blame him and I blame the publisher for allowing it.

Should he be banned from illustrating or writing children's books? No, with a caveat: I would hope that his work would be edited only by someone who understands what "appropriate " means. Who knows if this would happen, given the captured state of publishing? Nevertheless, you are correct that it's parents who need to make the final decision on what they read to their children.

I don't believe in preventing books from being published, and I don't believe in banning already-published books. But, let's not ban any of them, including the gender critical authors or the religious authors.

What we need is comprehensive information about the books so that adults can make informed, safe decisions for their children. And let's not permit schools to promote books and force children to read them as part of curricula without parents knowing exactly what is in these books. Ditto libraries, although there you don't have a problem with forcing books, rather the promotion of only certain types of books.

Should he be an official face of the Summer Reading Challenge? I don't think so. He has demonstrated his lack of understanding of what is appropriate for children. I wouldn't be able to trust that he has since learned what is appropriate, given his reaction to the furore over the earlier book. And I believe, from what I've read, that he has an agenda which is not "well-suited" to a children's book festival or challenge. I think it was a bad choice, one which I'm surprised about.

Are you actually being serious when you use words like 'captured'? Because that's not a thing, you understand?

I used to think it was satire, but not any more. So basically - anyone from the BMC to the SNP and M&S to LCC. All captured. These huge organisations are all 'captured' and you, being part of a tiny minority, know the real truth!

It's like those conspiracy theorists about COVID and such - believing they're privy to knowledge no one else has.

I guess this is what happens when you get your healthcare advice from kiddy book authors, and the like haha. How funny.

I might start calling anyone who disagrees with me CAPTURED from now on! 🤭

It's unclear to whom your post was addressed, but if you really want to understand the state of ideological capture in publishing, you could read this thread:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womensrights/5543489-5543489-seen-in-publishing-report-on-childrens-books

Hope that helps.

Thanks @AngleofRepose

The report by SEEN i8n Publishing is excellent backed up by contributions from equally excellent people and authors. Anne Fine being one of them.

We are looking at such a bigger picture in society at the moment where we are all expected to tolerate the previously intolerable. It is social engineering to include people who maybe are on the margins of society, cross dressers, no conforming people but we are seemingly meant to accept them and any proclivity.

Being kind is good. Pretending a woman is now a man and that their mutilated chest and beard off the back of testosterone ( or top surgery and T as seems to be the language used) is us being expected to lie.

The book with the guys in fetish gear - who on earth in a publishing company looked at that and all agreed it was acceptable.

Question - do children’s publishers understand what safeguarding is? Or are they so PC and inclusive that they would prefer to pander to the adults rather than consider the important role they play in safeguarding children from harmful images?

Are you actually sending me something from the shady, sex matters linked SEEN, in response to me making light of manufactured trans panic?

The very people who push this wild and far fetched narrative?

Dearie dearie me. lol

Well, if you don't want to read it, don't read it. I don't care either way. The information stands.

For the record as an ex-children's librarian, I wouldn't have stocked the book except possibly in the Parents' Collection.

I blame the editor for not cautioning him on suitability for this age group.

I'm also conscious of the lack of stories showing lesbian and gay households or characters. It's best done with subtlety.
[Just tried my spellcheck again - it's homophobic - doesn't like lesbian and gay]

Safeguarding is another great example of a term that GCs have just appropriated and shout at anything, without understand what it means.
Safe spaces and ideology are also good examples.

Why would a publisher have a safeguarding duty? They don't work directly with kids.

sigh

You should check your sources bbz, it's irresponsible to spread misinformation about minority groups xx

'Appropriated safeguarding' have we aye.

The term?
Absolutely.

I mean, the amount of people I've witness banging on about safeguarding in adult changing rooms, just leaves me bewildered.

Safeguarding applies to young people and vulnerable adults. Not someone who wants to ban trans people from public lol.

Same as referring to toilets as safe spaces.... Eh????? 😂

‘GCs’ do what do you believe, gender ideology?

Gender ideology is an invention of the Catholic Church/The Vatican. It's not a real thing. Logically, how can it be?

The term was coined in the late 90s and it was a direct attempt to thwart the progress not only of LGBT+ rights, but also of feminism.

That's why it makes me chuckle to see people who claim to be feminists use the term. Talk about propping up the patriarchy 😭

Thank you for raising this, I am a volunteer for the summer reading challenge and am interested to know this, we were shown the new illustrations etc in training recently. What I am wary of is the data collection, we are told to ask if the child is male or female or identifies as 'something else'. This is for 0 to 11 year olds. The parent has to give the details as under 13 yrs not allowed to give consent for data yet still supposed to ask. Last year I just put the obvious answers down but another volunteer got a talking to for not taking it seriously ( think one of the other volunteers reported him)

Yes! I want them to learn to be inclusive of minorities. I'm fairness, we usually watch the march from a distance in a cafe and then go to the quieter bits of the pride festival but that's purely due to loud music and navigating crowds with young kids. I'm heterosexual and cisgender but have LGBT+ friends and family, and pride is fun 😊

You what now

If you use the term ‘GCs’ for other women, what do you believe?

I actually use the word transphobe, usually. I don't believe there's such a thing as gender critical any more than race critical. But manners cost nothing :)

What I've said about the Vatican is verifiable fact. They're also responsible for the term 'same sex attracted'.

Well, at least we got some discussion in before the derailers arrived. Thanks for answering my questions, and sorry I've been a bit prickly (I'm not very well, and it's a very sore subject for me). I'm glad there are still librarians out there who are giving this serious thought, not just knee jerk reactions.

Ok so if you use that term are ok with mixed sex prison spaces for example?

And could you say whether you believe people can change sex

Nobody is 'banned' from public spaces.

The deliberate framing of this as men being victims because women say 'no' is what is turning normies into TERFs.

So crack on.

I am not entertaining this pathetic attempt at a gotcha, sorry x

Notice the part where I say "want to"? 😂

If you’re happy to call women ‘transphobes’ as is usually thrown out how can you distinguish between situations?

Either men and women can be put together or not

Obviously it’s too hard to answer

Nor am I entertaining this GCSE level reverse psychology 😂

Enjoy your Sunday eve x

Crikey, I got deleted and assuming it's because I used the word rooming, with a g in front.
WTF?