"The Higher Power of Lucky" by Susan Patron is a book aimed at the ages 9-12 years, as the author indicates. The opening page talks about a little girl (the story heroine) who hears a story about a snake biting a dog on his "scrotum."
I am not one to "over-shelter" my children and I can appreciate that it is in fact an anatomically correct word. However, my feeling is that a Newbury Medal Award winner could have come up with a word or phrase that is a little less controversial - for lack of a better word.
True, 9-12 year olds (especially boys) should know what a scrotum is, but does it belong in children's literature? Certainly children younger than ages 9-12 will have numerous opportunities to hear and/or read this book.
It would in fact be a much appreciated word in a book of biology or anatomy targeted for that age group.
Appearing in children's literature, though, do you think it is appropriate, sneaky and blind-sided or somewhere in between?
2007-02-17 15:30:53 · 6 answers · asked by imoffmynut 2 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Grade-Schooler
i think that it is somewhere in between. it is not really appropriate for a children's story book to be about a dog betting bit on the scrotum. on the other hand, most children at 9 and i am sure all by 12 know what a scrotum is. like you said at least they used the anatomically correct word. they could have been more vulgar. i think that these words should stick to stories about anatomy and things like that, not just a regular children's book. i mean heaven forbid some kid reads this and thinks that they should go and have a snake bite them on the well you know. hope this helps. good luck.
2007-02-18 04:38:14 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I personally would not have a problem with my children reading this book. However I do understand why some schools & libraries our banning the book. They probably just don't want to deal with parents complaining about the book. I personally feel children hear much worse things on TV. The word "scrotum" isn't a naughty word anyways, it is a part of the anatomy. But the author of the book could of picked a body part other than the scrotom for the snake to bit.
2007-02-18 02:19:24 · answer #2 · answered by CandyGirl 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I do not think it is appropiate... but I also do not think it is "sneaky" to throw the word into the book. The author thought nothing of it... supposedly it really happened to a friend of hers' dog. However, if I were a teacher, I do not think I would feel comfortable answering my students questions of "What is a scrotum?" I feel that the schools should offer the book... but not as a classroom assignment as is often done with the Newbury Award winner books.
2007-02-18 03:24:45 · answer #3 · answered by Fiddle Dee Dee... 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I was going to say exactly what the first person said, scrotum would be the appropriate word. It's not like the book is for Kindergartners. And using the word scrotum is much better than saying "balls" or "nuts" or "nads" or even something worse.
2007-02-17 21:21:10 · answer #4 · answered by nimo22 6 · 6⤊ 0⤋
What's wrong with scrotum? It's the right anatomical term and that should be non-controversial. Would you have preferred it if the snake had bit the dog on the nuts?
2007-02-17 21:01:14 · answer #5 · answered by bdunn91 3 · 5⤊ 1⤋
Is scrotum a bad word? If so I wasn't aware of it. I totally agree with the first two answers. I suppose you'd rather hear a nickname word like "sack" or "nuts". You're one of those parents who refers to a penis as a "pickle" or a "pee pee" and a vagina as a "bajingo".
2007-02-17 21:57:52 · answer #6 · answered by Amelia 5 · 6⤊ 1⤋