DO NOT LET YOUR CHILDREN READ THIS BOOK!!!!
This is the old and new cover. Title: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume
A family member bought some books from the thrift store and brought them over for the kids one day. This book caught my attention and I set it aside on the kitchen counter to preview before putting into the Wagner Library. It was the day of Iris' birthday so I didn't have time to look at it right then.
Without realizing it, Emma picked up the book and read it and then put it on the bookshelf. She didn't know I had set it aside. She just saw it in the kitchen and picked it up.
Saturday night everyone was in our room reading books and hanging out and Emma brought this book in. I said, "I was wondering where that book was. I need to read through it first." This is when I found out she had already read through it.
I was horrified at what I saw when I skimmed through this awful excuse for a reader! The things my 9 year old was exposed to in less than one day sickened me with anger!
Here's a quick list of some of those things:
Playboy
Making out
Spin the Bottle
2 Minutes in a Closet
Sneaking anatomy books
Terrible attitudes and disrespect
Obsession with boys
Teachers and boys gawking at a girl wearing a fitting sweater
And ridiculous ideas about religion.
Here's a quote from page 11 "Because he's fourteen. All boys of fourteen are disgusting. They're only interested in two things -- Pictures of naked girls and dirty books!"
Here's a quote from page 11 "Because he's fourteen. All boys of fourteen are disgusting. They're only interested in two things -- Pictures of naked girls and dirty books!"
Thankfully we had a great discussion with Emma about how the devil sneaks this kind of stuff into our lives, making it exciting and interesting, and how we have to be so careful not to expose ourselves to it and become jaded to the fact that God hates it.
4 comments:
I was wondering if you forgot about this post (well...not forget about it, but decided not to post it!) Glad you did. WOW...that's horrible.
It's amazing, like you said, how the devil uses writers, publishers, media, etc. to slowly desensitize us to things that God truly does hate. It becomes so mainstream, so "normal", that you begin to lose touch with what the Lord intends for us, for our children.
Good job mom for always being so on top of things!!!
I fully remember reading this book when I was about 12. Because I remember reading this book so clearly, I don't want my little girl reading it.
On the upside, I did read it, but because of my parents consistent training in my life, it doesn't seem to have resulted in permanent damage. In fact, when given the option to look at one of my friend's father's Playboys, I opted out. The rest of the girls at the sleepover followed my lead.
I'm sure, even if you hadn't caught that Emma had read the book,(my parents didn't know what was in it when I read it) your influence and consistent involvement in her life would have more than made up for the negative exposure.
PS- The "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" series, that I LOVED as a child, is full of negative child behavior. When I mistakenly read the first book to James last year, it ended up being a non-stop: "You know never to act in this fashion, right?" "Do you see what Fudge is doing here? If you or your sister EVER behave that way, you WILL receive discipline" What a disaster!
I remember reading that book at a young age, too! And though I didn't really remember the content, I knew somewhere deep inside that it was one I DID NOT want my kids to get their hands on. Thanks for sharing this. ;)
FYI - you can type any title into Wikipedia (book, movie, etc.) and it gives you a lot of information more so than just the readers age, which I think would do you a better service because Emma is such an advanced reader.
And it's a lot less time consuming than setting aside to read, to regret later.
from Wikipedia -- Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. is a 1970 book by Judy Blume, typically categorized as a novel for young adults, about a preteen girl in sixth grade who grew up with no religion. Margaret's mother is Christian and her father is Jewish, and the novel explores her quest for a single religion. Margaret also confronts many other pre-teen issues, such as buying her first bra, having her first period, coping with belted sanitary napkins (changed to adhesive sanitary pads for the 2006 edition of the book), jealousy towards another girl who has developed a womanly figure earlier than other girls, liking boys, and whether to voice her opinion if it differs from what her girlfriends seem to believe".
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