As heard on Need To Know With Jeff Angelo, Laura Ingalls Wilder's name is set to be removed from a major children's book award.
The decision was made over concerns about the "Little House on the Prairie" author's depiction of certain races in the early-to-mid 20th century.
On Saturday, the Association of Library Service to Children's board voted unanimously to rename the "Laura Ingalls Wilder Award" as the "Children’s Literature Legacy Award."
The ALSC says her work continues to be published and read but her "legacy is complex" and "not universally embraced."
I was texted during the show: "Is Huckleberry Finn next?"
Yes.
What bothers me about this type of decision is that it assumes that readers CAN'T be told how cultures have changed over time. It would be enough to tell readers that the stories reflect the cultural values of the author's time - not the values we embrace today. But our intellectual elites can't fathom that readers would be able to make that distinction.
When I was in sixth grade, I recall being shown the film, "Birth Of A Nation," which portrayed the KKK in a positive light. My teacher PURPOSELY didn't tell us about the movie in advance, so we would experience the shock of the portrayal and ASK QUESTIONS.
Today, my teacher would probably be suspended.