Sin and the Giant Peach

7-31-13

Ran across something today that I never knew existed: The Big Peach in Bruceville. Out on HWY 150 and Pierce Road at the Big Peach Market, stands a 20 foot tall peach with a miniature Washington Monument next to it. I was told this market has been in business for 50 years but now the owners are retiring and selling the place.

This got me to thinking about the children’s book James and the Giant Peach. Did you realize that book is number 56 on the American Library Association's top 100 list of most frequently challenged books? All because of “…occasional macabre and potentially frightening content.” The book was written in 1961 and when I first heard this I thought “Yeah back then there was still some censorship going on.” But after a little research I found this piece of information…

From http://www.deletecensorship.org/james_giant_peach.html

“James and the Giant Peach by Ronald Dahl was challenged at the Deep Creek Elementary School in Charlotte Harbor, Florida (1991) because it is "not appropriate reading material for young children." It was challenged at the Pederson Elementary School in Altoona, Wisconsin (1991) and at the Morton Elementary school library in Brooksville, Florida (1992) because the book contains the word "ass" and "promotes" the use of drugs and whiskey. Dahl's book was also removed from classrooms in Stafford County, Virginia schools (1995) and placed in restricted access in the library because the story contains "crude language" and "encourages children to disobey their parents and other adults."”

So as late as 1995 this book was still thought to be a bad influence on children. What strikes me as funny is that in our society today we continue to sin against our children by doing things that put them at Jeopardy; we don’t monitor their television, we elect corrupt politicians, we allow them to run the streets, surf the internet, we allow leaders in the community that should be tarred and feathered. And yet this children’s book is often banned? Come on. It makes thing that it is easier to pick on a book than it is to confront the sins and sinners in our lives.

So in closing my redneck picture of the day just has to include peaches! Nothing like a warm peach cobbler, Hey?