Inappropriate Children's Books
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New episode dropped today! Let's kick it off with some questions - have you ever felt like your art was stagnating? Did you ever try going back to square one and retooling your drawing skills? If so, how'd it work out for you?
In this week's episode, we discuss how far is too far in children’s books, as well as the upsides of working for a studio or university, and more.
Listen to the episode and check out the show notes
Art by Analise B!
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Thank you for taking my question!!
So wild to hear you say the title of my book on the podcast. Full circle moment.
I'm always up for pushing boundaries, and my book does it a bit for sure. I had wanted to go even fuuuurther, but had to make a few changes.
You guys brought up 'picture books for adults', I'm working on one right now!
It's called 'Dead Uncle Derek' and it will be published by Quarter Press when it's all done. It's about a boy that is brought to Hell for summer break by his dead uncle.
Silly, totally not suitable for kids. I'd love to do a whole bunch more of these, and plan to.
Here's some stuff from the Dummy -
Sounds interesting @kylebeaudette!
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@kylebeaudette So is your book not appropriate for children simply due to the morbid subject matter, or do you mean NSFW for adults?
I'm always wary of 'For Adults' items. They can be anything from innocent to extreme. You never know how far they will go!
Your concept is great! I'm sure you will find a thrilled audience, either way!
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@Miriam there's a bit of swearing, and of course the subject matter. Nothing horrendous.
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@Jake-Parker That looks great, @kylebeaudette!
I'm sad that modern kids can't go anywhere without adults or without a helmet, even in book. When my daughter (now 29) was about eight, she loved a series of books about a bunch of kids who went sailing around the English Lake Country all summer. No parents allowed. At one point, they wrote their father (who had been posted to a distant country) to ask if they could go out to sea. He replied by telegram, "Only duffers drown. Not duffers. Won't drown." What a great vote of confidence! (Even if it isn't realistic.) Of course this was the whole reason she loved the series!
Another great book about faith in kids is Understood Betsy.
An even more inappropriate example: The same daughter, during the same period, loved the Lang "Colored Fairy Tales" books. They were called that because each volume was a different color. We owned the blue one. But at some point we had checked another one out of the library and I was reading it aloud to her (the reading level was a little high) when a giant killed the child protagonists, chopped them into pieces, and buried them under the floorboards. I made a face and said, "Ew, gross! I'm going to have to skip this part!" I do think I explained why.
We eventually found a happy medium in Joan Aiken. And we both love A Series of Unfortunate Events. Or is that dated too, now? Some of the new developments in kidlit I'm very glad for, but I do think children are more capable of figuring things out, and can take things more tongue in cheek, than we give them credit for.
