In the Night Kitchen is a controversial book about a child who goes to a bakers kitchen in his dream, and arrives their naked. Nudity is something we are not exactly comfortable with in the United States, so I am surprised that the author would choose to depict the boy in the story naked for over half of it. Although the illustrations were not exactly photographs, they were quite revealing. Children, and even teens and adults, are often not mature enough to handle these types of pictures. I can not imagine having this book in my class, and having to deal with all of the talk about the pictures. I think it would cause way more trouble than the artistic and literary value. It may not be that big of a deal, but I do not think that this book is so great that I must have it in my room, regardless of reactions. I would not want to even try to explain why the girls in my class were looking at this book if their parents were to ask.
I also read this book as one of my controversial books last week, and I am interested in your opinion. After watching the video in class the other night of Jen's husband and son reading this book, do you still think that it's inappropriate? I agree that people in the US generally aren't very comfortable with nudity, but I think that because this book's focus isn't on the fact that the boy isn't wearing clothes it might be an ok book to have in my classroom. I definitely don't think I would use this book as a read aloud, to avoid displeasing parents of my students, but it is definitely one I would feel comfortable having in my classroom library. The main reason I think it is OK to have is that children love it! They don't really care that the boy doesn't have clothes on; I think the obsession over this issue is more focused on parents and their ideas about what is acceptable. I really liked reading your post, as it helps open my eyes to different perspectives. Good analysis of the book!
ReplyDeleteI also had some issues with this book at first. I do not think that having a book with nudity in it is appropriate for a classroom. I think this causes children to think that being naked whenever they want is ok. I also do not think parents would approve of thief little girls looking at this. After discussing this book in class last week I realized that the nudity may not me as big of deal to children as I had first thought. I am still pondering about whether or not I would allow this book in my classroom.
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