Times change. Should classic children’s books?
It is the publishing world’s version of New Coke vs. Classic Coke.
After a week in which everyone from Salman Rushdie to the queen consort weighed in on Puffin’s decision to make Roald Dahl’s works less … nasty (resulting in hundreds of changes to the text), parent company Penguin announced that classic versions of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Matilda,” and others would be released with their writing intact. That way, the publisher said, families can choose the version of “James and the Giant Peach” that best suits their own child.
The brouhaha over the “BFG” author is reminiscent of the 2021 controversy in which six lesser-known Dr. Seuss books were removed from publication by his publisher – accompanied on the right by accusations that woke progressives were coming for childhood. Highlights included GOP senators reading “Green Eggs and Ham” (not one of the titles) as a fundraising tool. In recent years, classic works
