The popular Where’s
Waldo book series was written by Martin Handford, has always been a favorite to
everybody. I never heard a bad word
against the book, besides the fact that some people had a difficult time
finding Waldo. I personally had bought
this book and tried to find Waldo with my son, I mean who hasn’t? The books are filled with pages of hand drawn
cartoon images of a crowded scene with the goal of finding Waldo. Although he is wearing a bright red and white
striped shirt and red hat, there is so much going on, that it is hard to find
him. In fact, most of the time when this
book has been sold, they come with a magnifying glass to help locate him.
I found out that there was a ban put on this
book due to its adult like hidden pictures.
In the 1987 book, there is a beach theme which has a woman lying on her
towel and she is topless. This made
parents crazy and felt like it is not an appropriate book to have in school
libraries. Therefore, they had it
banned. What do I think of all
this? Well I can see both sides, and saddened
to know this occurred to a book that I had so much fun with. First off, I feel it is just a silly cartoon
and should be left alone. However,
thinking deeper into it, I agree with the ban.
Since there is a nipple showing and her whole breast is out, I think it
is inappropriate to carry for kids to look at in elementary schools. I just hope that these same parents are not
the ones buying Grand Theft Auto for their kids to play when they get home from
school.
Censorship on
silly things wastes everybody’s time and energy. Look at what is all over television now
days? Not to mention Squidward doesn’t
wear pants, but nobody is complaining and rightfully so. It is for laughter and fun in most
situations. Like I said, this photo is
very hard to see with all of the small drawings, but it is there and therefore
should be banned. This book is not for teaching in a classroom setting anyway,
but probably on a shelf for a fun rainy day recess activity. I personally would never have used this book
any other way in my classroom.
References
Baldassarro, R. W. (2011). Banned Books Awareness: Where's
Waldo. Retrieved from
http://bannedbooks.world.edu/2011/06/12/banned-books-awareness-wheres-waldo/
