Thursday, December 01, 2005
Political correctness, smacked down
Goodnight Moon," the children's classic by Margaret Wise Brown, has gone smoke-free. In a newly revised edition of the book, which has lulled children to sleep for nearly 60 years, the publisher, HarperCollins, has digitally altered the photograph of Clement Hurd, the illustrator, to remove a cigarette from his hand ... .
"It is potentially a harmful message to very young kids," (Kate) Jackson (editor in chief of HarperCollins Children's Books) said, "and it doesn't need to be there."
In the great green room there was ...
A cordless telephone
And a red balloon, non-helium and securely tethered out of toddler reach
. . .
