Art Spiegelman was behind Garbage Pail Kids? I did not know that.
Ah, so he has experience with things becoming popular because of grown-up disapproval.
I never read the book in school, I think I was in my twenties before I read it. However, when I was in 7th grade in a very small, rural and conservative school, we were shown actual films from the camps in World History class. Naked and emaciated men and women staring blankly at the camera. Naked bodies being bulldozed into mass graves. People jammed into rail cars. Mountains of belongings stripped from people. Even now it’s the most vivid memory I’ve ever had in all my schooling.
It was so horrific, it was hard for anyone in class to even think of what to ask to have a discussion about it. Fortunately, back then we had this adult in the room we called a “teacher” who was able to start the discussion and explain things to us. AFAIK, no students were harmed by this class. No one was turned into a porn addict by seeing naked bodies. Maybe this school should look into hiring a teacher to help kid’s by answering questions while they read this book.
Apologies if something similar has been posted before, but I went out to Amazon to track a package, and noticed this in my recommendations:
Streisand effect much? I like the category: “Censorship & Politics”
In 1976, our social studies class “Problems of Humanity” read The Painted Bird.
It was a small, conservative town (in Wisconsin, not Kentucky, but still very much similar). I luckily went to the first night’s showing of The Life of Brian before it was shut down by the local churches. But nobody had an issue with The Painted Bird. America has changed.