Librarian urges ban on classics

Press, 2 May 1981, Page 9

Librarian urges ban on classics

NZPA London Some British schools have been asked, to • ban classic children’s stories like “Dr Doolittle” and “Beauty.: and the Beast,” and even Enid Blyton is under fire. The list ot books has been circulated throughout London schools. If was drawn up by a library specialist, Mrs Gillian- Klien, who is employed at the Inner London Education Authority’s centre for urban educational studies. She says that many books in school libraries are potentially damaging to young minds.

“Dr Doolittle,” by High Lofting, depicts the black man as a big buffoon, she says, and she believes the colour of the beast in “Beauty and the Beast” should be green rather than brown. Enid Blyton's book. “Little Doll, Here Comes Golly,” is also on the list. It tells of a grandmother's attitude towards a black family that moves in next door. “This is not a witchhunt,” Mrs Klein says. “I have a great reverence for the heritage of literature. But there are some books, even classics, which do not always have a positive attitude to race."