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A review by librariandest
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
3.0
My 5yo loves listening to the Ramona books on audio (read by Stockard Channing). I loved these books when I was a kid, too. But imagine my horror when she started calling one of her toys Yard Ape because Ramona says it. In the books, Ramona calls one of her classmates Yard Ape because he teases her. His real name is Danny, but she continues to call him Yard Ape even after they become friends -- like it's an affectionate nickname. In the real world, Yard Ape is a racist slur (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/yard_ape).
So I had a Serious Talk with her about never calling anyone that. Ramona does a lot of things we should never do (e.g. destroying her classmate's art project, sticking burrs in her hair, ruining Beezus's birthday cake), so it was not difficult to convince my daughter that she shouldn't always follow Ramona's example.
Now I'm concerned as a children's librarian that this very popular classic uses a racial slur as a nickname, even though Beverly Cleary intended it in the "unruly child" sense. As I've learned, the impact is more important than the intent.
As far as I know, "yard ape" will not be a familiar insult to most kids today. It wasn't familiar to me, but when I heard the word "ape" I instantly knew I didn't want my kid (or any kid) saying that. I've learned a lot about the problems with monkeys in children's literature from the librarian and blogger Edith Campbell (https://crazyquiltedi.blog/2018/07/20/monkey-business/). The racist associations between primates and Black people are well documented.
So reader beware. All your faves are problematic.
So I had a Serious Talk with her about never calling anyone that. Ramona does a lot of things we should never do (e.g. destroying her classmate's art project, sticking burrs in her hair, ruining Beezus's birthday cake), so it was not difficult to convince my daughter that she shouldn't always follow Ramona's example.
Now I'm concerned as a children's librarian that this very popular classic uses a racial slur as a nickname, even though Beverly Cleary intended it in the "unruly child" sense. As I've learned, the impact is more important than the intent.
As far as I know, "yard ape" will not be a familiar insult to most kids today. It wasn't familiar to me, but when I heard the word "ape" I instantly knew I didn't want my kid (or any kid) saying that. I've learned a lot about the problems with monkeys in children's literature from the librarian and blogger Edith Campbell (https://crazyquiltedi.blog/2018/07/20/monkey-business/). The racist associations between primates and Black people are well documented.
So reader beware. All your faves are problematic.