// December 6th, 2010 // No Comments » // Books
I think fart jokes are funny. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that, seeing as I’m a grown woman. But it’s true. Growing up as a middle child between two younger brothers and two older sisters, I was always caught in the middle of two different worlds. One was rife with toilet humour and the other with ideal female decorum (if not tips on how to look your best.) Being a rather flexible gal, I managed to flow seamlessly between the two.
Now that I have three boys, it appears the fates have determined that I lean ever more slightly toward the vulgar, both figuratively and literally (have you seen what boys do to a bathroom?) When I set out to write Danny in a Newfangled World, I truly wanted to create a book that kids could have fun reading. I tried to blot out all notions about what adults would deem acceptable. And, frankly, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that most kids’ movies and television shows (don’t even get me started on Youtube videos) rely on some kind of poopy, smelly, oozy images to get a laugh.
In the first chapter, I don’t hold back with two back-to-back references to flatulence. Believe me. I struggled immensely over whether I keep or nix those two words. Would other parents think I was rude? Would schools turn their noses down at me? Am I stooping too low? Is there a nicer way of saying ‘fart’? In the final edit, the wording remained. Why? Because the book is written for kids who like the odd bit of crude humour (my boys insisted I keep them in) and I didn’t believe a few toilet humour jibes would debase the quality of the story.
I did not, however, consider the prospect that I may one day find myself reading my book aloud to a group of kids and their parents. And, I’ve got to admit. Saying the word “fart” aloud is much more difficult than reading it silently. After one such reading, I decided to choose excerpts from ‘cleaner’ chapters of the book in the future and that has proven much less embarrassing for me.
Last night, I received a lovely email from a teacher in the Toronto area who had read the book and passed a few copies around to colleagues. She explained that although many boys enjoyed the book and its illustrations, teachers were concerned by the silly language, and hence, the book would not be introduced into the classrooms. While I wasn’t surprised, it was a bit of sting.
That left me wondering if I’d made the right decision to keep the “stinkier” aspects of my book intact. I tossed and turned through most of last night wondering if I should do one more edit and cut out one line. I will likely do one more large print run in the new year, so it wasn’t too late to make that small change. After all, every product makes tweaks every so often. This morning, I asked each of my boys if they thought I should get rid of the ruder references. They were adamantly opposed to such censorship!
“It’s funny, mom,” they all agreed.
Now, perhaps I’m the only author relying on the consulting services of three boys, but I’m going to gamble that they know what they’re talking about. So, should there come a time when an adult tells me my book stinks. I’ll just have to say thanks.
