It’s the week of banned books, and it’s okay to wonder why many books that are classics are in this position. Some people think that books have hidden messages beyond what is literally written, and that these messages can change the way we see and understand the world. Others believe that they are strictly literal and superficial. We cannot deny that people can be right sometimes about one of these two beliefs. However, that’s the key word: Sometimes.
If you were born in the late 90s, you’ll probably recall watching a little girl with a yellow raincoat, a notebook, and a magnifying glass in her hand. Her name was Harriet, and she was a spy. Although a movie about her was released in 1996, it was inspired on a book published 32 years earlier by author Louise Fitzhugh.
To not spoil all details, if you haven’t seen the movie or read the book, it is about an 11-year-old girl who wants to become a writer. In order to do so, she records her daily experiences in a diary where she keeps opinions about her classmates. One afternoon, when she is playing with them at a park, her notebook seemingly disappears. A girl from her own class finds it and reads Harriet’s secret opinions in front of everyone. This generates anger against the spy.
Nowadays, it may seem a little foolish to think that a book that only tells the story of a girl who kept a journal was banned. Journals are so cool! You get to express yourself without limitations, like a tool that connects you. So, what is it about this book that got it restricted from some schools? It turns out that parents believe that it can encourage their children to lie, spy, and swear by endorsing this negative behavior through the protagonist’s actions.
I mean, I get it. As responsible adults, they should worry about all that, but why should they encourage children to grow up in an environment full of lies? Isn’t it ironic to say it that way? Considering that’s exactly what they don’t want their kids to do.
The reality is that although it is extremely important to preserve the innocence of a child, we shouldn’t show them a completely unrealistic world. Kids shouldn’t be reading predictable bubbly books–at least not all the time. They should read and understand adventure and be able to explore and feel independent from their parents. Harriet The Spy is actually a good book. The reasons it was banned were the reasons many people, including myself, like it so much. Maybe we should reconsider what we expect kids to learn and see.