I’ve just discovered (via thinkings of a lili) the existence of the Happy Ending Foundation, an organisation I most definitely DO NOT want to join. The Daily Mail reports that:
The Happy Ending Foundation is planning a series of Bad Book Bonfires for later this month, when parents will be encouraged to burn novels with negative endings.
The foundation has also written to school librarians across the country to coincide with Children’s Book Week, which began on Monday, urging them to take ‘ controversial’ books off shelves.
Surely it’s possible to help children to achieve a balance in their reading that includes both happy and sad endings? I certainly don’t agree with the sentiment expressed by one foundation member that: ‘Books should let them be assured that the goodies-will come out on top.’
Update: a comment below from Inkygirl has informed me that it was all a book marketing hoax for a certain series of children’s books which I’m not going to give extra publicity to here.
5 Comments
October 6, 2007 at 4:27 am
I was horrified by this news, too. And then I found out it was a marketing hoax:
http://www.inkygirl.com/happy-endings-foundation-a-book-marketing-ploy/
October 6, 2007 at 9:14 am
Bizzare. Do they want a society of ostriches?
October 6, 2007 at 9:15 am
Bizzare. Do they want a society of ostriches?
October 6, 2007 at 12:56 pm
Thanks Debbie for the update. The sad thing is that I could really believe that there are people who would believe that!
November 4, 2007 at 5:02 pm
Entirely plausible hoax because it fits with all of the Far Right Fundamentalism that’s around, doesn’t it?