You should have seen my face.
I imagine my eyes looked like I was insane! My eyebrows surely disappeared into my hairline. And I had to make a conscious effort to bring my jaw back to its normal position.In the sense of "the misuse or desecration of anything regarded as worthy of extreme respect", it was sacrilege.
Does the modern reader truly have no discernment? Must we really 'dumb down' everything of value?
I almost had a fit right there in the aisle of Hastings. I was almost speechless. I still am.
Have I mentioned that Little Women makes my list of all-time favorite books? Did I ever tell you I read it at least once a year from the time I first read it until I graduated from high school?This has been one of my favorite books to read with my daughter. This is one of those books that leads the reader to affect the speech of the characters. The closeness of family, the themes of sacrifice and work ethic, and the value of people more than materialism are just a few of the gems from this book. This book beautifully portrays the simplicity and innocence of days gone by, when children used their imaginations in forming clubs, writing newspapers, and writing and performing plays.
The days when people didn't change the cover of a book to make it more 'relevant' or 'appealing'.
Hmmm, making the outside conform to what the world likes and expects. . .a cover which doesn't accurately reflect what is on the inside. . .where could we go with this?
My daughter is reading Little Women (again) this year, but this time specifically for her Junior High Lit (digging deeper) class.
ReplyDeleteI see more and more people making jokes (nothing off limits...God, the Bible, child molestation) of everything. I am a TOTAL goof ball, but it does make me think of the saying, "Is nothing sacred?"
That is awful! I couldn’t believe my eyes when I zoomed in on your picture to see what the cover said.
ReplyDeleteThis is a perfect example of our culture trying to make anything godly and honorable to seem silly, humorous, and undesirable.
What is worse, Christians are falling for this lie. They are trying to outwardly conform to the world to be accepted, while technically holding on to their “godliness” in their hearts. However, this doesn‘t work.
Christ said: “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”~ Matthew 7:20
Seriously?!?!? That's an actual BOOK COVER!?
ReplyDeleteOuch. On so many levels.
What in the world?! I wouldn't even pick up the first one b/c I think the cover is too "wild looking" for me to enjoy...and to think that hidden beneath is one of times greatest books! The 2nd cover looks much more appealing to me...calm, serene, sincere. What a mockery!
ReplyDeleteI think enough has been said on this....but I can vouch for your facial expression being none the exaggerated. I wish I had snapped a picture of your face to tag along with this post.
ReplyDeleteI would LOVED to have seen your face!!! :) I agree, I wouldn't have looked at the book with the "new" cover....is it the same story, just different cover or whole new "modernized" (is that a word?) story?
ReplyDeleteSo sad, isn't it? It makes me want to gather up all the children reading that version, make some cocoa and read aloud the unabridged version to each of them.
ReplyDeleteRing true,
Nancy
Oh my goodness! I cannot believe that! Is it actually the Louisa May Alcott book?? How awful. I read the captions on the front and am truly appalled. I just bought my niece a lovely copy of Little Women of her very own. It certainly wasn't THIS one! Yikes!
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm glad to know a few people share my opinion of this tragedy. For what it's worth, the story seemed to be the unabridged, classic Little Women by Alcott that we all know and love. Here is a link to the publisher site
ReplyDeletehttp://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Penguin-Classics-Little-Women-Lousia-Alcott-Jane-Smiley/9780143105015-item.html?cookieCheck=1
On another note, I find it interesting that some of you saw the cover as a mockery of the book and/or God and/or honorable values. I can see that now, esp the mockery of Beth's faith depicted on the cover, but my original thought was a change in cover to appeal to 'the modern reader'. I imagined the 'calm, serene' cover being perceived as dry and boring while the new cover might entice someone to pick the book out. I can just picture an aunt or grandmother wanting to share the delightful story with a young girl and choosing this edition thinking it would be more likely to appeal to "young people today."
What's REALLY sad is to read some reviews as I just did in which young readers say they 'tried' to read Little Women and found it dry and confusing. sigh
this is disgusting!!!! i'm in shock.
ReplyDeleteyeah, that's really sad.
ReplyDeletebtw....do you and misti go to hastings every week?!
Yuck. It does look like the cover is mocking the book, but from what I could see, it's a Penguin Classics book being marketed to teens. I can't figure out why you would want to mock the actual thing you're selling. It makes me sad that somebody seems to have decided that a cover like this is how you entice teens to read a classic--it disrespects the book, it's values, and the teenagers, themselves.
ReplyDeleteKR--ha, funny, wouldn't that be DELIGHTFUL to go every week? But no, alas, Misti and I have been to Hastings together a grand total of. . .ONE time! It was a quick, be-right-back trip, but we made the most of every minute! :)
ReplyDeleteI've had this post started in my drafts for a little while, along with five or six other drafts, and just finally got around to finishing and posting it!
At least they haven't made it into a graphic novel yet. Don't worry, though, I have no doubt that they will! *sigh* Sometimes I love working at the bookstore, and some days it makes me so sad.
ReplyDeleteI love Little Women. Classic. You should be appalled, but at least they didn't "Huckleberry Finn" it.
ReplyDeleteJenna and Amanda, are you TRYING to give me a heart attack?! Graphic novel. . .Huckleberry Finn 'censorship'. . .let it never be!
ReplyDelete