Pigs, sausages and kidlit

When I saw the article OUP authors told not to write about sausages or pigs in children's books to 'avoid offence', I felt quite sad. This ban was set to avoid insulting Muslim groups. This ban also signifies the loss of our freedom of choice.

The dancing pig ~~ © Patricia Pinsk

Pigs and sausages have been a favorite topic in children’s books for years - at least in North America and Europe. Some of my favorites include: Green Eggs and Ham, Winnie the Pooh, The Three Little Pigs and Road Dahl’s Revolting Recipes – just to name a few.

I question where the banning and censoring is going to end. I agree that if a book pokes fun at something, and is all about bullying and intolerance, then yes, keep it off the bookshelves. However, if a character in a children’s book happens to be a pig, why is this reason enough to censor a book? Pigs are considered to be one of the 10 smartest animals. As noted in Pigs prove to be smart, if not vain:

 “They’ve found that pigs are among the quickest of animals to learn a new routine, and pigs can do a circus’s worth of tricks: jump hoops, bow and stand, spin and make word-like sounds on command, roll out rugs, herd sheep, close and open cages, play video games with joysticks, and more.”

If the folks at Oxford University Press (OUP) are concerned about offending Muslims, maybe they need to also consider Hindus, and ban all books that reference cows and beef. And what about Jews? Maybe they need to ban all books that contain split-hoofed animals and bottom-dwelling sea creatures. The list can go on, but I’m sure you get my point. I have found that the things that scare me or make me feel uncomfortable are the things that I don’t understand.

Instead of avoiding the issue and pretending that pigs and sausage don’t exist, perhaps the better choice is to inform children, that the world if full of different people with different beliefs – and that’s OK. We don’t need to change our culture just because we are unique from other cultures and vise versa.

It’s sad when we start to lose our freedom of choice. It’s a far more interesting world if we can choose the books we want to read, use the animals we want to illustrate with, and eat the culinary delights we crave. While I still have the freedom of choice, I’ll indulge in a little Grey Poupon with my ham - hold the green eggs.

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• Kidlit creature week

This week's "The dancing pig" illustration exemplifies the brilliance of pigs. It is illustrated in ink with a dash of digital.