The Happy Endings Foundation's East of England Cheering Committee

[Ziggy Stardust]

To answer your first question, no I didn't dream up that name, but I wish I did. The disturbing reality is:

We want happy endings for kids' books

We want happy endings for kids' books

KATE SCOTTER
04 October 2007 09:43

A crusading mother-of-three has made it her mission to ensure children grow up hearing of only the good things in life.

Norwich woman Clare Hughes is spearheading the eastern arm of a new national campaign to put a stop to children's books that don't have a happy ending.

The 42-year-old has been appointed head of the Happy Endings Foundation's East of England Cheering Committee, which urges parents to only let their children read books with happy endings.

The group was set up after its founder, Adrienne Small, read the first book in the series A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket to her daughter.

She said the books caused her daughter to take a more negative approach to life, which only got worse when she subsequently read all 13 books in the series.

Mrs Hughes, whose children are 13, 12 and nine, said: “I've seen the way my children respond to news that goes on in real life, whether that be the disappearance of a child, like Madeleine McCann, or bombings, and that gives them enough nightmares.

“Books should give them a sense of good triumphing over evil and let them be rest assured that the goodies will come out on top.”

“It's about encouraging children to read books with positive values. Look at Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, there are some unpleasant characters, but Charlie wins out in the end. That's the type of book we support.”

As part of the campaign, letters have been sent out to school libraries asking them to remove Lemony Snicket books from the shelves and HEF are holding a number of activities, such as Bad Book Bonfires, where they are encouraging people on Guy Fawkes's Night to make their bonfires from “bad books”. Other reads on their “bad book” list include Villette by Charlotte Bronte, The Wide Sargasso Sea by Jeah Rhys, The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson and Shockheaded Peter by Heinrich Hoffman.

However, Harriet Cox, librarian for Norfolk's School Library Service, said the campaign was unnecessary.

She said: “It's patronising children if there are only books with happy endings and they will see through it because they know there's good and bad in the world.”

I love the example "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" since it was written by probably the most sadistic author of children's stories ever, Roald Dahl. I know because I loved reading them as a kid.

And burning "bad books" for some reason just always sends chills up my spine.

The little Mermaid:

Story overview

The Little Mermaid lives at the sea bottom with her father the Sea King, her grandmother, and her five older sisters, born one year apart. When a mermaid turns 15, she is allowed to swim to the surface to watch the world above, and as the sisters become old enough one of them visits the surface every year. As each of them returns the Little Mermaid listens longingly to their descriptions of the surface and human beings.

When the Little Mermaid turns 15 she ventures to the surface. She sees a ship with a handsome prince, and falls in love with him from a distance. There comes a great storm, and the prince almost drowns, but the Little Mermaid saves him and she delivers him unconscious to the shore near a temple. Here she waits until he is found by a young girl from the temple. The prince never sees the Little Mermaid.

The Little Mermaid asks her grandmother whether humans can live forever if they do not drown. She is told that no, humans have an even shorter lifespan than mermaids. Mermaids live for 300 years, but when they die they turn to sea foam and cease to exist. Humans, on the other hand, have a short lifespan on earth, but they have an eternal soul that lives on in heaven even after they die. The Little Mermaid spends her days longing for the prince and for an eternal soul. At last she goes to the Sea Witch who sells her a potion that gives her legs, in exchange for her tongue; the Little Mermaid has the most intoxicating voice in the world. But drinking the potion will make her feel like a sword is being passed through her, and walking on her feet will feel like walking on knives. And she will only get a soul if the prince loves her and marries her, for then a part of his soul will flow into her. Otherwise, at dawn on the first day after he marries another woman, the Little Mermaid will die broken-hearted and turn to sea foam like other merfolk.

The Little Mermaid drinks the potion and meets the prince, who is attracted to her beauty and grace even though she is mute. Most of all he likes to see her dance and she dances for him even though it feels like dancing on knives. The prince loves her like one loves a child.

The time comes when the king decides that the prince is to marry the neighboring king's daughter. The prince tells the Little Mermaid that he will not marry the princess because he does not love her. He can only love the young girl who once saved his life, the girl who unfortunately belongs to the temple. He also tells the Little Mermaid that she is beginning to take the temple girl's place in his heart. However, it turns out that the princess is the temple girl; she had only been sent to the temple to be educated. The prince loves her and the wedding is announced.

The prince and princess are married and the Little Mermaid's heart breaks. She thinks of all that she has given up in order to be with the prince and to gain an eternal soul - her beautiful voice, her wonderful home, her loving family, her life - and of all the pain that she has suffered; all without the prince ever having a thought thereof. She despairs, but before dawn her sisters come to her and give her a knife that the Sea Witch has given them in exchange for their hair. If the Little Mermaid slays the prince with the knife she will become a mermaid again and be able to live out her full life under the sea.

But the Little Mermaid cannot bring herself to kill the sleeping prince lying with his bride and, as dawn breaks, throws herself into the sea. Here her body dissolves into sea foam, but instead of ceasing to exist, she feels the warmth of the sun; she has turned into a spirit, a daughter of the air. The other daughters of the air tell her that she has become like them because she strove with all her heart to gain an eternal soul. As a mermaid her gaining of a soul was dependent on another: the prince; but as a daughter of the air she will earn her own soul by doing good deeds. When 300 years have passed she will have earned her soul and will rise into the kingdom of God. This time can be shortened; with each good child she finds she subtracts a year, while she adds a day for each tear she must shed over a wicked child

Come on! This is gold!

 

[Erik Mesoy]

Since my ideas have been thought of by others, I will quote them instead of repeating their sentiments.

Those who say that children must not be frightened may mean two things. They may mean (1) that we must not do anything likely to give the child those haunting, disabling, pathological fears against which ordinary courage is helpless: in fact, phobias. His mind must, if possible, be kept clear of things he can't bear to think of. Or they may mean (2) that we must try to keep out of his mind the knowledge that he is born into a world of death, violence, wounds, adventure, heroism and cowardice, good and evil. If they mean the first I agree with them: but not if they mean the second. The second would indeed be to give children a false impression and feed them on escapism in the bad sense. There is something ludicrous in the idea of so educating a generation which is born to the OGPU [note: USSR secret police, which later became the KGB] and the atomic bomb. Since it is so likely that they will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker. Nor do most of us find that violence and bloodshed, in a story, produce any haunting dread in the minds of children. As far as that goes, I side impenitently with the human race against the modern reformer. Let there be wicked kings and beheadings, battles and dungeons, giants and dragons, and let villains be soundly killed at the end of the book.

 

[Adamb0mb]

Mrs Hughes, whose children are 13, 12 and nine, said: “I've seen the way my children respond to news that goes on in real life, whether that be the disappearance of a child, like Madeleine McCann, or bombings, and that gives them enough nightmares.

This is the true problem.

Glossy News programs with fancy effects have made current (tragic) events a major part of adult television programming which of course seeps down to the children.

I don't know, it just seem to me that when I was a kid News was properly boring and distant for me.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Erik, I can see the merit in that quote. And it makes a good point. Villains are slain in almost every book. Even the adult ones (adult as in not-childrens books, not the ones where the villain gets laid just like everyone else in the story)

This is beyond slaying the villain, this is about happy endings. And I believe that falls into the 1st category.

The little mermaid's heart is broken and instead of revenge she chooses self sacrifice and instead of ceasing to exist, she feels the warmth of the sun; she has turned into a spirit, a daughter of the air. The other daughters of the air tell her that she has become like them because she strove with all her heart to gain an eternal soul. As a mermaid her gaining of a soul was dependent on another: the prince; but as a daughter of the air she will earn her own soul by doing good deeds.

A good sad ending, leave it alone you bookburning witches!

 

[brennan]

Anyone burning books is evil in my, er, book. Sorry.

 

[Adamb0mb]

Anyone burning books is evil in my, er, book. Sorry.

No need to be sorry. I'm sure most would agree that this group and its ideologies are a bit wacked. But I do believe the testimony about the little girl having trouble sleeping because of her exposure to real life events.

 

[brennan]

I was apologising for the pun

 

[Leifmk]

It seems to be fake, and a viral marketing ploy.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I hope to Thor that is the case. *crosses fingers*

“Disclaimer: Most characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living, dead, or half dead, is purely coincidental. None of the non-fictitious people, places or things named in this website were harmed during the creation of the site. We’re not sure if the Loch Ness monster is fictitious or non-fictitious, you decide. We would like to state that some of the books recommended on this site are very good reads, particularly Winnie-the-Pooh. However, we would NOT recommend monster hunting at Loch Ness as a happy day out because a) it rains a lot in north Scotland and b) as previously stated, we don’t know if there is actually a monster to hunt. However, if you like logs then Loch Ness is a fine place to go log hunting.”

 

[Miles Teg]

Interesting. What some companies will do to get attention.

If it's not a marketing ploy I'm going after that woman with a 100 page treatsy on why sad endings are good for children. A few hours (at most) of moping for a lifetimes good.

 

[Masquerouge]

Everything worth saying has been said in the first two posts

I'll just add here that the worst that ever happened to the original fairy tales was when Disney remade them.

Read Bettelheim to see why, great book

 

[Fëanor]

am i the only one that, when reading "Happy Endings Foundation", though this thread was going to be about the special kind of "Massage"

 

[skadistic]

am i the only one that, when reading "Happy Endings Foundation", though this thread was going to be about the special kind of "Massage"

No. And I was about to say something myself but you beat me to it, you have a hand up.