A mother has drawn attention to a book an eight-year-old received as homework from a school in Hafnarfjörður, on the Facebook group Mæðra tips.
It is the anniversary of the book Ævar og Sæla by special teacher Rannveiga Lund. But the book was published about 10 years ago.
There we get slaves
The mother shared screenshots from the book where the main characters discuss going to a Viking game where they collect slaves.
“Now we sail from Iceland and find Greenland, said Sæli. – Yes, but first we go to Ireland to rob people, I say. There we get slaves who do the works that we don’t bother to do.”
Another page said:
“I’ll have a string and hit you if you don’t do everything I say.” – Now stop, said Sæli. I don’t want to be a slave. I can be a Viking like you.”
On yet another page it says:
“We’ll ask your sister Æsa to join us. She could be a slave. – She Esa. She’ll flay you alive if you ask her. – Run away from me alive. What does that mean? – I don’t know No, but it’s definitely very bad. – I think the Indians do that to their enemies. Æsa always says that to me when I tease her. – But your little brothers, isn’t it good to use them as slaves? ?
The book in question is a stand-alone part of the Four Letters in Brief book series, which is teaching reading material and is suitable for children aged 6-10.
Differences of opinion on the contents of the book
After the message of the mother, many discussions started, where different opinions were expressed on the levels. Although some mothers wondered if there was something wrong with this text. It would be clear that the children in the book were playing a Viking game and that is part of Icelandic history and culture that should not be forgotten. Many other things children come into contact with on the Internet are much worse.
Others thought it was obscene and unsuitable as reading material. The best thing would be to contact the teacher of the class in question and ask her to remove the book from the reading list and simply throw it away.
Book censorship at the forefront of the discussion
There has been a lot of talk recently about the content of books written years ago, which might be offensive to modern readers. For example, children’s books by author Roald Dahl have been reissued with wording changed to meet modern demands for discretion.
A disclaimer has been added to Margaret Mitchell’s famous book, The Vanishing Hemisphere, warning readers that descriptions of the times described in the book may be considered offensive or harmful.
Agatha Cristie’s mystery novels have been republished with content that might be considered inappropriate now deleted, and James Bond books are updated so as not to offend the modern reader.
So-called “sensitivity readers” are now hired to proofread content and comment on wording and other content that may offend readers.
This development has been controversial and many people wonder if it is okay to censor the story as it may harm readers, if it is okay for the reader to be warned that they might find the contents of the book distasteful or s ‘you just have to allow the books to be as they were originally written and left to the readers themselves to realize that times were once different.
Author Auður Jónsdóttir recently discussed censorship like this in a news article she wrote for the Heimildin . There she spoke with journalist Jakob Bjarnar Grétarsson and Salvár Gullbrá Þórarinsdóttir, the director of Krakkaveldi, about the case. It has been stated that it is important for readers to know that they are reading a censored version, and it is also natural that books simply become obsolete and people stop reading them because they do not correspond to the values of today. the past when it was forged. They also questioned whether it was arguable to switch books without the consent of their authors.
