A Song for Ella Grey is a children’s book – and a great one

Children’s author Lynne Reid Banks says David Almond’s novel is ‘not a book for children’ – but young readers must come to their own conclusions

Alice in Wonderland, celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, was for a long time banned from classrooms in New Hampshire for references to sexual fantasies and masturbation. Try any classic children’s text, from Alice to Harry Potter – copies of which have been burned in protest – and you’ll find that somewhere in the world, it has been attacked or banned. Piglet in Winnie the Pooh might be construed as an offence to Muslims. The persistent nudity of the central child character in Maurice Sendak’s In the Night Kitchen is offensive to some modern eyes. And don’t even get me started on Heather Has Two Mommies …

Good writing for children will help them navigate adult experience with awareness and understanding

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