“I am committed to writing appropriate books for the middle grades. This means no bad language, no gratuitous or explicit violence, and no sexual content beyond what you might find in a PG-rated movie – expressions of who likes whom, holding hands, and perhaps the occasional kiss. The idea that we should treat sexual orientation itself as an adults-only topic, however, is absurd. Non-heterosexual children exist. To pretend they do not, to fail to recognize that they have needs for support and validation like any child, would be bad teaching, bad writing, and bad citizenship.” NeedsShouldWritingMeanChildrenBookIdeasHandsMightWould BeLanguageSupportViolenceFailingTeachingMiddleExpressionKissingAdultsTreatsCommittedLikesAbsurdGradesAppropriateCitizenshipTopicsOccasionalOrientationValidationExplicitHolding HandsBad WritingBad Language Author:Rick Riordan
“We must choose between the violence of adults and the smiles of children.” ChildrenViolenceAdults Author:Elie Wiesel
“There really is no difference in the actual writing or plotting. I choose to tell different stories for the younger reader and, of course, I would never put sex and extreme violence in a YA book. But writing for adults and children requires the same care and attention.” WritingChildrenBookDifferentStoriesCareCoursesSexDifferencesAttentionViolenceReaderAdultsExtremes Author:Michael Scott
“Each and every child in this country is valuable because they are our future as a society. We cannot afford to lose a single child to ill-health, under-education, abuse, addiction, jail, or gun violence. America's highest goal should be for every child to grow up to be a successful young adult -- healthy, educated, free, secure, and a good citizen.” ShouldChildrenCountryAmericaYoungGrowsGoalLosesGrowing UpSuccessfulViolenceCitizensHealthyHighestGunAdultsAbuseAddictionYoung AdultIllValuableEducatedSecureJailOur FutureGun ViolenceGood CitizenIll HealthSingle Child Author:John F. Kerry
“I had seen the ballet of Swan Lake as a child but it was as an adult, when I saw a production featuring Erik Bruhn, that I first noticed how significant a part the ever-present threat of violence played. This juxtaposition of great beauty and grace with a backdrop of pure evil stayed with me for years.” YearsFirstsChildrenEvilSawsGraceViolencePureAdultsThreatProductionsSignificantLakesBalletSwansBackdropJuxtapositionPure EvilSwan Lake Author:Walter Dean Myers
“As an adult, I really don't watch much horror, to be honest. I mean, I like a good thrill. Thrillers are my favorite. I like stuff that keeps you on the edge of your seat or maybe makes you jump. But what I don't like is the gore. I don't like gratuitous violence and killing and all that kind of stuff. So it's kind of an interesting paradox.” KindMeanStuffInterestingWatchesViolenceHonestHorrorAdultsKillingMy FavoriteEdgesBeing HonestSeatsParadoxThrillGoreThrillers Author:Corey Feldman
“By the age of 18, the average child has witnessed 200,000 acts of violence, including 18,000 simulated murders, on television. It is not always easy to provide clear, consistent structure for children, but providing it often helps keep children safe and helps them grow to be responsible adults.” ChildrenHelpingAgeGrowsEasyClearViolenceMediaTelevisionSafeAdultsMurderResponsibleStructureIncludingAverageConsistentProvidingBeing ResponsibleActs Of ViolenceMedia Violence Author:Jean Illsley Clarke
“My first reaction was that the adult world was fake and liars and basically worked for money and power. I didn't want to live in that world, so I spent a year, aged 17 to 18, trying to kill myself. I didn't want to live in a world of violence and injustice.” WorldWantTryingYearsFirstsViolenceAdultsInjusticeReactionsFakeLiarsMoney And Power Author:Patch Adams
“The violence and double-talk in the Alice books probably does no harm to children, but the novels should not be allowed to circulate indiscriminately among adults who are undergoing analysis.” ShouldChildrenDoeBookNovelViolenceAdultsHarmAnalysis Author:Martin Gardner
“What I'm interested in is the protection of children from violence, and they are exposed to violence every single day in the form of, as it's called, the news. Then you wonder why the children are running around, doing the things in the streets, doing the things that they've seen the adults doing in the so-called news.” ChildrenRunningFormWonderViolenceStreetsNewsAdultsProtectionExposed Author:Sinead O'Connor
“Since the late 1970's, the main focus of prisons has been punishment, not rehabilitation. It's hard to believe, but you would be hard-pressed to find a meaningful violence-prevention class in a federal or state penitentiary. And 'we the people' are footing the bill to keep these folks imprisoned. It costs on average $46,000 a year to keep an adult incarcerated in California and about the same for New York State.” PeopleYearsBelieveHas BeensHardStatesWould BeClassFocusViolenceNew YorkCostLateAdultsBillsPrisonAverageFolksMeaningfulPunishmentCaliforniaPreventionRehabilitationHard To BelieveNew York State Author:James Fox
“Education spurs growth and unlocks potential. After all, a single year of primary education creates a 10 to 20 percent increase in a woman's wages later in life. Education lowers the risk of disease and decreases the likelihood that a child will fall into violence and crime. And a child born to a literate mother is 50 percent more likely to survive past age five. No country has achieved sustained growth without at least 40 percent literacy for its adults.” YearsChildrenCountryAgePastMotherFallGrowthBornFiveViolenceRiskCrimeDiseasePercentAdultsIncreasePrimariesWagesLiteracySpursDecreaseLikelihoodLater In LifePrimary Education Author:Shakira