Now wouldn't THIS have made a great paper topic: Satanism in children's literature
Case in point: Don't make me go back, Mommy: A child's book about Satanic ritual abuse
When I first heard about this book I was shocked at the fact that such subject matter would ever be depicted for a child audience. A young girl implores her parents not to send her back to her preschool where she and her classmates are subject to sexual abuse under the guise of satanic rituals. Through therapy and the love of her parents, the girl is able to face her fears and her attackers and deal with her abuse in a healthy manner.
Some of the criticisms of this book include its inappropriateness for the audience. In addition, the daycare workers are depicted with bias as evil, white figures dressed as witches (from what few illustrations I could see). I had no idea that the nature of this book was founded on actual events. In the months before I was born there was a panicked string of satanic rituals and sexual abuse allegations made against several preschools (including teachers and parents). Few of these cases ever resulted in convictions and many adults spent time in jail without ever being convicted of any crimes. This also brought to light new procedures in having children given testimony in court and theories about implanting false memories by asking them leading direct, questions repeatedly. Awful Library Books wonders how an acquisitions committee can sit together and come up with a reason to include this on the shelf. I’ll admit I’m sure there’s a pool of children who have been victim to satanic rituals and sexual abuse, possibly at the hands of their trusted teachers, but the way Awful Library Books describes the content makes me believe that while the intentions were good, the presentation is inappropriate for children of this age group. Take a look at the reviews amazon.com has and view Awful Library Books’ blasting review and form your own opinions. But the nature of the cases surrounding the book sounds an awful lot like Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.
