Media Literacy

This Booklet Contains:

General information on the topics of Media Literacy

Background information on each book, why they were banned, and discussion questions for you and your child

More Information You can Find Online
(Use the included QR code or visit the FFPLTC website)

More recent books on the topics discussed above

Further resources for you to talk about tough subjects with your child

...Media Literacy

The overwhelming presence of movies, music, TV shows, video games, and social media is inescapable, and the spread of misinformation, disinformation, and fake news is rampant. Your child likely knows the ins and outs of technology and the internet better than we do, and so media literacy becomes a more and more important life skill to have, not only for kids, but adults as well.

When it comes to knowing if information online is accurate and reliable, the CRAAP Test is one of many tools you can use:

Currency – The “when” of the information. Is it recent or has it been updated, etc.
Relevance – Is this information important to your needs? Who is the intended audience? Did you look at a variety of sources before choosing this one?
Authority – The “who” of the information. Who published/wrote/sponsored the information? Is the author qualified to write on the subject, etc.
Accuracy – Where does the information come from? Is it supported by evidence? Can you verify any of it? Does it seem unbiased and free of emotion? Are there spelling or grammar errors?
Purpose – The “what” of the information. Is the information trying to inform, teach, sell, entertain, or persuade? Do the writers make their intentions clear? Is it fact, opinion, or propaganda, etc.

Of course, media literacy isn’t just about reading nonfiction. All the picture books in this bag are fiction! It can also be about recognizing genre, how different types of media communicate (i.e., think about how your favourite book was changed for the big screen), and other things.

Some words for you to know include:

Media Literacy: The ability to identify different types of media and understand the messages they’re sending. It is also being able to think critically about the nature and reason a piece of media has been reproduced.

Critical Thinking: To objectively analyze and evaluate something to make a judgement.

Misinformation: This is false information that gets spread, regardless of intent to mislead. Nobody’s perfect, and sometimes people get details wrong. If you found a great fishing spot, but told your friend incorrect coordinates on accident, this would be misinformation.

Disinformation: Disinformation differs from misinformation because, although they are both about spreading false information, disinformation is when this is done deliberately. If you found a great fishing spot, and told your friend incorrect coordinates on purpose to keep the fishing spot to yourself, this would be disinformation.

Fake News: Now that you know what misinformation and disinformation is, Fake News can be both of those things—but packaged to look like legitimate news.

Banned Books About Media Literacy

Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss

This classic Dr. Seuss book, which was published in 1963, was challenged in Toronto due to encouraging “violence against their fathers.”

Hop on Pop is virtually
plotless, with more focus
being put on teaching
youngsters about phonics and rhyming. The “offending” page of children “inflicting violence against their fathers” occurs on page 40. This page is immediately followed by a page telling them to “STOP You must not hop on Pop.” This shows the importance of reading past the cover of the book before considering challenging a book.

Questions for Hop on Pop

1. Which words sound the same (i.e., rhyme)?

2. Can you come up with other words that rhyme with:
a. Up/pup
b. Mouse/house
c. All/tall

3. Should you read through an entire book before deciding if it's good or bad? Why or why not?

Matthew and the Midnight Flood by Allen Morgan

Matthew's Midnight Adventures are a series of eight books of which Midnight Flood is the fifth. The story follows Matthew after he loses one of his robot toys down the basement drain and his mother calls for a plumber despite the late hour. At midnight, a plumber arrives at Matthew's window riding in a boat because the whole town has flooded. In exchange for helping the town, the plumber offers to help Matthew with his clogged drain for free, and further hijinks ensues.

Questions for Matthew and the Midnight Flood

1. Matthew goes with the plumber late at night without telling his mom. Would you do the same thing? Why?

2. What is a stranger? What do they look like? (Might be a chance to discuss with your child that anyone that they and you don't know is a stranger and it doesn't matter if they look "good" or "bad".)

3. Who are the safe strangers to go to if you need help?

4. What do you do if a stranger makes you uncomfortable? (You could teach children "No, Go, Yell, Tell." This means, say no, run away, yell as loud as you can, and tell a trusted adult as soon as possible. It's also important to teach children to trust their gut and be assertive.)

5. Do you know where you live or your caregivers' names? (If your child is lost, being able to communicate where they live or who their caregivers are is helpful information.)

This book was challenged at the Edmonton Public Library in 2006. A parent was concerned by the plot of the book, in which “a stranger visits a little boy’s bedroom window in the middle of the night and asked the boy to accompany him. The boy agrees to go because the invitation sounds like fun.” The library kept the book with no change to the book’s status.

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

There’s no doubt that many of Shel Silverstein children’s books are considered staples of any collection, but would your perception of The Giving Tree change after finding out Silverstein had previously written for Playboy? There are certainly many artists that don’t have squeaky clean reputations that makes us judge the validity of their work. While this won’t be the focus of the questions below, it might be worth considering how an artist’s background might affect your interpretation of what you read, listen, and watch.

While The Giving Tree has been challenged and banned throughout history in various schools and states, one specific case when it was banned was from a public library in Colorado in 1988. While some have interpreted the plot of The Giving Tree to represent the relationship between humanity and the environment, in which the young protagonist depletes the tree’s resources until it has nothing more to give, others have interpreted the relationship between the young boy protagonist and the presumed female tree to be sexist, as the boy character takes from the female tree and gives nothing in return. This interpretation may have been influenced by Silverstein’s history before he published children’s books.

Questions for The Giving Tree

1.What do you think the lesson of the story is?

2. Do you think the boy is selfish? Why or why not?

3.Why do you think the tree is not happy after giving the boy her trunk?

4. Have you ever given something away and later wish you hadn’t?

5. When you give something to someone, do you expect something in return?

6. Do you think the boy and the tree loved each other in the same way?

7. Do you think the boy and the tree were happy at the end of story?

8. Would you be happy if you were the tree? Why?

9. How did the end of the story make you feel?

The Penguin and the Pea by Janet Perlman

The Penguin and the Pea is based on the fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea.” A fairy tale is usually quite short, contains fantastical elements and has a moral.

We could agree with the complainant that it does contain gender stereotypes: a picky, lonely bachelor prince, an overbearing mother, and a delicate princess. However, because this story is a fairy tale, we might consider placing less emphasis on the characters and more emphasis on what lesson the story is trying to teach.

A couple interpretations we found included: (a) that the story was a poke at the ridiculous measures aristocracy went to to preserve their bloodlines; and (b) that looks can be deceiving and to not judge people based on appearance. Talking about the moral of Penguin and the Pea may allow you to broaden your child’s media literacy.

Available in both print and eBook format at our library. The Penguin and the Pea is a twist on the “Princess and the Pea” fairy tale. On September 8, 2017, a patron of a British Columbia public library challenged the book due to it reinforcing gender stereotypes. The library resolved the challenge on October 2nd of the same year and kept the book in the collection.

Questions for The Penguin and the Pea

1. Do you think you would feel a pea under 20 mattresses and blankets?

2. Why do you think it was important that the princess be a “real” princess?

3. What do you think a “true” princess would be like? What qualities would she have?

4. What do you think was the lesson of the story?