A war of words has broken out between two authors over a children’s book that contains “lesbian love, swearing and drinking” in its opening pages.
David Almond’s A Song for Ella Grey has, in Britain, just been awarded The Guardian children’s fiction prize for 2015.
In the tale, 17-year-old Ella describes sleeping with her best friend Claire and the couple kiss and share wine together.
But another children’s writer, Lynne Reid Banks, was horrified after buying two copies for her 12-year-old grandchildren. The author of classic children’s novel The Indian in the Cupboard, said: “In the first five pages there is lesbian love, swearing, drinking, and enough other indications that, once again, this is not a book for children. The books are going straight back to Waterstones.” She has complained to The Guardian for awarding the book its top prize, insisting that “17-year-old adults are not children”.
The debate continued last week when the two authors went head to head on BBC Radio. Reid Banks said: “What I’m quarrelling with is The Guardian for giving this prize under the name of a children’s book award.
“If only there were a separate award for teenage young adult writing, then he should have won it, I’m quite sure. I haven’t read the book yet because I’m so disappointed that it’s obviously not suitable for what I call and categorise as children, which are people up to the age of 12.”
Almond, whose 1998 children’s novel Skellig also won a series of awards and has been taught in schools, admitted he hadn’t had a “target age” in mind.
“The drama is described, narrated, by a teenager of about 17,” he said. “So I had a sense that maybe the main readership would of that kind of age.”
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Risque extracts
* Page 4: It’s how our sleepovers had developed. We started out as five-year-olds, cuddled up with teddy bears and fleecy jimjams. Now here we were at 17, still spending nights together…
* Page 6: She held my face and gazed into my eyes. “Thank you,” she said. “For what?” “For bringing us together.” “What?” “If you hadn’t called me that day.” She kissed me on the lips.
* Pages 7-8: She came in close again, lowered her eyes and whispered soft and low. “I know you love me, Claire.” “Of course I do. Proper love, not this…” “I’ll still be here for you,” she said. “I’ll still be your…”
* Page 10: “Who is he?” says Bianca. “He’s sex on a bliddy stick!” laughs Crystal.
* Page 17: Somebody had brought a bottle of Tesco Valpolicella and we were passing it round, mouth to mouth, tasting each other as we tasted the wine.
A Song for Ella Grey by David Almond is published by Hodder Children’s Books