Mandatory Warning Labels on Children's Books?

How do you feel about mandatory warning labels on children's books? It's a hot topic in Australia right now. Freda Briggs, an influential child protection advocate, is leading the fight for such labels. In an article in The Australian, she is quoted as stating that parents "'were complaining of children as young as eight returning from school with books graphically detailing abortion, rape, sex, drugs and murder.'" She warned, "'This is violent, hard-core porn being disguised as children's literature,'" and said, "'All we're asking is for children's books to have an age-appropriate warning.'"

In the United States, many publishers include recommended age levels on their books but not every publisher does so. I am not aware of any U.S. publishers who issue warnings about the content of the books they publish, although the dust jackets or back covers of most children's books provide a summary of the books' contents. According to the article, "attempts had failed to convince publishers to invoke their own voluntary warning code."

How do you feel about it? I would think that how the code was used might be an issue. For example if a book were recommended for 9 to 12 year olds, could it be loaned out to eight year olds? Would it be a helpful tool for parents, teachers, and librarians to use in evaluating books, or would it lead to censorship of books? Share your opinion by joining the discussion on the About Children's Books Forum. recall recall