‘Goosebumps’ Author Accuses Publisher of Unsanctioned Edits to His Beloved Children’s Series

A prominent children’s author, R.L. Stine, says a series of politically correct edits to his classic “Goosebumps” series were made by his publisher without his knowledge or consent.“I have never changed a word in a Goosebumps book,” Mr. Stine tweeted when the story broke. “Any changes were never shown to me.”The Times of London first reported the edits. The paper found more than 100 instances in Mr. Stine’s “Goosebumps” series — originally published in the mid-’90s — in which the text had been changed for a new e-book.Comprising more than 60 children’s horror books, the series is one of the best-selling in history — trailing only “Harry Potter.”Mr. Stine’s publisher, Scholastic, told the Times that the publishing house made the changes to “keep the language current and avoid imagery that could negatively impact a young person’s view of themselves today, with a particular focus on mental health.”Some edits appeared to be out of consideration for the readers’ understanding. For example, a 12-year-old today would likely not intuit what a “Walkman” — Sony’s iconic portable cassette tape player — is without asking his or her parents.Other edits help the books meet the standards of contemporary political correctness. The word “silly” has been substituted for “crazy” per Scholastic’s concern about mental health.Descriptions of heftier characters have been removed — a character with “at least six chins” was made to be “at least six feet tall,” according to the Times. A “plump” character became a “cheerful” one.Other elements that were considered racially insensitive got the axe. A villain who enslaved his victims now torments them otherwise, and a character who wore black face paint for Halloween has modified his costume.The move — while potentially insulting to Mr. Stine — is not illegal, according to a professor of intellectual property law, Cathay Smith. Scholastic holds the copyright to his books, Ms. Smith wrote in The Conversation, and therefore has the right to edit them even without Mr. Stine’s agreement.The news of the stealth edits to the “Goosebumps” series follows reports of the bowdlerization of a number of Roald Dahl books by their publisher, Penguin Random House.Penguin, collaborating with a diversity, equity, and inclusion nonprofit, updated the deceased author’s books similarly to obliterate mentions of “fat” and “crazy” characters.After public backlash, Penguin promised to release “classic,” unedited editions of Dahl’s works in addition to the DEI-approved ones.Despite the outrage in response to the updates, Dahl and Mr. Stine are unlikely to be the last authors whose works find themselves under such scrutiny.In fact, the Brothers Grimm are reportedly next in line, according to the Sunday Telegraph.Penguin’s Ladybird Book, an imprint dedicated to children books, has asked “sensitivity readers” to inspect its fairytales. With a wave of a wand, readers could find beloved tales updated to meet woke sensibilities.

‘Goosebumps’ Author Accuses Publisher of Unsanctioned Edits to His Beloved Children’s Series

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