R.L. Stine accuses publisher of altering 'Goosebumps' books without permission
FOX Business host Kennedy joins 'America's Newsroom' to discuss author R.L. Stine's claims that references to weight, mental health and ethnicity were censored from 'Goosebumps' books without permission.
Amid the brewing controversy that changes for inclusivity reasons were made without the permission of author R.L. Stine to his classic "Goosebumps" children's book series published by Scholastic, actor and author Kirk Cameron — as well as his own book publisher, Brave Books — shared thoughts on the matter with Fox News Digital on Wednesday evening.
"Hacking into God‘s plan for the healthy moral development of children is always a bad idea in the Bible — something about a millstone tied around your neck and being cast into the sea," said Cameron to Fox News Digital in emailed comments.
He added, "If I were Scholastic, I would take this divine admonition as a serious warning and reverse course immediately. Every good parent knows that influencing the hearts and minds of children is a sacred privilege and responsibility."
"Wokeism is a virus in society," CEO Trent Talbot of Brave Books, based in Texas, said to Fox News Digital on Wednesday evening. "It destroys the art of our generation and has now become so powerful it is going back and destroying previous generations' art."
Talbot added that "changing the content in books from 25 years ago continues a terrible precedent being set in the publishing industry."
R.L. Stine, author of the enormously popular Goosebumps series of children's books, rings the NASDAQ Opening Bell in celebration of Halloween and "Goosebumps" at NASDAQ on Oct. 30, 2015, in New York City. (Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)
Talbot also said, "The incident is especially concerning when you consider that Scholastic is not only the largest children’s book publisher in the U.S., but it also dominates the distribution of children’s books in schools and libraries."
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As Fox News Digital reported earlier on Wednesday, edits to Stine's children's book series apparently made in the name of inclusivity and amid concern for the feelings of some included altering the description of an alien characterized as having "at least six chins" to being "at least six feet six" tall — while another change had to do with descriptions of an African American character.
Stine said any such changes to his written material were made without his knowledge or permission.
Some of the edits also reportedly included "changing ‘plump’ to ‘cheerful’ and ‘crazy’ to ‘silly’," as the U.K.'s Times noted.
Author Stine, 79, said this week in a tweet that he "never changed a word in a Goosebumps book."
Instead, he said, any such changes to his written material were made to his books without his knowledge or permission.
Kirk Cameron, the actor, writer and producer based in Los Angeles, has been speaking to parents and children at public libraries in cities across the U.S. and sharing pro-faith, pro-family and pro-country messages. Above, he's shown holding a copy of his book for kids, "As You Grow," during one event. (Brave Books/Kirk Cameron)
News of the editing of other popular books also recently emerged, including edits to works by children's author Roald Dahl.
But in the case of Stine's books, the recent changes had been presumed to have been made by the author himself — yet Stine said he did not make the changes.
In a recent statement it distributed, publisher Scholastic said revisions to Goosebumps books were made in an attempt to keep the language consistent with modern audiences.
Scholastic said, in part, in its statement that was shared with Fox News Digital, "When re-issuing titles several years ago, Scholastic reviewed the text 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."
Cameron said on Wednesday evening to Fox News Digital that he is "working side-by-side with Brave Books on the Freedom Island Tour," referring to his book publisher's series of books for children that share positive and uplifting messages.
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In Cameron's "As You Grow," young readers follow the journey of a tree from "a small acorn to a mighty tree that provides shade, sustenance and lodging."
The book also shares biblical wisdom.
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Cameron added, "We’re heading to libraries across the country, sparking fires of courage into communities to stand up and be ‘BRAVE,’ to defend good values and uproot evil in their own backyards."
Cameron most recently spoke in Hendersonville, Tennessee. He is continuing a tour across the country and has plans to speak at events in such cities as Denver, Washington, D.C., New York City and others.
Taylor Penney of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.
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