Did your tween ever come home from a sleepover talking about an R-rated movie a friend's parent let them watch? It's happened to me a few times over the past couple of years. It's bad enough that many tweens are viewing PG-13 movies without the guidance of their parents, but R movies?
While movie ratings are clearly a gray area as it is, the subject becomes even more complex when it comes to YA books turned into movies. For example, the film industry seems to be taking young adult books, such as Twilight and Confessions of a Shopaholic, and turning them into movies which are marketed to a much younger audience than the author intended them for.
I've talked about the somewhat murky area of selecting appropriate YA literature previously, but what happens when a PG movie is based upon a book that's meant for middle and high school students? While the movie might be appropriate, what happens when the child picks up the book? The parent who has not read it might assume it's okay, based upon the movie.
If you have a teenage girl at the moment, surely you've seen The Princess Diaries movies over the past few years. StrawberryGirl and I saw the first movie when she was 6 (it was rated G), and that happens to be the age it's appropriate for according to Common Sense Media.
At the time, I'm not even sure if I realized it was based upon the young adult series by Meg Cabot. My daughter fortunately didn't discover it until middle school, which turns out to be the minimum age the series is intended for! Had she been a tween when the movies came out, I'm not so sure she wouldn't have asked to read them. If she had, I surely would have screened them first and tried to push her reading of them off for a few years (at least until the age of 12).
Well, it ended up that StrawberryGirl devoured The Princess Diaries
series during middle school. She found that she could really relate to Meg Cabot's unique humor and voice, and the books even got her through some very rough patches and awkward moments during this time. She read some of them so much that some of the pages are falling out...
Now, you should know that some parents do not approve of these books, and especially some of Meg Cabot's other books. I really wanted to read at least the first one before I wrote this post, but as it is, I have so many books on my pile to read. After reading little bits and pieces of the first book, as well as the Amazon reviews, I felt that there really was nothing earth shattering in them that I had not already discussed with my daughter, as was the case with a book selection from last summer.
After watching The Princess Diaries movie, I really didn't expect my daughter to pick up these books years later (I don't really love the whole princess theme, especially at this age), but I'm glad she did. At one point, she referred to Meg Cabot as her favorite author.
Who couldn't use a few laughs, especially during adolescence? And does every book have to be so serious? Shouldn't children be free to just enjoy books - no matter how silly they may seem to adults?
Hey, I'm all for parents screening books, and for children reading the classics and high quality literature (StrawberryGirl just finished Jane Eyre, by the way - and chose it on her own), but sometimes, you just have to let them read something just to escape and have a few laughs. If it's questionable, why not read it along with them?
I miss that light beach reading, don't you? Now that it's summer, it's time for us all to pick up books just for the fun of it. How else will children learn to love reading?
Let's just keep in mind that filmmakers and book publishers are marketing to younger and younger audiences. Just because a movie is rated G, does not mean the book it's based upon is! It's just another reason to teach our children to make informed choices, and to be careful with how they're influenced by the media.
Can you think of any other movies which do not match the maturity level of the YA book they're based upon?
By the way, if you're looking for some chapter and YA book recommendations for this summer, please feel free to look though the From My Kids to Yours category of this blog.