HarperCollins' Message to Kids: History Is Something You Airbrush
Anti-smoking media Stalinism strikes again—HarperCollins has airbrushed the illustrator-photo on the 60th anniversary edition of the children's classic Goodnight Moon, so that Clement Hurd is no longer seen holding a cigarette. From the New York Times account:
"We had a lot of copies out on a table, and all of a sudden we realized that in the photo on the back of the jacket he was holding a cigarette," [HarperCollins Children's Books Editor in Chief Kate] Jackson said. The company was about to reprint the hardcover and paperback editions, so "as a quick fix, we adjusted the photograph" to eliminate it.
"It is potentially a harmful message to very young kids," Ms. Jackson said, "and it doesn't need to be there." […]
Thacher Hurd said he had originally balked at the idea. After several discussions, "I reluctantly allowed them to do it," he said.
