Lindsey Gardiner, who has written and illustrated 15 children's books, claims publishers banned youngsters from walking alone in one novel and removed sharp objects from another.
Her latest book, Who Wants A Dragon?, originally featured a dragon toasting marshmallows on flames from his nostrils as he sat around a campfire. She said her publishers insisted that she change the scene because "it looks dangerous and goes against health and safety".
Miss Gardiner, 36, who is based in Dundee, said: "It does seem to be worse in the UK, more than anywhere else. I have never had a hassle having things changed in places like Japan."
Another of her novels, When Poppy and Max Grow Up, initially included a scene where a little boy climbed a ladder, but that too was changed. "They didn't allow Max to be on a ladder because they thought it was precarious. But when I changed it, I had him standing on a pile of three paint cans, which is much more dangerous, and they didn't have a problem with that," she said.
"There is also a cooker in the story and I had one of the elements glowing red, because the cooker was switched on. But they didn't allow that either, and I had to change it to green."
No comments:
Post a Comment