Should we read children stories that frighten them?
Asked recently what he would say to parents who said his classic book 'Where the Wild Things Are' was scary, Maurice Sendak replied that he would tell them to go to hell. Is his a healthily robust attitude towards fear and young children? Is it character-forming to present them with stories that will terrify them, or can it destroy the all-important sense of security they need? As Spike Jonze’s version of Sendak’s book reaches cinemas in Britain, Jenni is joined by the children’s author Michael Rosen and by Julia Eccleshare, The Guardian children’s books editor.
