How Old Should Kids be to Read Sir Gawain
or, The Bird Breast Incident

A question for parents and teachers and librarians and writers and storytellers and whatnot out there: assuming it was made into a picture book, for what age children would my Sir Gawain be appropriate?

I read it to twelve-year-olds recently, and they seemed to like it. But they expressed their grave concerned for their younger colleagues. They thought that the story might be too scary (not that they were scared) or that it might have too much sex and violence (not that they thought so) -- Children at this age are so conservative, and they so hate to admit it. But I thought they might have a point, so I'm asking for opinions.

I did take out the "naked" bits before I read it to them, revising them to read:

When Gawain woke, he woke to strangeness
As if he moved from dream to dream
Deep in pillows he lay drowsing
Through the curtains morning streamed

and later

"Forgive me, lady," said Sir Gawain,
Clutching his night-shirt to his chest
"You find me in no state to greet you
Indeed you find me hardly dressed"

You see, I had remembered in time the occasion on which I read "Listen, Listen, Something is About to Begin" to another junior high class. (My 7th and 8th graders with communcation disorders -- my absolute favourite class.) That poem refers to the fronts of geese as "breasts." I didn't even get through it. They started to titter, and then to snicker, and I had to interrupt myself.

"It's breasts, isn't it." "Yes," said their teacher, in a don't encourage them tone. "But that's what you call the front of birds," I pressed on bravely, "breasts." A ripple went through the class: She said it again! "You know, like chicken breast, turkey breast" -- She keeps saying it!

Things went down hill from there, until I was forced to read Shell Silverstein's "Too Many Kids in the Tub." I just washed a behind that I'm sure wasn't mine.... And then we had a nice talk about the people who wanted to ban it.

So you can see that when it comes to kids, I don't always know what's prudent. Save me from myself, now's your chance.

___________

By the way, I got awfully tired of typing out a "don't start here" list everything I posted something from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, so I put up an index to Sir Gawain, and to a couple of other ongoing projects, here.