Good Night Moon

    In this photo Clement Hurd, author of the children's classic Good Night Moon, is shown without his typical cigarette.  Instead, he has his arm stretched awkwardly across his chest and his fingers are gripping a non-existent cigarette; clearly, the ciggy was digitally plucked from his hand.

   I chose this photo because Good Night Moon was always one of my favorite bed time stories and I distinctly recall Mr. Hurd, cigarette and all, appearing on the inside cover of my book.  Although as a child I never paid much attention to the photo, I'm now glad to see that publishers are becoming more conscientious of the images they produce.  It is true that publishers are concerned about liability, but I would like to think that they are also committed to protecting children from premature exposure to negative images.  

    Of course this is not an extreme case where censorship is indisputably necessary, and its true that many children remain unaffected by negative images such as these. Still, I think its better to keep the cigarette out on behalf of those children who's reading experience could be somehow tainted or compromised.