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Title: A warning to parents about content and young children
Review: My kids picked this book up in the children's fiction section of their local library after reading with great enjoyment other Lowry books. This book has a scene in the first third where the young girl describes a scene of exposure between children and describes it as strengthening friendship. I'm not sure what the author's intention was for her character development, but young children unguided and reading this passage are bound to come away with a problematic message, particularly if they later run into an abuse attempt by an adult or older child in their own lives.This may be an excellent book for adults, and a book that may be good for young adults after circumspection, but it is definitively not a book for children and needs to be classified clearly. The childish picture on the front and the reading level of 5th grade recommended on the back is very deceptive. Don't let your kids read this book without reading it yourself first.
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