The Chair of the Canadian Education Committee announced that he would like to see all books with talking animals removed from Canadian schools.

Newly-appointed Harold Wright – who is the only person on the committee – thinks that books with talking animal characters are harmful to the development of children and detrimental, calling them “nonsense” by making kids think that it’s real life.

So what would happen to our beloved Charlotte’s Web? Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Stuart Little and Winnie the Pooh? What about all of these other classic books with animals who talk?

In an interview with CBC’s Peter Oldring, Wright mentions the book “Harry the Grumpy Horse” arguing that a horse can’t speak and we’re teaching children will think it’s real. “What is that doing to children?”

He also argued that encouraging a child to believe that a Hippopotamus can not only speak but is also a dental hygienist is a “ludicrous notion and extremely detrimental to a child’s development”.

What kind of books would he like to see in Canadian schools? Wright wants more books with realism. “Why does a construction worker have to be a giraffe? Make him a construction worker.”

Now where’s the fun in that? Not long ago there was a some new research which showed that one in five parents had scrapped some fairytale classics such as Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood because they are too scary for their kids.

What kind of books would he like to see in Canadian schools? Wright wants more books with realism. “Why does a construction worker have to be a giraffe? Make him a construction worker.”

What do you think – ridiculous or valid?

Update: OK so I totally fell for this story… This show called “This is That” is  “a current affairs program that doesn’t just talk about the issues, it fabricates them.” Totally got me!