Education for young people is an area that most agree should be improved but there is no consensus as to what should be done to improve it. I am aware of one specific area which I believe that we can all unite behind and work to see that this area is better represented in our elementary curriculum.
After some study, I have concluded that our school children are not being sufficiently exposed to the genre of American horror fiction. This is a disgrace. Immersed in a diet of graphic novels that emphasize sexually aberrant superheroes and heroines, our children are sadly unaware and uninformed about important topics such as the hollow earth, the elder gods, the forbidden knowledge, the unspeakable horror, ancient curses, and other important topics. Why many have never even heard of Cthulhu, let alone understand his/its importance to the traditions of American fiction.
We must take action now and correct this error in our educational process. We must make the point to our school boards and teachers that our children would benefit from being exposed to a greater diversity of outsider fiction. And first among them should be the autodidact and self-published author H.P. Lovecraft who is considered one of the greatest writers of horror fiction in this or any country.
But it has been argued that Lovecraft is not suitable for very young audiences. These people are wrong. What could be more appealing to a young child than The Nameless City, The Dunwich Horror, The Shadow Out of Time or The Call of Cthulhu?
If it is still believed that some of Lovecraft is a little advanced for our very youngest readers, I have a solution. I want to present to you an approach that the artist R. J. Ivankovic has created and I think that this will answer any objections, silly as they may be.
After some study, I have concluded that our school children are not being sufficiently exposed to the genre of American horror fiction. This is a disgrace. Immersed in a diet of graphic novels that emphasize sexually aberrant superheroes and heroines, our children are sadly unaware and uninformed about important topics such as the hollow earth, the elder gods, the forbidden knowledge, the unspeakable horror, ancient curses, and other important topics. Why many have never even heard of Cthulhu, let alone understand his/its importance to the traditions of American fiction.
We must take action now and correct this error in our educational process. We must make the point to our school boards and teachers that our children would benefit from being exposed to a greater diversity of outsider fiction. And first among them should be the autodidact and self-published author H.P. Lovecraft who is considered one of the greatest writers of horror fiction in this or any country.
H. P. Lovecraft
But it has been argued that Lovecraft is not suitable for very young audiences. These people are wrong. What could be more appealing to a young child than The Nameless City, The Dunwich Horror, The Shadow Out of Time or The Call of Cthulhu?
If it is still believed that some of Lovecraft is a little advanced for our very youngest readers, I have a solution. I want to present to you an approach that the artist R. J. Ivankovic has created and I think that this will answer any objections, silly as they may be.
R. J. Ivankovic has pioneered a mashup of Dr. Seuss with H.P. Lovecraft and
other authors of the macabre, the horrible, and the grotesque. Here are some images from his/her “Call of Cthulhu for Beginning Readers”, a reimagining of the original Lovecraft story about Cthulhu published
in Weird Tales in 1928.
I believe that we should embrace Mr/Ms Ivankovic's vision and bring it to all our young children. I feel certain that the Dr. Seuss estate would look favorably on the request to use the Seuss style in such a noble cause.
And here is a “One
Fish, Two Fish...” as reinterpreted through a zombie, night of the
living dead, filter.
Please join me in recommending to our various school boards and committees this important work and help improve elementary education in our country.
DrFaustusAU can be
found on Deviant Art at
Find his or her The
Call of Cthulhu for Beginning Readers here
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Notes
Cthulhu on Wikipedia
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