Worldbook Encyclopedia Censorship Topics

[Matt]

I'm wondering if anyone knows of a compiled list of subjects in Worldbook encyclopedias (or other publishers) that should be considered for censorship in a Christian home setting?

I'm getting a set for around the home with young children as well as home school use and I know there will be a significant amount of censoring to make them appropriate. I thought if someone has done the work already of identifying most of the questionable subjects, it would make the job a little less tedious.

Thanks,

[Ken]

Are Worldbook Encyclopedias even still in print?

[ohio jones]

Are Worldbook Encyclopedias even still in print?

LMGTFY

[ken_sylvania]

Are Worldbook Encyclopedias even still in print?

I think they use cursive now - plus lots of pictures.

[Josh]

According to The Approved Bookshelf, these are wholesome books with the exception of the 2003 yearbook, which had one proofreader fail it.

[Szdfan]

$1200 is a lot of money to go through and then blank out pages with a Sharpie.

[ken_sylvania]

$1200 is a lot of money to go through and then blank out pages with a Sharpie.

It is, but it's not like anybody publishes a suitable encyclopedia for those who wish to be simple concerning evil and raise their children the same way.

[Ken]

So apparently it is the only encyclopedia still in print. Encyclopedia Britannica went out of print in 2010 after a 244 year run of printing encyclopedias: https://archive.nytimes.com/mediadecode ... e-presses/

As for what to censor? Can't help you there. Why would you want to censor anything? Christianity doesn't depend on censorship of knowledge.

You can also save a ton of money and get them on CD ROM. There are lots of people selling older encyclopedia CD ROMs on Ebay and on used bookstore storefronts on Amazon. You still have the whole encyclopedia with no need for an internet connection.

[Pelerin]

I don’t know that I would worry too much about it. We had a set on World Book encyclopedias growing up. There are thousands of boring articles you have to flip past to get to the interesting ones (mostly favorite animals in my case) and there’s nothing that would particularly attract a child’s attention to any potentially objectionable article, any more than say the article for “Foreign trade zone”. If a child did happen to stumble upon such an article, they’re written in such a way that it would mostly go over their heads anyway if they didn’t have an idea of what the subject was about in the first place. And if the child is older and does have an idea of the subject and is out looking for information… my opinion would be the dry, matter of fact encyclopedic tone is probably about the best option you could hope for for them to turn to.

[RZehr]

…And if the child is older and does have an idea of the subject and is out looking for information… my opinion would be the dry, matter of fact encyclopedic tone is probably about the best option you could hope for for them to turn to.

True. Much to my younger self’s disappointment.

Seems to me that World Book editions change enough, that if I had an objection (or not) to something in the 2013 edition, it may be quite different in the 2024 edition.