Common Sense Raises Issues at B&N
Authors and Librarians Object to Book Ratings on Retailer's Web Site
Judith Rosen
Feb 23, 2010

Like many of those who have been blogging about it, Dessen's own feelings were initially mixed. "I'm not sure how I feel about this. I mean, I'm sure it's useful for parents. But I worry it's breaking a book down into these pieces that don't do justice to the whole. What do you think?" she asked. Many of those who were familiar with Common Sense praised the San Francisco-based nonprofit's work. "I LOVE Common Sense Media," wrote one parent. "I use it all the time to help me determine what is appropriate for my children (ages 11 and 14). I certainly don't have time to screen every movie and read every book ahead of time so they give me very useful information." Others weren't so sure. "I don't think the way it is broken down does it justice, because it focuses on what their system considers negative and takes everything out of context," commented another Dessen fan.


On her Tea Cozy discussion site Liz B (aka New Jersey librarian Elizabeth Burns) cuts Common Sense little slack, even though she acknowledges that none of the reviews says explicitly that young people should not read a book. "It is biased," she wrote. "Read some book reviews of books you have read, and you'll see this is not objective or factual. Which is fine, because some people want this. For example, in writing about The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, drinking and parental obedience is highlighted: "Parents need to know that there is little in the way of bad language or mature situations in this Newbery Honor book, but Calpurnia's grandfather not only drinks regularly and tries to distill his own whiskey, he seems to have no concept that children 'as young as 11' should not be drinking."

Context is also the basis for author Meg Cabot's blog post on the controversy. Cabot looks at Common Sense's take on the Judy Blume classic Are You There God? It's Margaret, which she thinks could scare away parents, saying: "Because taken out of context, the warning that Are You There God? It's Me Margaret contains "Playboy, kissing, menstruation, bras, and emerging sexuality" makes this wonderful, beloved book about a sixth grader who does nothing racier than stuff her bra with cotton balls and worry about disappointing her family sound like it's about...well, Playboy, kissing, menstruation, bras, and emerging sexuality!"

Common Sense cofounder/editor-in-chief and former book industry exec Liz Perle, who has held top positions at houses like William Morrow/Avon Books, has been surprised by the reaction. "It's the first time we had any kind of pushback," she said by phone. "I think it has to do with the way it's been implemented on the Barnes & Noble Web site. So, I think people are rightly confused."

As to what Common Sense is, as some bloggers and tweeters questioned, Perle noted that she and cofounder/CEO James Steyer, an elementary school teacher turned public interest lawyer who has taught at Stanford University in the School of Education and Department of Political Science for two decades, founded the organization to supply an alternative to moralistic discussions about what kids should read or watch. "We want parents to pay attention and make informed decisions," Perle said. "We don't make a judgment. We rate based on age appropriateness."

Common Sense book reviewers are selected from professional reviewers, teachers, librarians, or people with experience in publishing. To help them assess what age level is best, reviewers are given a sophisticated developmental grid that relies on input from psychologists. Finished reviews are read by an editor and then there's a read behind. "We do make mistakes," Perle acknowledged. "It's not a factory. We love when people point out errors." Not that there are too many of them, she added.

Four years after Common Sense's launch, then-presidential candidate Barack Obama singled out the nonprofit, with its emphasis on "sanity, not censorship," as a model for using technology to empower parents. That same year Common Sense also announced its first partnership with BestBuy.com, first for video games, then for DVDs. Since then the organization has partnered with Netflix to share its ratings, Google to produce a video of online safety tips, as well as Yahoo and AOL and a number of cable providers.

Common Sense is also working with schools on a variety of projects concerning kids, media, and the digital world. It recently partnered with Global Kids and Harvard Project Zero's Good Play Project on the 2009 Focus Dialogues, which involves the first-ever three-way online conversation among parents, educators, and teens about the ethical issues facing young people in their digital lives.

And for those who are still concerned that in Common Sense's attempt to be neutral its reviews are too negative, additional companies are making plans to use them to give customers guidance. Common Sense will begin working with Apple iTunes in the near future.