Trickling down

I couldn’t agree more with the premise of The Times’ June 23 editorial (“The Wizardry of Reading”) that so much of what passes for children’s literature today is mindless drivel. However, I must take it and Al Martinez (“Seeping Effect of Toilet Humor,” June 23) to task for singling out Dav Pilkey’s “The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby” for criticism. Tasteless it may be, but it’s also funny and inventive and, with its how-to-draw and flip-art sections, it encourages creativity.

Martinez believes that toilet humor is “trickling down” to children from an adult culture of crudity. But as the mother of 8-year-old twin boys, I can testify that kids that age -- the male ones, at least -- appear to have an innate passion for bathroom jokes, and no amount of book banning is going to change that.

On the other hand, I think he’s onto something by lumping in Deputy Doo Doo with lying presidents and stealing CEOs. Is there a more apt metaphor for such villains?

Kathy Barreto

Culver City