They are, Douglas, but by Overlook Press, for a niche market. Oxford University Press has never had anything to do with the Freddy the Pig series, so I see no cause for alarm.
What all this fuss is about is simply OUP's business decision to publish one-size-fits-all children's books for the global marketplace, instead of distinctively British books for British audiences, and other books for various overseas audiences.
Niche markets require individualized attention, and economies of scale are lost when one has to be careful to market a particular book in some parts of the English-speaking world and not others. It's much simpler and cheaper to print one or two editions--perhaps with Brit and American spelling variants--and market those editions everywhere.
Apparently there was a similar brouhaha several years ago when OUP's children's authors and illustrators were asked to refrain from including distinctively British things (such as London's red double-decker buses) in their books, because presenting such cultural oddities might alienate children in other countries. Personally, I would regard such oddities as a teachable moment for children...but apparently the editors were concerned that such things might make potential customers feel that the content is targeted to Brits, and that it may be partially irrelevant, or even icky, to those elsewhere.
This article pointed out that offensiveness can swing both ways:
Quote:
One Canadian publisher noted that many European children’s books never make their way onto North American bookshelves because they contain scenes of nudity or sex.
“Month after month, I see absolutely beautiful books and say ‘oh, it’s too bad about that couple copulating up in that cloud’ … that makes it difficult in our market: it’s probably not going to set the world on fire, sales-wise,” said Sheila Barry with Groundwood Books in Toronto.
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(Speaking of teachable moments....)
Bottom line: Large presses like OUP, whose "books are sold in more than 200 countries", would prefer its children's titles to be universally marketable.
People who like cultural distinctiveness in children's books should patronize smaller presses, and should be prepared to pay more.
Oxford University asks authors to drop pig-related words
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