Latawnya, the Naughty Horse, Learns to Say "No" to Drugs

Latawnya, The Naughty Horse, Learns to Say "No" to Drugs is a book by Sylvia Scott Gibson directed towards children, warning them about the dangers of alcohol and what the book refers to as "smoking drugs". It was published by Vantage Press with a copyright date of 1991.[1] This anti-drug children's book is unusual in that it uses horses instead of humans as characters. Due to its absurd writing, illustrations, and comments from the author, this book sells rapidly almost anytime a copy becomes available on Amazon.com.[2]

Latawnya, the Naughty Horse, Learns to Say "No" to Drugs
AuthorSylvia Scott Gibson
IllustratorJeff Mayes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreDidactic children's literature
Published1991 (Vantage Press)
Pagesvii, 35
ISBN0-533-09102-0
OCLC25855775
LC ClassHV5825 .G52[1]
Followed byLatawnya the Naughty Horse Two 

Plot

The plot mainly deals with the title character, Latawnya, the youngest horse in her family. While out playing with her sisters Latoya and Daisy, they come across four other mares: Connie, Chrystal, Jackie, and Angie. They ask Latawnya if she wants to engage in "smoking games" and "drinking games". Latawnya realizes that they want to smoke drugs and drink alcohol, and she joins in. Her sisters catch her with the four "bad" horses and proceed to criticize her for "smoking drugs and drinking", something that their parents tell them not to do. Although Latawnya begs Latoya and Daisy not to tell their parents, they tell on her anyway, resulting in an uncomfortable confrontation with them, as they are disappointed in her experimenting with smoking drugs and drinking. After an intense lecture from her parents (including a scene wherein an old friend of the father horse suffers an overdose after engaging in smoking games and drinking games), Latawnya realizes the error of her ways and promises never to engage in "smoking games" and "drinking games" again.

Sequel

In April 2010, a sequel entitled Latawnya the Naughty Horse Two was published. Gibson's daughters, Latawnya and Chrystal, wrote that they loved the book.[3][4]

In August 2010, Gibson filed a pro se lawsuit against Amazon.com, Urban Dictionary, and Wikipedia. She objected to Amazon's sale of the book in "11 countries", citing the fact that it contains her legal name and the names of her family members. She also raised issue with Urban Dictionary selling merchandise featuring excerpts from the book and with Wikipedia's article on the book, which she claimed contained "discriminating and false statements" and illegally published the book's plot.[5] The lawsuit was dismissed in September 2011.[6]

Bibliography
  • Sylvia Scott Gibson and James E. Gibson (27 April 2010). Latawnya The Naughty Horse Two. ISBN 978-1-45601-473-5.

Notes
  1. Internet makes quirky stars (06/29/07)
  2. "Latawnya the Naughty Horse Two".
  3. "New Anti-Drug Book For Children". Facebook.
  4. Complaint in Gibson vs. Amazon et al.
  5. Gibson v. Amazon.com, 2011 WL 4020187 (C.D. Cal. 2011).
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.