News from the New Party

Cowboys

The CD-Rom digital version of the traditional story of the three little pigs, called Three Little Cowboy Builders, is aimed at primary school children.

But judges at this year's Bett Award said that they had "concerns about the Asian community and the use of pigs raises cultural issues".

The Three Little Cowboy Builders has already been a prize winner at the recent Education Resource Award - but its Newcastle-based publishers, Shoo-fly, were turned down by the Bett Award panel.

The feedback from the judges explaining why they had rejected the CD-Rom highlighted that they "could not recommend this product to the Muslim community".

They also warned that the story might "alienate parts of the workforce (building trade)".

The judges criticised the stereotyping in the story of the unfortunate pigs: "Is it true that all builders are cowboys, builders get their work blown down, and builders are like pigs?"

Who are these judges, who don't realise that children's stories are not the same as investigative journalism? The chairman is someone called Ray Barker, Director of the British Educational Suppliers Association. Is it any wonder one in five British adults is functionally illiterate when the director of the educational suppliers' association is an idiot?

The reason The Three Little Cowboy Builders, from Shoo Fly Publishing was not shortlisted was that it failed to reach the required standard across a number of criteria. The feedback makes clear that the issues highlighted were a small selection from a much broader range of comments which in the round make clear why the product did not win.