Important Safeguarding Notice: Children’s “Spy” Books
You may have seen in the press today or heard from your county library service that the children's publisher Puffin has issued an alert about books by Andy Cope including those in the Spy Dogs, Spy Cats, and Spy Pups series.
The books include a link to additional content, but the link is no longer owned by Mr Cope. The new owner publishes pornographic content. This means that children visiting the link are seeing highly inappropriate webpages.
As a result, libraries, bookshops, retailers and schools have removed the books from their shelves until such time as there is a resolution.
The story of course is fine to read, it is only the additional online content that is affected.
There is no suggestion that either Mr Cope or Puffin are responsible for the third-party site.
If it is helpful, I've written some information for parents below.
Thank you to everyone who let me know about this.
All the best,
Andrew
Parent/Carer Information
Important Safeguarding Notice: Children’s “Spy” Books
We want to make you aware of a recent issue affecting some popular children’s books by Andrew Cope, including the Spy Dogs, Spy Cats, and Spy Pups series.
Some editions of these books include a printed web address at the back. This link used to go to the author’s website, but the domain is no longer under his control. It has since been taken over by another party and now leads to inappropriate adult content.
The publisher, Puffin, has paused sales and distribution of the books and is working with schools, libraries, and retailers to remove copies from circulation. They have stressed that the website has no connection to the author or publisher.
What this means for you:
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If your child has any Spy Dog, Spy Cat or Spy Pups books at home, please check the back for website links and make sure they do not try to visit the site.
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It is safe for children to continue reading the stories themselves — the concern is only with the outdated link.
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We recommend talking with your child about the importance of not following web addresses in books without checking with an adult first.
We will continue to share updates from the publisher as more information becomes available. |