In ‘The Witch’, a paragraph suggesting that witches are bald under their wigs ends with the new line: “There are many other reasons why women wear wigs and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. “
In ‘James and the Giant Peach’, Centipede sings: “Aunt SpongeBob was very fat / And awfully flabby at that,” and, “Aunt Spiker was thin as wire / And dry as a bone, drying only Wali.”
However, in the latest edition, both verses have been removed, and in their place are added rhymes: “Aunt SpongeBob was a nasty old brute / And deserved to be crushed by the fruit,” and, “Aunt Spiker was plenty” in the same of/and deserves half the blame”, reports The Guardian.
References to “female” characters have been omitted. In Matilda Miss Trunchbull, once “the most formidable woman”, is now “the most formidable woman”.
The Oompa Loompas from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory were “little men”, they are now “little people”, a gender-neutral term. Similarly, the Cloud-Men have become the Cloud-People in James and the Giant Peach.
Fans of the books, notable authors and supporters of ‘free expression in literature’ have expressed their displeasure at the changes.