Project Gutenberg 2019-04-26 Public domain in the USA. 97 Ludwig, Edward W. 1920 1990 Ludwig, Edward William Emshwiller, Ed 1925 1990 Emsh Emsh, Ed Alexander, Ed Emshwiller, Edmund A. Willer EMSH Juvenile Delinquent Produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, October 1955 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Juvenile Delinquent" by Edward W. Ludwig is a science fiction short story written in the mid-20th century. The narrative unfolds in a dystopian future, specifically in the year 2056, where the act of reading is heavily restricted and viewed as a subversive activity. The book explores the themes of conformity, rebellion, and the value of knowledge in a society that discourages independent thought and literacy. The story centers around an eight-year-old boy named Ronnie, who discovers a love for reading through his friendship with a boy named Kenny Davis. Ronnie's father, a government employee, becomes furious when he learns of his son's secret reading lessons, as literacy is seen as a path to potential disobedience against the state's oppressive norms. The father's struggle with his wife's hidden past as a reader and their subsequent conflict leads to severe consequences for Ronnie. Ultimately, the family is torn apart by the father's harsh beliefs about reading, showcasing the dangers of a society that prioritizes secrecy and obedience over curiosity and intellectual freedom. The story serves as a poignant critique of authoritarianism and the suppression of knowledge. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 87.3 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Boys -- Fiction Literacy -- Fiction Families -- Fiction PS Text Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 44528 2025-07-23T13:01:31.983050 text/html 40694 2019-04-26T13:28:38 text/html 211236 2025-07-23T13:01:33.686082 application/epub+zip 210074 2025-07-23T13:01:32.359055 application/epub+zip 79210 2025-07-23T13:01:32.141029 application/epub+zip 246647 2025-07-23T13:01:34.811021 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 239565 2025-07-23T13:01:33.475095 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 108962 2022-09-26T23:02:20.299480 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 37579 2025-07-23T13:01:31.762030 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 37487 2019-04-26T13:28:38 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 20030 2025-07-23T13:01:34.943027 application/rdf+xml 24086 2025-07-23T13:01:32.220069 image/jpeg 4452 2025-07-23T13:01:32.181027 image/jpeg 486266 2019-04-26T13:28:38 application/octet-stream application/zip 14656 2019-04-26T13:28:38 application/octet-stream application/zip 488859 2025-07-23T13:01:31.999031 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia