The beautifully illustrated book ‘The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse’ by Charlie Mackesy is intended for children not cynical adults.

The content has been reproduced in countless book reviews on Goodreads to the extent that a large portion of the book has been copied.

We should all know our own country’s copyright laws.  Where possible I acknowledge the source of material I use and only quote a sentence or two for emphasis in my book reviews.  Copyright is adhered to in many areas including business, education, libraries, publicity, government, even blogs and hand-out leaflets. 

So why do certain Goodreads reviewers think they can profusely post someone’s artwork?

Would they like their creative endeavours photographed and reproduced, and in this case vilified, and used for a different purpose other than originally intended?

I believe that by reviewing Mackesy’s work on Goodreads, a reviewer is not justified in reproducing the words and illustrations constituting a chunk of the author’s work.

“Copyright is a form of intellectual property that protects the original expression of ideas. It enables creators to manage how their content is used.”

https://www.copyright.com.au/about-copyright/

There may be Goodreads rules and regulations in the fine print which I could not locate but I am waiting on a reply from the Librarians.

My WordPress followers know that I do not activate Comments but I suggest if you think the copying is unfair or unjustified, check the book ‘The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse’ on Goodreads and perhaps submit a message to the gatekeepers.

WEBSITE LINKS:

PUBLISHER https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-boy-the-mole-the-fox-and-the-horse-9781529105100

AUTHOR https://www.charliemackesy.com/

GOODREADS https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43708884-the-boy-the-mole-the-fox-and-the-horse

♥ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

---

“I have noticed on Goodreads that generally there does not appear to be any control over spoilers or plot reveals so what hope does copyright offer Goodreads authors. Copyright is mentioned under https://www.goodreads.com/about/terms and it would appear action has to be taken by the author.” GBW.

POSTSCRIPT—Below is my contact post to Goodreads Librarians on Monday 29^th March 2021—no reply has been received:

“What are the copyright limitations on posting author illustrations on Goodreads? The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy has had pages copied by reviewers to such an extent that they almost represent the complete book. The book contains original work by the author and has significant meaning to him while naturally being a source of income which could be impacted due to continued copying by book reviewers.  I know it is hard to control copyright (particularly on social media) but I would expect a certain level of copyright control on a book-dedicated website.  I have no vested interest in this book other than enjoying it, and wanting to see Goodreads and reviewers being more circumspect regarding the posting of images from inside this book, or indeed any illustrated book.” GBW.