nrg Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 It is going to be awfully hard to tell a story which empowers children, helps them feel their autonomy, and stimulates their imagination if a hovering perfect parent has structured the environment to eliminate exciting fictional challenges. Sigh. There is just so much more going on in the classic stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 The original was also set in India, however, the illustrations in the version I had as a child were pretty offensive caricatures of black people complete with exaggerated features. Also, the name "Sambo" is an old fashioned racial slur for a black person. And to further defend Bannerman, she wasn't responsible for those illustrations. The text was packaged with varying illustrations depending on the publisher (copyright laws being nothing like the behemoth they are today!) and she had no say in them. I strongly doubt she meant anything offensive when she wrote the book, even by modern standards. It's just that her story got wrapped up in a whole bunch of racial bigotry and ugliness. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Having an anxious young child with a slew of intense phobias that significantly impact her little life has made book choices interesting. On the one hand, we've had to cull all picture books with death imagery: skeletons, skulls (including pirate flags), or tombstones. Halloween doesn't get much literary attention around here. On the other hand, she really, really loves books with children in terrifyingly awful situations. She says quite openly that she knows that in a book they'll always be happy in the end, and she can flip to the back anytime she wants to see that everything ends fine. I've watched her flip back and forth between Awful Peril and Happy Ending many times, and it's hard not to conclude that she's working out some anxieties that way. Incidentally she can't tolerate movies with child-in-peril, I assume because she doesn't have control over the video pacing. I wonder if some books like Are You My Mother, or even Ping, are appealing because of a childhood need for catharsis? Yes, the worst could happen--mother could disappear, you could be in danger of being eaten and end up with a spanking--but you see it's all right in the end. And the format of books gives the child control, including the option to omit or repeat parts. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Good Halloween/fall books for sensitive children: "Sheep Trick Or Treat" "The Owl Babies" "Witch Mama" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 My sensitive kid couldn't handle Owl Babies. Honestly ? We just read Shirley Hughes picture books for a LONG time. I didn't even attempt it. ;) We :001_wub: Shirley Hughes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 so glad I am not am modern mum and can read all the great books to my children. So much better than some of the modern PC trash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 I wonder if some books like Are You My Mother, or even Ping, are appealing because of a childhood need for catharsis? Yes, the worst could happen--mother could disappear, you could be in danger of being eaten and end up with a spanking--but you see it's all right in the end. And the format of books gives the child control, including the option to omit or repeat parts. My sensitive child (6) likes creepy books she said as much to me, she likes to read stories/see movies that are kind of creepy because she knows it isn't real and gives her a comfort. So, things like Nightmare Before Christmas, Heckedy Peg(picture book where a witch turns the kids to food and tries to eat them), Rumplestilksin(both the book by Zelinsky and on the tv show Once Upon a Time) and Willy Wonka are her very favorities, right up there with Miyazaki films, we watched Spirited Away yesterday, her choice, in it the parents are turned to pigs and the daughter fears for her life but through rescuing them she has to make it through all these other dangers and she does, fabulously. So, we cannot say the word blood, or other such things but it is a comfort to her to see/hear these other stories that some consider too macabre for kids. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 so glad I am not am modern mum and can read all the great books to my children. So much better than some of the modern PC trash. There was trash written 60 years ago, and there are great books written today. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Having an anxious young child with a slew of intense phobias that significantly impact her little life has made book choices interesting. On the one hand, we've had to cull all picture books with death imagery: skeletons, skulls (including pirate flags), or tombstones. Halloween doesn't get much literary attention around here. On the other hand, she really, really loves books with children in terrifyingly awful situations. She says quite openly that she knows that in a book they'll always be happy in the end, and she can flip to the back anytime she wants to see that everything ends fine. I've watched her flip back and forth between Awful Peril and Happy Ending many times, and it's hard not to conclude that she's working out some anxieties that way. Incidentally she can't tolerate movies with child-in-peril, I assume because she doesn't have control over the video pacing. I wonder if some books like Are You My Mother, or even Ping, are appealing because of a childhood need for catharsis? Yes, the worst could happen--mother could disappear, you could be in danger of being eaten and end up with a spanking--but you see it's all right in the end. And the format of books gives the child control, including the option to omit or repeat parts. I'm a lot like your daughter. My mom actually timed it and took me out of the theater during Bambi, right before the mother died, saying she had to use the bathroom. It was many years before I knew the truth, lol. I even got upset watching Roadrunner cartoons because I felt bad for the starving coyote, he seemed so hungry! But now as an adult I read romantic suspense primarily, and love books with awful serial killers etc. Because yes, there is a happy ending. Tv often doesn't have a happy ending, same with movies. But romance novels by definition always end happily, so it is "safe" for me to read them. My husband thinks it is weird that I get so much relaxation from reading about awful things, but I do think there is an element of catharsis in it. Or maybe I just realize my own life is pretty good, in comparison, lol. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Maybe I shouldn't be taking these comments personally, but I was one who came out strongly against Curious George in the previous thread, so I thought I'd reply. I don't apologize for being vehement about the normalization of animal cruelty. I do try to be consistent in living out my convictions in day to day life. I am far from perfect, but I'm trying. And, you know, it's not like this criticism of Curious George is new. My kids are adults (or almost so -- My son is turning 18 in March.), and we chose not to read Curious George books to them because I was highly uncomfortable with the premise. We also, while not claiming perfection, try our best to live our convictions, which is our case include choosing a vegan lifestyle, buying only cruelty-free products . . . and thinking carefully about what media we introduced into our home. I don't think you have anything to apologize for. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted January 18, 2016 Author Share Posted January 18, 2016 But then if you can create a book like Wild Things that can be made psychologically "true" without also having potentially "bad" other messages like that cruelty to animals is okay, then isn't that better? Mostly just playing devil's advocate... I admit that I don't have super strong feelings about Curious George per se. If someone wrote such a book, I expect it would get read. But psychological truths, or truths about human nature, aren't always simple or straightforward or comfortable. In WTWTA, the things that made the early critics upset seem to be the same things that made it compelling for children. Even in CG - I think the sense of George being subject is part of the appeal to children - they identify with the lack of control. Also - questions about, for example, the nature of zoos are not so cut and dried as some people seem to think. Good literature typically does create questions, including ones like "why do we do things like that now, and why did people think differently in the past." Or "why do people behave this way, and what does it mean." I don't think it does children any service to let them believe these kinds of ideas are completely obvious or that there is no argument behind them, or the only possible way to think is the way that their parents think. I suppose I just really reject this idea that children are vessels into which we pour the ideas we want them to have. If that is what we think, we should just keep them well away from real literature. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted January 18, 2016 Author Share Posted January 18, 2016 Meh. There's no intrinsic merit in a book because it's old. Or because it was read to us as children. Or because it's on an AO list or a '10 Books Your Preschooler Must Know!' list. Or even because it won an award. Tastes change, it's all good. If children are being read to, they are so far ahead in terms of being looked after that I can't bring myself to care that some mom, somewhere, decided she didn't want to read Blueberries for Sal. No child in this world suffers for lack of Babar. Has anyone really argued that being old is the issue, or being on a book-list, or that there are no older books that stink? It sounds like you are saying what is good literature is just a matter of fashion or taste? I also don't think people believe missing any particular book is a shame. I think the question is about making demands in principle would necessarily cut out a lot of good literature, because they are not compatible with it. If we cut out The Giving Tree because it leaves moral ambiguity or doesn't tell us what to think about the situation, the problem isn't that missing that particular book is going to cause some desperate issue. It is that we think we can have good literature, and that it should work on readers the way it is meant to, without moral ambiguity and always making clear what the "correct" response is. That is, it is another way of saying that we want children's literature to tell kids what is the right thing to think, not ask questions or present ideas that will make them think. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 I'm a lot like your daughter. My mom actually timed it and took me out of the theater during Bambi, right before the mother died, saying she had to use the bathroom. It was many years before I knew the truth, lol. I even got upset watching Roadrunner cartoons because I felt bad for the starving coyote, he seemed so hungry! But now as an adult I read romantic suspense primarily, and love books with awful serial killers etc. Because yes, there is a happy ending. Tv often doesn't have a happy ending, same with movies. But romance novels by definition always end happily, so it is "safe" for me to read them. My husband thinks it is weird that I get so much relaxation from reading about awful things, but I do think there is an element of catharsis in it. Or maybe I just realize my own life is pretty good, in comparison, lol. I love Cozy mysteries for the same reason, and lots of light romance (and the genres overlap quite a bit, although in a romance novel, usually they end up married or at least engaged by the end of the book, and in Cozy mysteries, it's often spread out over 10 books or more). My DD tends to anxiety and has recently discovered the books I like. A lot of the YA dystopian novels are too much for her, but as she says, in a Cozy usually one person dies, off stage, with no blood, and it's all puzzle solving with a little bit of suspense at the end, and a lot of knitting, cooking, showing dogs, and so on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 I avoided The Giving Tree because I hated it. I hated the stupid tree. I hated the tree sacrificing itself in a completely one-sided relationship. I don't care whether the point of it is that that is good or bad (although I will admit that this thread has relieved me a bit on that score, postulating that the author thinks it is bad, something I had honestly never considered) because I just hate it. So that's more or less my criteria. I read widely from books that I liked, for various reasons--because they were funny, or wise, or beautiful, or entertaining. And I didn't read books I hated. Really, it's not that hard. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenC Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 I'm extremely liberal in what I allow my kids to read. The only book I've banned from our home is the Junie B. Jones series, because she's a hideous little brat and not at all like Ramona Quimby (why do some people compare them?!). I let my oldest dd read a Junie B. Jones on the condition that she edit the book for grammar. She thought it was fun once, but had no desire to read anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 When the bully proves he won't listen to reason, Tom beats the crap out of him. The boys make peace and go back to being friends. When my dd21 was in 7th grade, she got suspended for hitting a boy who had been tormenting her for weeks on end. The teacher (first year teacher, pregnant, completely ineffective) had not helped my daughter despite my daughter asking for help several times, and even a trip to the school by me had not solved the problem. Guess what solved the problem? A week after "the incident," the boy wrote my dd a letter of apology, and by the time they were in 8th grade, they were friends. I have more than once commented to my dh and others that boys seem to have it easier: when they get into arguments, they pop each other and it's done. Girls can be nasty, catty, and vicious, and they can torment one another for years on end. I have my own thoughts on why this is and how societal expectations of girls being sugar, spice, and everything nice contribute to this. I don't encourage my kids to be violent, but I also don't encourage them to be doormats. Sometimes you have to speak to people in a language they understand. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted January 18, 2016 Author Share Posted January 18, 2016 I avoided The Giving Tree because I hated it. I hated the stupid tree. I hated the tree sacrificing itself in a completely one-sided relationship. I don't care whether the point of it is that that is good or bad (although I will admit that this thread has relieved me a bit on that score, postulating that the author thinks it is bad, something I had honestly never considered) because I just hate it. So that's more or less my criteria. I read widely from books that I liked, for various reasons--because they were funny, or wise, or beautiful, or entertaining. And I didn't read books I hated. Really, it's not that hard. I think that is a pretty good way to choose books in most situations. I'm interested though in why you didn't consider that the author might have thought the tree was not making a good choice. THat seems to be the common perception. I don't find though, that most people, at least who are more sophisticated readers, would take the same view of an adult book. If it presented a situation which seemed questionable, we generally think it could be meant to be negative rather than positive. So - why the difference for children's books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Now I might have to go read The Giving Tree and see what it's all about. Someone gave it to my kids when they were about 5, and told them this was one of his favorite books ever. (He was from India if that matters.) My kids read it and have probably long since outgrown it. And here I am not knowing how damaged they must be. From reading the comments above, the tree sounds like a dog. Loyal, giving, unconditionally. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 I think I just came to the conclusion that I'm too lazy to censor. Or, rather, it's not my hill to die on? I'm sure there are a lot of opinions on what that says about me as a parent. :laugh: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Maybe I shouldn't be taking these comments personally, but I was one who came out strongly against Curious George in the previous thread, so I thought I'd reply. I don't apologize for being vehement about the normalization of animal cruelty. I have a number of objections to CG - but the animal cruelty didn't enter my head. I've read enough children's books with animals in place of people. after all, how many monkeys are going to be taught to READ? (out side of a lab.) My objection was the amount of chaos he caused - and was NEVER held accountable. and it did have a negative impact on young boys in my house. they thought they could do all these things too, wreck havoc and no consequences . . . This reminds me of one of the sub-plots in "The Bells of St. Mary's", where Sister Mary Benedict (Ingrid Bergman) teaches a boy to box so that he can defend himself against a bully. I guess that Classic Christmas movie might be on the blocks, too. ;) how many of the parents who object to teaching kids to box to defend themselves against a bully take their kids to martial arts? I can't take any of that seriously. Have you ever read the reviews for the classic 'Good Dog, Carl' picture books? There is a significant number of people who think they are examples of terrible parenting (Mother lets the dog babysit) instead of fun fantasy. If you think the Carl books are suggestions for allowing your dog to babysit, I suspect you aren't intelligent enough to raise children. most of the objections i've heard is carl is a rottweiler - and they're too dangerous around children. I confess, the most apropos name I ever encountered for a rottweiler was Hagen . . . (re: wagner.) ;) good grief Peter Pan must be out too.... that was my first thought too. love nana . . . she probably doesn't like richard scarry illustrations either. I am sure Potter would be out. Peter getting spanked, his dad being made into pie. And Jemima Puddleduck - the farmer's wife trying to control her reproductive decisions! The predatory gentleman! The paternalistic dog, the puppies consuming the eggs, and the disparaging comments about her maternal capabilities! the roly-poly pudding has tom kitten almost being made into a pudding. it scared me as a kid - but had an odd fascination. oh, my mother didn't read beatrix potter to me (she didn't read to me), I found the books in the library. I love the vocabulary she uses - but after a few storeis, dudeling didn't want me to read anymore. he wanted Pooh. . I even got upset watching Roadrunner cartoons because I felt bad for the starving coyote, he seemed so hungry! I know many people who ended up cheering on coyote and wanting him to eat that roadrunner. RR was obnoxious. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 I still don't know what the objection is to books featuring bad parenting. Do we want books with perfect parents in them so that we can seem horribly inadequate to our kids? Not that all books have to feature absent parents or worse parents than me, but *sometimes* it's nice to be able to point to some bad parenting in a book and say "hey kids, you haven't got it *that* bad". I'm probably a bad parent though. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 I'm extremely liberal in what I allow my kids to read. The only book I've banned from our home is the Junie B. Jones series, because she's a hideous little brat and not at all like Ramona Quimby (why do some people compare them?!).This why I totally believe authors should write what they wish and readers should choose. We love Junie B. We are Junie B. ( Yes, not just my girls). I may be a hideous brat because I read any old thing. My mother never checked or cared 😉 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 We cut out The Giving Tree because it's not a particularly good book. ohhhh I had no idea. Never read that book. But that one and a few others mentioned I see recommended over and over again. Turns out they suck? Well, then I guess I should not feel bad about not reading them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Better stay away from Roald Dahl. He has entire books about plotting to poison grandmothers and stuff like that. LOL 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 ohhhh I had no idea. Never read that book. But that one and a few others mentioned I see recommended over and over again. Turns out they suck? Well, then I guess I should not feel bad about not reading them. I've only heard The Giving Tree once in my life. It was at church, and the priest read it during his homily. Go figure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted January 19, 2016 Author Share Posted January 19, 2016 We cut out The Giving Tree because it's not a particularly good book. What on earth is your evidence for the bolded assertion ? That some moms on FB went Blueberries for Sal crazy ? Parents have been censoring their children's reading for all sorts of (to me - crazy) reasons. It's not a new, PC thing. Seriously, the bolded is hyperbolic. But seeing as how you're going there, I highly doubt the BFS moms are part of some Stalinist modern childrens lit conspiracy to never have their children think. I don't think it's particularly new, and it isn't necessarily PC, though sometimes it is. I doubt it's Stalinist, at least most of the time. I do think that the BFS moms are coming from a type of anxious parenting that is a relatively recent thing in our culture. The group is dedicated to moms asking question of other moms, and the level of anxiety in general is high. Do they need to get their water tested for lead, is it ok to introduce solids before six months, if they sleep train is it abusive, if the do time outs will they lose their connection with their child.... and so on. And this is a very supportive, nice group, not one of the crazy-mom groups. But many have somewhere had the impression that every little decision is fraught - that if they make a mistake, like not watching their child every moment in the blueberry field, something bad will happen - they will be bad parents. I don't have "evidence" other than I read a lot of children's books. Many authors seem to think that the way to write a kids book is to see a message you want to push, and they present it in an almost propaganda like fashion. (Children's tv too I think.) But I don't think it's surprising - the attitude that parents are meant to fill their kids mind with the right opinions isn't a new one at all. For some reason it gets recognized more often when it happens on the politically/religiously conservative side of the spectrum than on the left. It's a sort of tabula rasa approach. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted January 19, 2016 Author Share Posted January 19, 2016 ohhhh I had no idea. Never read that book. But that one and a few others mentioned I see recommended over and over again. Turns out they suck? Well, then I guess I should not feel bad about not reading them. I like it. Though it's not my favorite of his, I think that might be Hungry Mungry. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted January 19, 2016 Author Share Posted January 19, 2016 I still don't know what the objection is to books featuring bad parenting. Do we want books with perfect parents in them so that we can seem horribly inadequate to our kids? Not that all books have to feature absent parents or worse parents than me, but *sometimes* it's nice to be able to point to some bad parenting in a book and say "hey kids, you haven't got it *that* bad". I'm probably a bad parent though. I think the idea is that they are a bad example? Maybe along the lines of the old Sesame Street videos that say "not suitable for children." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 I like it. Though it's not my favorite of his, I think that might be Hungry Mungry. Well now I should read it. I never have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted January 19, 2016 Author Share Posted January 19, 2016 Well now I should read it. I never have. Some of his adult stuff is good too - he wrote A Boy Named Sue. Also one called "Never Bite A Married Woman on the Thigh," Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 But beyond that...yeah, who has the time or the inclination to pre-read and all that jazz ? Well, I do, but that's because I happen to enjoy reading children's literature and YA. I mean, I read other things as well, but I'm not going to arbitrarily stop reading those books because I'm a so-called adult. (Very so-called. Even today, I still feel as though I'm playacting through my days sometimes.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 (edited) What's wrong with Carl the Dog? I love Carl the Dog. When I read the title and think about classic lit and modern parenting, I wonder whether or not Oedipus Rex is as good for modern children as it was for the ancient Greek kids. If they got to go see it that is. Probably only boys of a certain class. My ds saw Macbeth multiple times between and 1st when it was the play in the park that summer. Loved it--which is why he saw it multiple times since he wanted to go every weekend while it lasted. There weren't many kids--not even teens-- in the audience though so I guess a lot of modern parents did not think it would be suitable. Edited January 19, 2016 by Pen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebunny Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Late to the discussion, but has anyone read "Politically correct bedtime stories..." by James Finn Garner? Its a humorous, satirical take on the PC movement in childrens lit. I really enjoyed the book. Some chapters are available for free through a google search. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Well - and this is my opinion only - a lot of them aren't that wonderful, but they have a lot of nostalgia attached to them You may not be surprised to learn that there are other people who share your perception. (I'm not calling out any particular book, btw, though the author of that piece sure does!) 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 You may not be surprised to learn that there are other people who share your perception. (I'm not calling out any particular book, btw, though the author of that piece sure does!) This is the best thing I've read all week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 You may not be surprised to learn that there are other people who share your perception. (I'm not calling out any particular book, btw, though the author of that piece sure does!) Ha! That's great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Somehow I managed to escape Poky Little Puppy, but when I was a kid, we had the Dandelion Library. That was a really good collection of story books, though some of them (Heidi, Pinocchio) were abridged. My mom got it on sale somehow. We were rather poor, but my mom had spent a lot of her childhood in the public library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted January 20, 2016 Author Share Posted January 20, 2016 (edited) Many authors ? Not the good ones. And that includes modern and contemporary children's authors. I take your larger point. What do you mean by 'relatively recently' ? From the examples you give above, sounds like you have an issue with crunchy mamas. Not sure if you do, but that's what it sounds like. I think it would be interesting to discuss parental anxieties, but an 'oh goody, let's mock the PC 'trash' brigade' thread probably isn't the best place for it. Reletivly recently - I tend to date the beginning of the change as happening between when my sister and half-sister were born. When my sister and I were born, pretty much every kid was free range, watched the old Sesame St, and so on. By the time my sister was born in teh late 80s, it was totally different - a lot of parents were walking their kids to school, they were all in after-school activities. But I would also say it's gone up in the last 10 or so years. These are largely crunchy moms, they've been reading a lot of Mothering. But I think there are similar things with whatever the opposite of crunchy moms are. But - my town is basically crunchy. For that matter, I'm crunchy, but I am older than most of those women and I think I tend to trust biology more or something. I don't figure it could be that complicated. The thing about them I find the most noticeable is their level of stress. I don't think you need to be particularly mocking to respond to the OP post, which just asked for other examples people could think of. Some people thought of ones that seem really out there , in other cases people had disagreements which was rather interesting. But it isn't necessarily a bad thing, I think, to look at a trend or social phenomena by trying to see how it would perceive things. The idea that Blueberries for Sal would shock someone as an example of bad parenting was very odd to me - where does that come from, and is it reasonable? If not, is it a problem of a bad principle, or a poor application of it? Is it just a matter of people being parochial? ETA - yes, many bad authors. There seem to be a lot of people though who think it is natural that children's books would be that way, or that writing children's books is easy. Edited January 20, 2016 by Bluegoat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Or what about Where the Wild THings Are? Boy gets put in time-out and has a psychotic episode as a result? Just getting over being sick, I am coughing and hacking and laughing my head off at this!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 I guess I am a younger, modern mom and I hear sentiments like this a lot. I think since times change, book selections are going to change. We have more books to choose from now so books that were great back in time, may not be great now. If I have to choose between Babar or tacky the penguin, I will choose tacky ever time. I think many parents, like me, just have a different criteria. There is nothing wrong with that and I don't think anyone should be scared for today's kids... This also might be a generational thing...society/culture changes so everything from music to books will change as well. Tacky is the best. ;) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Tacky is the best. ;) How many toes does a fish have? And how many wings on a cow? I wonder, yup, I wonder! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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