I think there are some weird children's books out there. I apologize to the huge fan base, but I think many of them are by Dr. Suess. There is also *Curious George by H.A. Rey. I could go on about the cruelty of snagging a monky from Africa ("The man picked him up quickly and popped him into a bag.") Then there is "After a good meal and a good pipe George felt very tired." Nice. In addition, I am sorry to say, many of the Little Golden Books I grew up on are kind of weird too. Mark and I have tried for five years to understand the theme of The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey.
Again I apologize to any big fans, but in my opinion, the popularity of anything by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd is just baffling. I know Goodnight Moon has been adored by generations. Mark and I know it by heart. The kids know it by heart. But, seriously, a five-year-old could have penned this strange tale, and a three year old could have drawn the pictures. Also out there is a "companion book" to Goodnight Moon called My World. Here are some of the more ridiculous lines:
"My spoon.
"My spoon.
Daddy's spoon.
'The moon belongs
As the publishing controversy shows, it's really, more than anything, how our standards have changed, from writing quality, to the messages we send to our children. It really was a different world in 1949. Regardless, in 2008 Clement Hurd still looks creepy.
To the man in the moon.'"
I think I actually wrote something similar in third grade.
"Daddy's boy.
Mother's boy.
My boy is just a toy
Bear."
Perhaps Brown was on a deadline and couldn't somehow fine tune the poetry. I think more likely she smoked something whacky when she wrote.
Speaking of smoking something whacky, I don't know if you've seen the bios of Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd. Besides the assessment of each of their work being completely misguided ("Margaret Wise Brown was a writer of extraordinary talent,") the photos are outright strange. The one of Margaret Wise Brown shows her with her dog. Fair enough. Then there is the photo of Clement Hurd. He looks absolutely creepy. He looks like a child molester or a serial killer. It's disturbing. And he's holding a cigarette. Nice. However, according to his Wiki: "A doctored/altered photo of Hurd was included in the 60th anniversary republication of Goodnight Moon with a cigarette removed from his hand, causing controversy over publication standards."
I think I actually wrote something similar in third grade.
"Daddy's boy.
Mother's boy.
My boy is just a toy
Bear."
Perhaps Brown was on a deadline and couldn't somehow fine tune the poetry. I think more likely she smoked something whacky when she wrote.
Speaking of smoking something whacky, I don't know if you've seen the bios of Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd. Besides the assessment of each of their work being completely misguided ("Margaret Wise Brown was a writer of extraordinary talent,") the photos are outright strange. The one of Margaret Wise Brown shows her with her dog. Fair enough. Then there is the photo of Clement Hurd. He looks absolutely creepy. He looks like a child molester or a serial killer. It's disturbing. And he's holding a cigarette. Nice. However, according to his Wiki: "A doctored/altered photo of Hurd was included in the 60th anniversary republication of Goodnight Moon with a cigarette removed from his hand, causing controversy over publication standards."
*The Curious George movie, made in 2006, is really great, and ignores or satarizes most of the inappropriate themes in the original book. The TV show on PBS is very cute but I still have issue with a monkey living in a rent controlled flat in New York City.
