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.
12 comments:
I knew I liked you! I too find Margret Wise Brown books strange. As poet I have to say - Um well was that the best you had to offer? L loves my World of Color and while it is cute - some of the rhymes are just plain strange!
HA! I love it! Tess has a book called Walter the Farting Dog that she LOVES! I am willing to look past the fact that it is totally vulgar just because it is at least amusing :)
I agree, many of them are just bizarre. And dude is definitely very creepy, cigarette or no.
Wow. He IS creepy!
The only author here I will defend is Dr. Suess. I believe he revolutionized the way children learn how to read. Dick and Jane are BORING and I know both my kids learned to read early in part thanks to Seuss, so he has my undying gratitude.
We own Goodnight Moon in both Spanish and English. It's not one of my personal favorites but both the kids liked it. I believe I was told the reason it's special is because it contains every sound in the English language - No idea if that's true.
I don't have a big problem with Curious George, but he's not a favorite or anything. Though the line you quoted is disturbing in that racists have historically referred to African Americans as "monkeys" and thus, this line could be alluding to slavery.
I felt a little nervous typing that so I searched Google to make sure I wasn't being over the top - but apparently, I'm not the only one to make such a connection.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060210/LIFE01/602100343/1039/LIFE
As for children's books in general, it also pains me when I come across one that is lacking quality. How many thousands of people out there wish they could write or illustrate such books but lack the connections to make it happen? It's just so competitive and some of the books that get published are junk.
Back to Goodnight Moon - I have a version I think you will find much more amusing: http://goodnightbush.com/
Tee, I had no idea about the George controversy, I'll check it out. I love controversy.
I don't disagree about Dr. Suess. AAMOF, I did notice he includes most of the Kindergarten sight words in his books. I have two issues, though:
1. Nonsense words. I just don't feel like reading nonsense words improves one's reading but I could be wrong.
2. Most Suess books have no beginning middle and end. It's important for early readers to have exposure to this.
Suess books are certainly fun. Oh, and for the record "The Lorax" is one of my all-time favorite kids' book.
Brooke, there are adults who find bathroom humor funny and those who don't. I don't but "Everyone Poops" is a hilarious book, probably because I think it has a message.
Damnit! Everybody Poops was the book I forgot I was looking for today! When the rain started, we headed over to Barnes and Noble and destroyed the kids' section for an hour or so. I was randomly grabbing books had that same thought: these books don't tell a story.
We ended up with a Dr. Seuss - I'm Not Getting Out of Bed Today because I like the cadence and the kids enjoy the nonsense - and an iSpy book.
*shrugs*
Cyn - Got your comment and I think I fixed what was annoying you about not seeing the blog title in your reader. I had that section blank in my dashboard because it displays the title on my blog when I type it there. (Which is not needed since I have my own banner)... Nevertheless, I put it there now. Do me a favor and check your reader. Is it working better now? Thanks.
http://curiousvillager.wordpres.com
I really couldn't care less what someone looks like. Not all of us are attractive and not all of us photograph well. I can aee taking issue with the cigarette though back in the day that photo was taken, cigarettes were not taboo at all and were frequently used in photographs.
Ted Bundy was one of our most prolific serial killers who brutally murdered dozens of women, and he was extremely handsome and attractive.
Moral: do not judge a book by its cover. I find this commentary on the physical appearance of the illustrator distasteful and rather immature.
Of course I know it's your blog and I'm welcome to not read it again - actually I found your other comments fun and amusing (I will admit though that I love Goodnight Moon, it was our favorite bedtime story) but I agree with your commentary about it. We actually liked seeing the pictures on the walls of the house that referenced The Runaway Bunny, which is in my opinion, a fantastic story...by the same author and illustrator.
Karen, I appreciate your comments. Come to think of it, the Menendez brothers were handsome as well. I actually hoped the Clement Hurd comment would be fun and amusing too.
A friend of mine explained that the writing style is "Free Jazz." I had completely forgotten that genre, but she may be right. Having said that, I see free jazz as similar to SOME modern art. It's kind of like a brain dump but nobody gets but you (this could apply to some of the stuff I write in my blog as well heehee).
I like the runaway bunny too, and the pictures on the walls, too, very cute.
Thanks for reading,
Cyn
Without margaret wise brown there wouldn't have been picture books for some time- She was the first to promote the collaboration of illustrators and writers and was beyond her time, using language that children liked because of the way it sounded, not because of it's meaning-
In my opinion, the trend to write children's books that entertain the adults that read them is a sad sad thing-
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