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Wednesday, August 11, 2010

A problem with children's books (Part 1)

Ok, so we're a big reading family here.  I read, Mike reads, and Bridget "reads" tons of books.  This is how she keeps herself entertained if left for longer than 5 minutes on her own.

I have found, however, that not all children's books are thought through very well.  Not to say they are bad books, but there's just something about them that shows the author/illustrator/editor wasn't really thinking that day.  I submit to you the following:

This is one of Bridget's favorite books to read on her own.  As it states, it is a book about shapes, colors, and opposite with things hidden behind flaps for her to pull up and down and all that fun stuff.*

This is what the book looks like inside.  See, all cutely labeled and simply worded.  Perfect for little ones.  But let us look behind the rock at what Mr. Bear sees, shall we?

He sees a... What?  Is that really what I think it is?
 

Why yes, Mr. Bear does see a PINK ELEPHANT.  Has he been drinking some fermented berries?  Really Mr. (or Ms.) Questionable-Author/Illustrator-Who-Is-Not-Listed-Anywhere-On-The-Book?** You couldn't have chosen anything else to show the color pink?  A flamingo maybe?  A piece of bubblegum?  No, we're going with a pink elephant.

And in case you're wondering, all the other stuff is normal.  A yellow plane.  A gray mouse.  A green cactus.  It's just the pink elephant. 

Here's a little heads up on pink elephants in case you don't know.  Or haven't seen Dumbo and weren't scared out of your wits by this scene when you were little.***



















Disney's Dumbo: Pink Elephants on Parade

What about you?  Have you guys found any weird stuff in your kids toys or books?  I have a few others I'll be sharing in a few days. 

*As an aside, I wish I could explain how thick this thing is. Seriously, it's like, the War and Peace of board books. I just counted and the thing has 40 pages! (20 turnable sheets) We've never made it past page 30, just FYI.

**Really, I just searched. The only thing listed is a publishing company in Belgium. Maybe pink elephants there mean something else?

***Please tell me I'm not the only one that was scared and confused about this scene?  Seriously, thinking back on Dumbo there are just so many things wrong there.  Don't even get me started on the whole "waiting on the stork" issue at the beginning.

2 comments:

Shanny said...

Wow now I'll be checking out the books to see what these ilustrators/authors come up with!

Unknown said...

Hi Kate! This is my first time to your blog.

I totally agree! I get irritated with things like that in books. I love children's books - love them! But now and then I find myself thinking c'mon!

It's so nice to meet you!
Lynnette
Dancing Barefoot on Weathered Ground