For instance, my sister gave Izzy a copy of The Giving Tree which is her favorite book of all time. I hadn't read it in a while but as soon as I did I was like, why is this such a good book? The tree bends over backwards to make the boy happy and the boy just keeps taking and taking, never even saying thank you?!?
Or how about Babar, another book that Izzy received at the baby shower. If you haven't read Babar in a while when he gets to the city an old woman becomes his sugar momma and then he marries his cousin. Huh??!?
How about some Mother Goose rhymes? I found a book with various rhymes for $1 at our local library (they have a used book section) and here is one of the odd rhymes:
PETER, PETER PUMPKIN EATER
Peter, Peter, pumpkin-eater,
Had a wife and couldn't keep her;
He put her in a pumpkin shell,
And there he kept her very well.
Peter, Peter, pumpkin-eater,
Had a wife and couldn't keep her;
He put her in a pumpkin shell,
And there he kept her very well.
Uh so he keeps her locked up in a pumpkin shell so that she doesn't leave? Maybe we shouldn't promote kidnapping/abuse??
I know that others think that this book is weird as well- I Love You Forever. It's about a mother who no matter how old her son gets, she sneaks into his room to sing him the same song every night. Despite the weird helicopter mom, I cry every time I read Izzy the book because (spoiler alert) at the end of the book the mother becomes too sick to go over to her son's house so he picks her up and sings the song and then also sings the song to his newborn. Then I read an article about the book and felt awful that I felt the book was weird- according to the article, the author and his wife had two stillborn babies and the song was for them. Gah.
Finally, one rhyme that I do love is the Itsy Bitsy Spider. When I was trying to think of songs to sing Izzy when she was younger I could only remember the first verse. Did you know that there were six verses? According to the lyrics on this website, there are. Anyway, I like singing the song to Izzy because although most people wouldn't want to hear about a spider before they are about to go to sleep, the song teaches perseverance. I mean the spider keeps getting knocked down and yet climbs back up again and in finally triumphant and gets to rest in the sun!
The itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the waterspout
Down came the rain
And washed the spider out
Out came the sun
And dried up all the rain
And the itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the spout again
The itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the kitchen wall
Swoosh! went the fan
And made the spider fall
Off went the fan
No longer did it blow
So the itsy bitsy spider
Back up the wall did go
The itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the yellow pail
In came a mouse
And flicked her with his tail
Down fell the spider
The mouse ran out the door
Then the itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the pail once more
The itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the rocking chair
Up jumped a cat
And knocked her in the air
Down plopped the cat
And when he was asleep
The itsy bitsy spider
Back up the chair did creep
The itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the maple tree
She slipped on some dew
And landed next to me
Out came the sun
And when the tree was dry
The itsy bitsy spider
Gave it one more try
The itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up without a stop
She spun a silky web
Right at the very top
She wove and she spun
And when her web was done
The itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the waterspout
Down came the rain
And washed the spider out
Out came the sun
And dried up all the rain
And the itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the spout again
The itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the kitchen wall
Swoosh! went the fan
And made the spider fall
Off went the fan
No longer did it blow
So the itsy bitsy spider
Back up the wall did go
The itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the yellow pail
In came a mouse
And flicked her with his tail
Down fell the spider
The mouse ran out the door
Then the itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the pail once more
The itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the rocking chair
Up jumped a cat
And knocked her in the air
Down plopped the cat
And when he was asleep
The itsy bitsy spider
Back up the chair did creep
The itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the maple tree
She slipped on some dew
And landed next to me
Out came the sun
And when the tree was dry
The itsy bitsy spider
Gave it one more try
The itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up without a stop
She spun a silky web
Right at the very top
She wove and she spun
And when her web was done
The itsy bitsy spider
Rested in the sun
Have you encountered any suspect books or rhymes for kids? Or maybe I am just putting too much thought into this?
4 comments:
Totally agree on these! Also, when I was living in France, my host brother, who was then three years old, brought home a book from his school library. Turned out, it was about a monster who was granted a wish and wished for a big mouth so he could eat all the animals in the forest. He got his wish, he ate all his animals, and then at the end it turns out that he forgot to wish for a bigger butthole (YES REALLY) and he dies because all the animals that he ate get stuck inside him because he can't poop them out. YES REALLY. I MEAN.
I totally agree about The Giving Tree...I remember we analyzed it in college and I didn't like it then...really didn't like it when reading it to M.
I had no idea that the Itsy Bitsy Spider had so many verses! My husband and I always laugh at Sandra Boynton's The Going to Bed Book. They take a bath and brush their teeth, then go up to exercise before going to bed. I don't know a single person that takes a bath BEFORE exercise, and then crawls into bed right after. Silly.
What Amber said about the Going To Bed Book. We always laugh at that. My husband will read the book out of order so it makes more sense.
My kids actually really like the book Good Dog, Carl. But it's about a mom who leaves the dog to babysit the baby. So, yeah.
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