My friend Joanna and I bonded over a shared dislike for Pinkalicious. She’s mad that it teaches kids to hate green food and I can’t seem to find a take-away message. Isn’t every book an opportunity to teach something new, preferably something that you couldn’t quite put into your own words? And just today, I bought that “I Like You” book that you shove in your mailbox for Valentine’s Day for your kid to find. Except the story was bizarre and talked about punching someone in the face (thanks Daily Candy for the rec!) So…..confused. But while the Oliver Jeffers books are off-beat in their own right, you can extract some kind of sweet moral to build on after the book ends (like the difference between feeling lost and feeling lonely.) And the illustrations are so special.
THANK you. I read Purplicious last night and it uses words like, hate, stupid, sissies, and “so ugly.” Then, they make fun of her little brother for liking pink!? “How funny! A boy who likes pink?” Are those words necessary for a toddler book?! And why mock a little boy for liking pink?
I was not a big fan of Pinkalicious either. I’ve been trying to read to my kids more and more so that hopefully they’ll acquire a taste for books over tv SOMEDAY! Anyway, I found a post on the AnnaBean blog discussing some book finds. I really liked the personalized storybook because my kids still think the world revolves around them and I think they would really pay attention to a book all about them haha