The Fox News of Children's Books
and one good book to cleanse your palate after reading the above
I remember my first library card. I proudly signed my name on the back before rushing into the stacks to choose what seemed like an unlimited amount of stories. I’m sure my mom smartly set her own limit so that my siblings and I could reload our stacks and still have time to climb the banyan trees that shaded the parking lot.
I don’t remember the books I checked out that day, but later book hauls must have included cautionary tales like Peter Rabbit, offbeat drawings and poems from Shel Silverstein, and Matt Christopher’s sports-themed chapter books. Simple lessons for young readers.
I grew attached to those characters, their triumphs and failures. I still am. And that’s why it’s upsetting to think of kids the same age finding anything from Brave Books on the shelves.
Though Brave advertises “Timeless Virtues for a New Generation,” they want to make sure we know that this means standing up to the “progressive agenda…dominating today’s culture and teaching our kids all the wrong lessons.” To be clear, the wrong lessons are not bullying, selfishness, or why you should stay out of Mr. McGregor’s garden.
In the first installment, Elephants Are Not Birds, the actual description of the book (not to mention the “Gender Identity” topic tag) lets us know that the “wrong lesson” is the acceptance of transgenderism:
Culture the Vulture convinces Kevin [the elephant] that his ability to sing is one that only birds have, so logically this means that he is a bird. The lies and logic from Culture the Vulture parallel what our culture is attempting to feed the youth of today. The story Elephants Are Not Birds arrives at a similar conclusion society will arrive at when it comes to the idea of gender identity, boys are not girls and elephants are not birds.
As absurdly transparent and poorly written as this sounds, it’s right out of the political playbook of chumming the waters with wedge issues and propaganda. Only this time, the messaging targets children.
I haven’t babysat in a long time, but helping kids share their toys and not hit their sister was a lot more important to surviving those gigs than inciting attacks against their playmates’ interests.
Sure, this is also about making a quick buck from Trump-athetic parents and owning the libs, but imagining a four-year-old asking their parents to read them Elephants Are Not Birds or Little Lives Matter (an actual forthcoming title under the “Sanctity of Life” tag) rather than Goodnight Moon or Brown Bear, Brown Bear makes me want to go back to bed.
If only Brave Books and the other outlets bringing cultural warfare to Pre-K instead contributed spaces for curious kids to safely explore their worlds, their parents might not feel the need to teach fearing others before tying shoes.
One Good Book
Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi (2021)
“You know, the trick to taking care of your sister is letting her think she’s taking care of you. I suspect you can ask your father the best way to do that since he does it so well with me.”
Jayne and June are sisters. They both live in New York, but they do not hang out. Jayne is barely hanging on in fashion school and June has a high-paying job in finance. When Jayne starts crashing with her sister to avoid a leech of a not-quite-boyfriend at her place, she realizes that June may need her far more than the reverse, and that they might have a chance to figure out what happened the first time around.
What’s the best thing you’ve read recently? Let me know ⬇️
Another good piece, Jack. Horrifying, but not shocking. Rodgers and Hammerstein nailed it over 70 years ago with "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught", in which they advanced the radical (to some) notion that children weren't born racist, they were raised that way. It's a lot easier to say, "elephants are not birds" than to explain yourself. The photos of the team on the B.B. website look like a maga rally waiting to happen. "Brave Books - ruining children since 2021!"
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