Conservative Kid's Book Challenges Harry Potter for #1 Amazon Spot

Yahoo News ^ | 9/22/05

[shining_city]

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) September 22, 2005 -- An unlikely children's book has stepped forward to challenge "Harry Potter" for the #1 ranking on Amazon.com's bestseller list, and its portrayal of left-wing icons Hillary Clinton and Ted Kennedy as cartoon villains has provoked a firestorm of controversy in the process.

"Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed" (Kids Ahead; hardcover $15.95; ISBN 0976726904) by Katharine DeBrecht soared to #6 in Amazon's overall rankings on Wednesday afternoon after being praised by talk radio king Rush Limbaugh on his national radio show. The illustrated book ranked second only to J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" in Amazon's children's book category, and was also ranked as #8 overall on Barnes & Noble's site.

Should the book go on to topple "Harry Potter" for the top spot, it would be a major upset by a most unlikely underdog. Not only have the leading publications in the publishing industry such as Publisher's Weekly and The New York Times Book Review ignored the book, it has also been fiercely denounced by liberal pundits and bloggers. The average customer review for "Liberals Under My Bed" on Amazon stood at only one star out of five earlier this week as liberals flocked to the site to criticize the controversial book. But its fortunes dramatically reversed as word of the book spread in conservative circles.

"Our hat is off here to Katharine DeBrecht, the author of 'Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed,'" Limbaugh proclaimed to his audience, adding that left-wing critics were upset about DeBrecht's book because of its accurate parody of the liberal movement. "I'm telling you, the liberals cringe -- they go ape! -- when you dare be honest about them. They call it an attack!" Limbaugh added.

Limbaugh recounted that Ron Reagan — whom he playfully referred to as an MSNBC "quasi-host" — scolded DeBrecht on his cable television show, and that Alan Colmes, the liberal co-host of "Hannity & Colmes," claimed her book existed for the purpose of brainwashing. Limbaugh went on to note that the popular Democratic Underground website named DeBrecht to its "Top 10 Conservative Idiots" list, and that the highly trafficked left-wing blog Daily Kos likened her book to Nazi propaganda.

"Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed" -- which features full-color illustrations by award winning artist Jim Hummel -- tells of two brothers who open a lemonade stand. Their plans to save up their hard-earned profits to buy a swing set go awry when a Ted Kennedy character taxes away their proceeds and a pants-suit clad Hillary Clinton look-alike outlaws sugary drinks. The book is being hailed by traditional values advocates as an alternative to liberal books such as "Rainbow Fish" (where a fish is hectored into giving away his beautiful scales so that all the fish look the same) and "King & King" (where two princes marry each other and adopt a little girl), which are often found in our nation's classrooms.

About Kids Ahead: Kids Ahead is an imprint of Los Angeles-based World Ahead Publishing, the West Coast's premier publisher of conservative and libertarian books. To learn more, visit www.worldahead.com .

Contact Information: To interview author Katharine DeBrecht, contact Special Guests at (630) 848-0750.

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[BIRDS]

Yeah, agree with you. What is wrong is not telling children the truth...and as you say, the key issue here is age appropriately.

I think this book sounds fabulous, am eager to get a copy. And I'm no child but I'd like to see what it's about -- anything KOS and DU and Allan Colmes revile, I just know is worthy of attention.

[frankjr]

Just for the heck of it, I am going to read it tomorrow.

[Dark Knight]

This is hype from the publisher no doubt.

If you went back in time and released this book head to head with HP, it would not even be a blip.

Barnes and Noble lists HP and the Halfblood Prince as the top bestseller in the last year (Jan through Aug). Not Children's bestsellers but the top book overall.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/bestsellers/warnew_rnav.asp?PID=6878&userid=Zh172WtBFv

I remember when Hillary's (ghostwritten) book came out. The HP book came out and beat everything including Hillary's book. The NYT actually started breaking HP out to say Hillary was the top book.

Rowling is not scared of the competition. This book ain't it. She has 6 books or sets on the BN top 100. This book isn't there. I'd almost dare anyone to name one other book in the top ten. They appear pretty obscure to me. Say the new Harry Potter is coming out and kids are at BN parties at midnight. I doubt that will happen with this book.

Did you take your daughter to the last party?

DK

[Das Outsider]

Limbaugh went on to note that the popular Democratic Underground website named DeBrecht to its "Top 10 Conservative Idiots" list, and that the highly trafficked left-wing blog Daily Kos likened her book to Nazi propaganda

Ok....Let's keep reading.

The book is being hailed by traditional values advocates as an alternative to liberal books such as "Rainbow Fish" (where a fish is hectored into giving away his beautiful scales so that all the fish look the same) and "King & King" (where two princes marry each other and adopt a little girl), which are often found in our nation's classrooms.

If that isn't Marxist-Leninist propaganda, then I'm not sure what is. But of course, Nazis are worse than Communists. Always. /sarcasm

[Vive ut Vivas]

"Rainbow Fish", a liberal book? No! I loved that book, and I turned out okay!

Then again, it might have been the shiny pictures that I liked...

[VastRWCon]

we did go, that morning I said ok I will read all 6 before 7 comes out.

ps: i have seen the HP movies and played all the HP ps2 games, but never got around to the actual books until this summer.

Another note... I thought the Bible was the #1 all time best seller book.

[Brett66]

Haha! This is great, I just ordered mine. I'll enjoy reading it to my daughter.

[rawhide]

Here is a picture of the book and a link at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0976726904/qid=1127442386/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-9280322-0564702?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

PS:I wish I knew how to post a a one-click link? Sorry. Maybe someone can help me? Thanks.

[cubreporter]

Oh stop. For heaven's sakes. What about the other books out ther on the left that are iin the schools that the kids are reading? What is wrong with opposition? Nothing. Kids have more on the ball than you give them credit for. I'm buying a bunch of those books. The author is brilliant for coming up with something like this.

[Dark Knight]

I just checked Amazon and the book is Number 10 overall vs. HP and the Halfblood Prince is at Number 2.

HP has been out for months, it sold millions of copies in ONE DAY. Millions of children partied the night it came out. JK Rowling did a reading at a castle. Limbaugh mentions it and it has a blip in sales.

I agree with a previous post. Kids need to be taught social skills about debate and facts. Questions like: How to you prove something in a debate, what are logical fallacies, how do you gracefully deal with someone that disagrees with your opinions, what is the difference between opinion and fact?

But if it is age appropriate, cool. But it is not selling MILLIONS.

DK

[George Stupidnopolis]

This is great. In the sequel Teddy Kennedy will play a sea monster (Hillary will continue to play herself)

[ClearCase_guy]

I really question whether "Rainbow Fish" should really be considered liberal propaganda.

Rainbow Fish is about redistibution of wealth. It's about how the masses, who have nothing, should put pressure on those who have "too much" to hand it over to the needy. Rainbow Fish is about how a happy society can only exist if beauty is destroyed and if everyone is brought down to the same dreary level.

Rainbow Fish himself is only "arrogant" in so far as he does not initially see why he should give up what he has in order to benefit those who have no claim on him other than their need. But he comes around eventually, more's the pity.

[Tribune7]

LOL

[Tribune7]

OTOH, innoculation against indoctrination is doing the Lord's work.

[underbyte]

I always thought "Stone Soup" (?) was more in the socialist tradition

[Dark Knight]

I believe the Bible is number one. I certainly has been translated into more languages. It won't be represented in too many bestseller lists because EVERYONE has one already.

I have the boxed set of HP 1-4 (in Russian). I was trying to learn Russian at the time. You can't imagine how funny Dursley is in Cyrillic.

DK

[VastRWCon]

wow, good luck to ya... last year we were working on this: A Treasures Trove

[Das Outsider]

But if it is age appropriate, cool. But it is not selling MILLIONS.

This is the first I've heard of it. Can't be selling that well.

I suppose the hysterical Left could counter with something like "There's A War-Mongering Zionist Neo-Con Levy Destroying, Election Stealing, Angry Republican Under the Bed." Oliver Stone could direct the film version. Michael Moore could edit--as usual.

[Dark Knight]

I suppose the hysterical Left could counter with something like "There's A War-Mongering Zionist Neo-Con Levy Destroying, Election Stealing, Angry Republican Under the Bed." Oliver Stone could direct the film version. Michael Moore could edit--as usual.<<

And the looney fringe lefties can see the film 50 times each at a discount, buy the DVD for Christmas gifts (to give to friends and family that disagree with them), and claim it made $100,000,000 at the box because of a grass roots effort.

I wonder how many tickets MoveOn.org will buy to launder the money they get?

DK

[montag813]

It would have been smarter for her to name the book "Lemonade Stand", rather than the corrosive title. A less confrontational title would increase its chances of sneaking into schools without adminitsrators even realizing it.