Posted on 11/23/2005 11:37:35 AM PST by neverdem
Cast your mind back to the Thanksgivings of your childhood--or if not yours, then Norman Rockwell's. See the flushed, familiar faces, the expanse of white damask, the jewel-like bowls of candied yams and cranberry sauce, and Granddad carving the large, gleaming, nut-brown . . . artichoke?
Wait--sorry. I've been looking at too many children's picture books. For though it's true that publishers still turn out Pilgrim- and Indian-themed stories about America's most beloved holiday--with pumpkins, cornucopias and roasted turkey--the aim of a surprising number of children's books about Thanksgiving seems to be to put little readers off their meat. In these stories, succulent turkey is out; crunchy veggies are in. And a plump gobbler isn't served on the table but at it.
"Thanksgiving dinner always means turkey! Or does it? One little pilgrim is not so sure . . " So goes the sell on the cover of Peggy Archer's "Turkey Surprise" (Dial, $10). In it, forest creatures help a turkey hide from two pilgrim boys, the younger of whom eventually succeeds in persuading his brother not to bag a fowl for Thanksgiving. In "Over the River: A Turkey's Tale" (Simon & Schuster, $14.95), illustrated by Derek Anderson, turkeys on their way to Grandma's house similarly manage to outwit and escape their pursuers before sitting down to a jolly meat-free Thanksgiving meal.
In "Thelonious Turkey Lives! (On Felicia Ferguson's Farm)" (Knopf, $15.95), by Lynn Rowe Reed, Thanksgiving's approach causes the eponymous avian hero to become "nervous about dinner--being dinner, that is." He assumes that Felicia is "trying to fatten him up for the chopping block." So he foments a barnyard insurgency to destabilize the apparently ferocious farmer, only to discover in the end that she merely wants his feathers to use as decorations on fashionable hats.
How cute! How O...
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
What normal dad could stomach reading such a book to a kid?
yeesh.
I guess it lowers the price of meat for the rest of us. It's just so disgusting to have to see it though.
Yes, because Pilgrims only hunted birds because they were big fat meanies. It had nothing to do with not starving or anything.
PETA
PEOPLE
EATING
TASTY
ANIMALS
-c cm
Time for some Ted Nugent!
I prefer to read a cute Thanksgiving story called "Cranberry Thanksgiving" by Wende and Harry Devlin. It is a cute story, with a traditional turkey dinner with all the fixings including the Grandmother's famous Cranberry Bread. The recipe is included in the book for the cranberry bread, so parents and their children can make their own loaf of Cranberry Bread for their own Thanksgiving celebration.
I have read this story with my children every year just before Thanksgiving since they were not much more than babies, and every year we make the Cranberry bread together. It has become a family tradition that we all enjoy. I hope some of you will like it too
here in MN the "turkey wars" have lowered prices to about .39/cents a pound.
I suppose we'll need a Congressional hearing about it soon.
Glad I live in Oregon. I only paid 18 cents a pound for my turkey! I've got a pounder to cook for tomorrow! Yum Yum!
We're having leg of lamb this year instead of turkey. There's no reason to think that the leg didn't come from an animal that's into extreme body modification. Will that make the Petans happy?
>>>>What sort of weakminded idiots buy these kinds of books for their kids?
I've probably got a few relatives on the list. We've gotten some strange books for the kids in the past.
>>>>What normal dad could stomach reading such a book to a kid?
We actually pre-read all children's books now. We got some that went beyond the silly stuff here, and were down right offensive (e.g., promoting pagan religions when the family is more than aware we are Christian). If it doesn't pass muster it disappears before present opening is even finished. I suspect my family has noticed this pre screening, as they were meant to. The books are getting less offensive every year, fortunately. One year one of the kids wanted one of the books read to her, and was dissappointed it couldn't be found. ;-)
patent
My last post should have read "20 pounder" for tomorrow! Guess I somehow deleted the size when I previewed my post. Mea Culpa!
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