Posted on 12/19/2005 10:27:04 AM PST by shining_city
Once upon a time, people in red states and blue states did not like each other.
They used to argue. A lot. Especially on TV and the radio.
Then they decided their children should feel this way, too.
That's why this holiday season we have books such as "Why Mommy is a Democrat" and "Help! Mom! There are Liberals Under My Bed."
Hey kids, can you say "culture wars?"
No surprise, really. These books are natural extensions of the political rants now a staple of the adult best-seller lists.
Last year, conservative talk show host Bill O'Reilly rolled out "The O'Reilly Factor for Kids." On the left, "NO, George, NO! was released in the heat of the 2004 election campaign.
Sheila Shapiro, the Wilsonville children's librarian who also reads to kids on cable access TV, says political satire for young kids is not new. For example, Dr. Seuss tackled the nuclear arms race two decades ago in "The Butter Battle Book."
"What you're seeing now is real explicit political satire," Shapiro says, "it's just right out there."
That's for sure. Forget the pretend Zooks and Yooks fighting the Butter Battle.
In "Liberals Under My Bed," two young boys trying to earn money selling lemonade have a bad dream about "Liberaland."
In that unsavory world, they are beset by a Teddy Kennedy lookalike who taxes away their profits, a Hillary Rodham Clinton clone who makes them serve broccoli and a "Mr. Fussman of the LCLU" who orders them to take down their picture of Jesus.
Katharine DeBrecht, a South Carolina mother and freelance newspaper writer, says she wrote "Liberals Under My Bed" to counter what she says is a surfeit of children's books that promote liberal values, such as "Heather Has Two Mommies."
"I have seen children's books representing the left for several years," she says. "On the children's level, there really wasn't something out there to teach the traditional values."
DeBrecht's book, published by a small press, might have sank without notice. But Rush Limbaugh gave it a plug on his radio show, and it's been featured on several conservative blogs. The book is now in its third printing, and DeBrecht says she is working on a series, including, "Help! Mom! Hollywood is in My Hamper" and "Help! Mom! There are Lawyers in My Lunch Box!"
Jeremy Zilber, a political science professor in Madison, Wis., says he wrote "Why Mommy is a Democrat" for similar reasons.
"My feeling is that kids are being indoctrinated anyway," he says, noting how they often parrot their parents' political leanings. "It makes more sense to be up front with children and say, 'I'm a Democrat, and here's why.' "
Zilber -- to use a favorite Democratic word -- is more nuanced than DeBrecht at the swipes he takes against his political rivals. In one panel, for example, the mother squirrel keeps her young charges from being trampled by a heedless elephant. In another, a well-heeled couple toting a newspaper with a tax cut headline ignores the pleas of a poor beggar.
"I think of them not so much as books for children but almost as books for adults," says Kathleen Horning, president-elect of the children's service arm of the American Library Association, after reviewing the Zilber and DeBrecht books. "I can't really imagine anyone sitting down and reading these books to children, and if they tried, I doubt very much that children would pay attention. . . . They are very much message-driven, very didactic."
Horning says some well-written children's books do deal with politics, but in a wittier and more even-handed fashion. She praises "Duck for President" and the Caldecott Medal-winning "So You Want to Be President."
Still, Zilber and DeBrecht are pleased by the holiday buzz over their books.
In fact, Zilber says the grandchildren of a very well-known Democrat will be receiving copies of "Why Mommy is a Democrat" under the tree this year. He made this reporter promise not to say who that Democrat is, on pain of being sent to a very bad place.
But then again, they also hate that Book that advises "Go to the ant, thou sluggard," so maybe we shouldn't be surprised. ;-)
But the left recently lost their most famous childrens' book writer. Tookie has left the building.
"Why Mommy is a Democrat" should be called " If your a child and reading this book, Mommy can't be much of a Democrap, because you would have been aborted!"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.