Last week I went to the library with the kids. I have no words to explain the propaganda for children I found, but I'll use some anyway...osmosis doesn't work so well.Done with such whimsy one finds themselves laughing delightedly by the end. While "no part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever..." your life would be lacking if I didn't share what I can. Here's the premise:
Mommy is a democrat because she is a squirrel that lives in a home with a charming view of a vagrant who lives across the street on a bench. Mommy is a democrat because among other reasons, she makes "sure everyone always has enough to eat", makes sure "we are nice to people who are different", and she makes sure we "clean up our messes" (unlike the vile elephant - Did it just escape from the zoo?- plodding away from the vagrants overturned home/bench). Yet, for a children's book I was easily confused. If Mommy is a democrat enforcer of all things wonderful, then how come mommy never even notices the pathetic bum?
How come mommy drinks coffee at her window while her baby squirrels play with a mouse and blocks and doesn't notice the man with his hat upturned waiting for a handout? How come mommy bakes cookies for the neighborhood forest friends but doesn't share with the hungry man on the bench? Was it just me, or did Mommy seem blind?
That homeless person living just outside the cheery home full of love and good aromas, spends his book life forlorn and alone. In the end mommy makes "sure everyone has a warm bed to sleep in" but leaves Mr. Lonely with a newspaper blanket sleeping under the moon. Maybe he was camping. Confusing? Yes. I can only assume that either Mommy's not a democrat, or well...your guess is as good as mine. By the way, this is leaps better than the book we found the previous week entitled, "King and King". Seriously.