Lauri Meyers .

I'm finally ready with my last post on subversive books: Real Life Scary. The other topics I covered so far are: Part 1: While Your Parents Are Out Part 2: Nakeyness Part 3: The Dark Part 4: Scary Creatures Part 5: Mortal Danger I didn't plan to write about real life scariness. It took brainstorming what made books scary to identify this area. I've also been procrastinating this one, because perhaps it scares me the most. There's something refreshing about being able to close a book on gooey green monsters, which you know probably aren't real. And even though I'm scared of the dark, I know there's probably really not anything lurking in it. But real life. Now, that's scary. It's probably not fair to call these subversive, but here's a selection of books that make me pause before reading to my kids. And my breath hitches when I consider there are little children who are living in similar situations to these today. ...

My posts on scary books have covered my biggest fear: The Dark  and the Scary Creatures which lurk in it. But why do these scare me so? Danger. Maybe even Mortal Peril. Clearly, this is too scary for picture books, right? Wrong. Let's enter the world of extreme danger in picture books.  "I would not eat a rabbit." ( I Want My Hat Back , by Jon Klassen)   Do you ever wonder, "What would my critique group say if my picture book protagonist...um... murdered the antagonist in cold blood?" "Murder in picture books is off limits." "I think kids should learn to work it out." "Maybe they could just hug instead?" It didn't seem to concern Jon Klassen when he wrote his books This is Not My Hat and I Want My Hat Back. "Nobody will ever find me." ( This is Not My Hat , by Jon Klassen)   In both of these books we get a pretty good idea on Klassen's feelings on theft and the repercussions of o...

I started studying subversive books way back in September with the plan to cover lack of parental supervision , nudity , and scariness. I thought scary would be easy. But then over the course of the last few weeks, my living room turned into a Booknado! I considered Lion vs. Rabbit (Alex Latimer) because bullying is scary and Extra Yarn (Mac Barnett, Jon Klassen) because an archduke breaking into your house is scary. Vampire Baby (Kelly Bennett, Paul Meisel) seemed like a sure thing, but it's just too darn cute. I interviewed my 4yo over juice boxes. "Is Tiger in My Soup * scary?"  "I give it one dot of scary." Geesh. Even my kid has her own rating scale for scariness and tigers roaring apparently rate low. (*Kashmira Sheth, Jeffrey Ebbeler) I entered a state of I-don't-know-what's-scary paralysis!! So I decided to focus on what scares me the most: 1. The Dark 2. Scary Creatures 3. Mortal Danger 4. Real Life Ma...

We are talking subversive books this month, and today I want to cover the oh-so-shameful topic of nudity in picture books . GASP!   Since nudity has caused books to be banned , it's appropriate to consider in a subversive light.  I'm going to start with the blatant books which use NAKED right in the title.     "They brought Wilbur to a giant portrait of Grand-pah, the oldest, greatest, and most naked naked mole rat ever." ( Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed , by Mo Willems) Please use your best movie commercial voice for the following: " In a world where everyone is naked, one naked mole rat dares to wear clothes."   Mo turns the tables on us. He makes us feel uncomfortable not by the nudity, but by the un-nudity. And in doing so he weaves a lovely tale of being yourself. "and ONE naked baby goes back in the bath!"  ( One Naked Baby , by Maggie Smith) This book has been a staple in our house for six years, because it made my ...