another disturbing "kid" item
we went to the east greenbush library on thursday. the girls picked out a few books and so did my parents. they grabbed two titles that were in the little kid section (picture books, not young adult chapter book section) by david macaulay. the one book is about a pigeon carrying a message to some guy in rome. it has cool illustrations of the buildings in rome from a pigeon's eye view. a little weird for a kid but kind of fun to look at.
the second book is decidedly NOT a children's book. it is called BAAA . i could imagine reading the book with middle or high schoolers, but it is not for little kids. i think i'm going to ask the library why it is filed with the little kid books. i'm sure it is because it is obviously a picture book. it has a big black and white sketch, oozing with macaulay's attention to details, on each page with only one or two sentences beneath. but come on don't libraries have some index of where to place their books? or doesn't anyone read the books before they go on the shelves?
the book begins with the bit on the inside book flap telling us that there is no record of when the people disappeared. and then the sheep leave their pastures and begin to live the lives the humans had been living. as a grown person i can appreciate the social commentary, right down to the comment that "life was good and gas was cheap". even the twisted developments don't seem too far fetched. but this would not be okay to read to v1.5 or any other kid old enough to ask "why?" yet too young to really get the complex answers. i would have enjoyed using the book with my rehab boys and inviting them to make their own comic book commentary on society as they see it. and i think some of you would enjoy it. but i'll wait a few more years before reading it to my kids thank you very much.
the second book is decidedly NOT a children's book. it is called BAAA . i could imagine reading the book with middle or high schoolers, but it is not for little kids. i think i'm going to ask the library why it is filed with the little kid books. i'm sure it is because it is obviously a picture book. it has a big black and white sketch, oozing with macaulay's attention to details, on each page with only one or two sentences beneath. but come on don't libraries have some index of where to place their books? or doesn't anyone read the books before they go on the shelves?
the book begins with the bit on the inside book flap telling us that there is no record of when the people disappeared. and then the sheep leave their pastures and begin to live the lives the humans had been living. as a grown person i can appreciate the social commentary, right down to the comment that "life was good and gas was cheap". even the twisted developments don't seem too far fetched. but this would not be okay to read to v1.5 or any other kid old enough to ask "why?" yet too young to really get the complex answers. i would have enjoyed using the book with my rehab boys and inviting them to make their own comic book commentary on society as they see it. and i think some of you would enjoy it. but i'll wait a few more years before reading it to my kids thank you very much.