Post by doctorz on Dec 11, 2009 12:30:27 GMT -5
Have you ever picked up a book and expecting one thing get something entirely different out of it that was never intended? This happened to me several years ago. I was at a friend's house and happened to notice a little golden book on the couch. They had very young children at the time and these are the kind of books you read to toddlers. On the surface Chicky Basket was just the thing to read to a toddler. Full of bright Spring imagery and color, fluffy, furry anthropomorphic animal friends, and an adventure of discovery on the brink!
But
Then I read it and a darker message came across that to this day menaces my very soul! We have five happy little yellow chicks who all decide to strike out and discover the world! What fun! OR IS IT? NOBODY helps them. Not Fluffy Bunny, Squeaky Squirrel, Mr. Mole, nor Cock Robin for god's sake, lifts a paw to aid them. They end up wandering aimlessly around, travel in a complete circle and end up where they started fast asleep in their basket! IEEE! What an existential tale of utter despair! Nobody cares, they wander around in circles never meeting one goal they set for themselves and end up unconscious on their very doorstep. Their parents are nowhere to be found either! In gods name what is a toddler supposed to get out of this? Never mind them, they'll just like the pictures and mom's attention and will be fine, but what about any cognizant adult reading this? Do they go to the bathroom and slit their wrists? What's the sequel? Well, we all know that one don't we boys and girls? They become fryers at the supermarket or Kentucky Fried Chicken. Excuse me, I have to go cry now..a lot.
But
Then I read it and a darker message came across that to this day menaces my very soul! We have five happy little yellow chicks who all decide to strike out and discover the world! What fun! OR IS IT? NOBODY helps them. Not Fluffy Bunny, Squeaky Squirrel, Mr. Mole, nor Cock Robin for god's sake, lifts a paw to aid them. They end up wandering aimlessly around, travel in a complete circle and end up where they started fast asleep in their basket! IEEE! What an existential tale of utter despair! Nobody cares, they wander around in circles never meeting one goal they set for themselves and end up unconscious on their very doorstep. Their parents are nowhere to be found either! In gods name what is a toddler supposed to get out of this? Never mind them, they'll just like the pictures and mom's attention and will be fine, but what about any cognizant adult reading this? Do they go to the bathroom and slit their wrists? What's the sequel? Well, we all know that one don't we boys and girls? They become fryers at the supermarket or Kentucky Fried Chicken. Excuse me, I have to go cry now..a lot.