In this multiple award winner, Max is sent to his room for wild behavior, where he fantasizes becoming King of Wild Things before returning to where "someone loved him best of all."
Sent to his room, Max fantasizes its total transmogrification. Trees and vines take over, and soon he is sailing to the land of the Wild Things. He becomes their king through the "magic" of 'staring them down', but then grows homesick and returns to warm food. This still popular and highly awarded story hints at a child's joint need for empowerment and a parent's love, but the real world is where such values are found.
"Professor Factual" offers no facts, but his claims are sufficient argument for the Bears to join the Earthsavers Club.
This story presents common environmentalist claims, pooh-poohing those who might have a different view. Children are too young to interpret true science so only "Argument from Authority" (a Logical Fallacy) is offered by Professor Actual Factual. Contrary to the principles of ValuedMinds, this story is indoctrination, not education. Happy ending: everyone joins the Earthsavers club and happily parades their blind faith in saving the Earth.
A confusion of Greek Chorus characters tell us —they do not show us— that writers should use nouns and adjectives to show, rather than tell, the reader.
Consider: "The hall became noisy." boringly tells the reader, while "Sounds of crinkling wrappers, cleared throats, muffled chuckles and clipped remarks soon filled the hall." creates a mental image and shows the reader. Ironically, Nobisso is so busy telling us, that she fails to show us this simple point. Nobisso has added a Greek Chorus of crude animal characters who provide erratic interjections about the pages, that further muddy a subject that ought to be crystal clear. See the full review.
An interracial family does things families do, while readers focus 'admiringly' on the color blending.
The book's verse focuses on skin color: Mom is "a tasty tan and coffee pumpkin pie / with dark brown eyes and almond ears" . The book offers no suggestion as to color being relevant or irrelevant to human judgment, nonetheless its focus on color makes color more of an issue rather than less. If racism is incorrect, why focus on a family's 'color', why make it important? Was Black is Brown is Tan given its literary award to promote a politically correct agenda, rather than for its merit, in the manner of affirmative action programs?
This is an aboriginal warning to girls, in which Whispering Wind's innocence is taken, when a warrior charms her, steals her away to the village of the man-wolves, and 'ravages' her.
Strangely, it is 'wise' Whispering Wind whom the Warrior tricks. He transforms into a wolf-man as he abducts her to the Wolf Village. There her innocence is violently taken (in a children's book!). Mum rescues her with the help of the "Creator" and peyote. Later Whispering Wind unquestioningly resumes teaching children of the (actually unhelpful) ways of "the ancients". Whispering Wind's violent plot and man-hating theme may not be suitable for children, but may warrant study as a chic aboriginal 'myth'.
God drowns all that do not obey Him, warning only the obedient and pastoral Noah to build a large boat to save his family and mating pairs of all animals.
This impressive Biblical myth is wordlessly concretized through Spier's slightly subdued illustrations. He makes the events of The Flood seem possible, at least to naive children. The real utility of "Noah's Ark" is as a lesson in uncritical thinking (see full review) and as a culturally important, religious myth that older children should examine. For example, the story encourages children to 'blank out' and accept genocide as a fitting action (for God?) against non-believers.
Thirty-seven prominent biblical stories are told in simple words, but are best read critically by those over 12, with adult assistance.
Tomie dePaola's collection of biblical myths is an easy read. He has selected the most memorable or religiously significant events, from Genesis to Christ's re-appearance on Whitsunday. The explicit damning of knowledge in Genesis ─Eve's apple was from the Tree of Knowledge─ and the enormous contradictions in this mythology (e.g. Earth and God as Something made from Nothing ─what part of Nothing organized itself into God?), makes this useful for those interested in showing the nature of religious dogma.
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