The controversy of this book is that the animals in the story portray certain type of people. For example, the donkeys are the community people and the pigs are the police. There was an issue with the police officers being the pigs. I understand the controversy of this book, but I do not necessarily agree with it. The first time I read through the book I could not find why it was on the controversy book list. I had to look up online why it was on the list. I understood the explanation that was given online, but I do not think that children will pick up on this connection. I was reading this book to analyze it and I did not make the connection, so I do not think that children who are simply reading the book for enjoyment will make the connection that police officers are depicted as pigs. I think this is a creative story that uses animals rather than people and human situation. Cute book!
Janelle -
ReplyDeleteI blogged about this one too :) I agree with you, I and thought it was a really great imaginative story that would be fun for kids. My main PROBLEM with the book, is that the parents pretty much just GIVE UP on their child after a very brief period of searching, and I think that this could cause some children to become scared and fearful for the poor "donkey rock" (you know, the donkey rock? weird). I didn't think about the PIG either! funny.
I actually really love this story. I read it earlier this semester and blogged about it-- I certainly did not think of it as a "controversial" book. I did notice the pig reference, and honestly, I just kind of chuckled to myself about this as I was reading the book.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get the sense that the parents gave up on their child quickly, but rather I thought the story was very heartfelt and expressed the intense love that parents feel for their children. I loved the language of the book, and my kids both enjoyed it when I read it to them.
I think the controversy of this book is an overreaction as well. I don't think there is any subversive subliminal message about police officers in this book. We use animals as characters in children's books to make the story less intimate and more fun. I have no problem with pigs as police officers.
ReplyDeleteNice reflection! I agree that the topic in this book is not very controversial. I also agree that maybe some children may not understand the connections made by police officers being pigs. Some children might even have a positive outlook on pigs because of the popular book Charlotte’s Web.
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