I am of the belief that the greatest gift that you can give your child is a love for reading. I have always included books on my gift givinng list for my own children even now that they are adults. Some of my favorite books that I read to my children are getting a bad rap. People are finding all kinds of hidden meaning in some of the most well loved children's books of our time. Here are a few examples. These are excerpts from an article by Lisa Belkin, and are opinions that I do not share.
Some people take away the heart warming message of a parent's limitless love for a child when reading the Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, and others see a story of a mother willing to literally let her child chop her into pieces.
The Rainbow Fish by Marc Pfister has the hero of the fish tale giving away all his scales to his fish friends so they will like him, and is really a mixed up warning not to be different.
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss is seen as the story of a home invasion, during which a fish is terrorized...It is also a book that illustrates lying to mom.
I can't include any more of these because I am starting to get angry. My only comment about this attack on these beloved books is that if you look hard enough at anything you will find some deep dark meaning behind it. Take these books for what they are, wonderful ways to introduce your child into the awesome world of reading, be assured that that is how your child is seeing them.
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