I am by no means an expert in the world of children’s books, but I do find myself knee deep in them each day. Not only do I wake my child up with a morning read and put him to sleep with a book each night, but I have also been running a children’s book drive at my place of work for the past two months. So when I’m not reading these beautifully crafted pieces of literature for our youngsters, I’m boxing, sorting, and distributing them to community agencies in Durham.
The selection available to children these days is never-ending. The classics are still good and the new stuff is beyond my imagination. I even love the important lessons that can be learned at such a young age. Take these two books for example, which teach our children completely opposing concepts:
The Little Red Hen - a classic, and The Rainbow Fish - another classic
The Little Red Hen is a tale about a hard-working hen that finds a grain of wheat and decides to plant it. She asks for help throughout the book with the reaping of the wheat, the carrying the wheat to the mill to be made into flour, the making of the dough out of the flour, and the baking of the bread. No one ever lends her a hand. But everyone wants a piece of the final product, her fresh baked bread. The Little Red Hen refuses to share her bread, because everyone refused her help along the way. The book’s message is clear – I keep what I earn.
The Rainbow Fish is tale about the most beautiful fish in the entire ocean who learns that giving all of himself to others and making others happy is much more important than being selfish. He gives all away but one of his shimmery scales. He is no longer the most beautiful fish in the ocean, as now all the fish are equally beautiful. Not trying to think too deeply about its message, which some argue conveys socialism, the book encourages sharing and selflessness.
Although both messages are drastically different, we turn the final page on each book satisfied with the story it tells. Each book presents the positive side of two strongly opposed schools of thought, and primes our children to decide for themselves what is right.
2 comments:
I have Rainbow Fish! Good book!
Both concepts are from the Bible. May be why people say they have a hard time understanding the Bible. The litttle red hen..is a story about a verse in Proverbs, If a man does not work, he will not eat. The other Proverb is about not taking the seat at the head of the table as that seat might be reserved for someone else, take the seat at the side or end and someone might ask you to come to the head of the table..my 2 cents worth.
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