So we were looking through the thing with our usual excitement last night ("Werewolf Tales!" Judy-freaking-Blume! "Math Dictionary!") when my eye fell upon the following:
I'm aware that books like these are all the rage right now, but this pairing must be the nadir. Boys learn to tackle a komodo dragon (not a good idea for anyone, no matter what your genitalia look like) and girls learn to... make a bracelet.
This shit would not have flown back in 1975. No way. We were Free to Be You and Me, am I right? So I have already sent the good people at Scholastic Book Clubs an email. We'll see what comes of it.
6 comments:
I'm loving the Facebook comments, but we can do it here too you know. :)
No. Frickin. Way! That is unbelievable. I thought for sure these were from the 50s.
You should start up an email blast to Scholastic, send this on to the women at Jezebel, or something!
I know. It really is unbelievable. Not that these books exist, but that Scholastic chose them to market to schools. It's some insidious fundamentalist shit, I tell you. Insulting to everyone.
Perhaps a bit off topic, but I had to purchase a new wireless router today (grrrrrr....) and while setting it up had the option of turning on parental controls, which seems like a good thing for a mom of a boy entering puberty so I hit the "what's this" button for the teen control and on the list of forbidden sites are: abortion, religion ... but nothing about violence. Umm ... maybe a teen who needs to know about abortion should have access to information without a parent knowing? And religion? I had that fundy looking over my shoulder feeling. Who decides this shit?
You do have to wonder!
The whole thing creeps me out.
Those books are beyond ICKY.
And what Laura is talking about is creepy too.
Now I have the heebeejeebies.
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