A couple of weeks ago I saw something on the news that I found totally ridiculous and downright disturbing.  If you have a little one in your life, whether she/he is your own son/daughter or your niece or grandchild, I am sure you know and love the book:  Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?  Don't you love this book???  And who is reading it?  We are.  To our dear little ones.  And what does it teach?  Colors!!  I remember discovering this gem when Kristin was less than two.  Oh how we loved this book.  It's still in our house.  Ryan likes it too!  It's in pretty good shape, considering it has survived 3 children.  So far there is nothing disturbing or ridiculous about this is there??  Of course not.

What is ridiculous is that (sorry Texans)for now this book and another one called Ethical Marxism:  The Categorical Imperative of Liberation are not being included in the state of Texas' curriculum. Why?  Well apparently it is because the author's share the same name.  Bill Martin Jr.  wrote our beloved Brown Bear, Brown Bear book along with many others.  He wrote(past tense here) many children's books.  Past tense because, I didn't know this, but he died in 2004.  The other author, Bill Martin had his work published in 2008.

Can anyone please explain to me the reasoning behind this?  My kids do not know or care what Marxism is.  Ryan wouldn't even know who wrote any of his books he loves to hear.  Except maybe Dr. Suess.  And even that is a stretch.  And what are the odds he or any other kid would confuse the two?  Seriously, can somebody explain this to me. 

What are your thoughts?

Come back tomorrow for the first look at DWTS!

Comments

Catherine said…
Sometimes I really wonder about people. Poor Bill Martin of Brown Bear fame....
Christina Lee said…
I am flabergasted! I used that book to teach too (when I did second grade)becausue it teaches repitition and rhymes. WTF???
Nicole said…
That totally makes no sense and it sounds like the DOE needs to do their homework on the books they include and the ones they don't! Its pretty ridiculous that they would take a book out of curriculum just cause they have the same name as another author!
Richard said…
It is always about some one persons agenda and never about the children. Some one person has too much power and too little common sense. Gimme a break!
mormonhermitmom said…
Whenever you deal with a bureacracy, a lot of greatness gets pushed aside. I doubt the doppelganger name was the cause; more likely they didn't want to have to list ALL the good kids books there are out there, and they pulled random titles out of a hat. All the more reason for parents to have plenty of books at home for the kiddies to read.
Kim Sue said…
makes you wonder if the people making the decision about the literature used in the school actually read? i'm with mormonhermitmom, I think it probably comes down to laziness somewhere?
We totally have that book. My lil' dude loves the pics. Some people have too much time on their hands!
Tracie said…
That's ridiculous! I love that book - all kids love it, too. I have the Brown Bear game and I play it with my kiddos at work almost every day.
KK said…
That is ridiculous. I loved that book!!

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