Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school Curious George a liar!

I would say that Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs is for parents, except that my 5-year-old son laughs so hard at it that he can't breathe. I think that is the book that taught him to appreciate sarcasm.

Maybe that nomadic existence is actually about staying one step ahead of the authorities...

He has sleeper cells within organizations across the country populated with animals he's abducted from abroad. He is single-handedly responsible for over half of the disappearance of the top 5 globally most endangered species. His yellow clothing is made of monkey tails.

Now that is a children's book the way my daughter would write one.

Man in the Yellow Hat: International Man of Mystery.

That is the updated, kid-friendly version shown in the movie, etc. The original story reads like this:

The hat covered George's head. He couldn't see. The man picked him up quickly and popped him into a bag. George was caught.
(pictures of a scared George trapped in a sack.)
The man with the big yellow hat put George in a little boat, and a sailor rowed them both across the water to a big ship. George was sad, but he was still a little curious.

Umm, how awful is that to read to young children?!

Given the circumstances of his abduction, Aquinas, I do not think that his silence conveys consent. And the man with the yellow hat is clearly dangerous!

That said, I actually really like the PBS George cartoon!

Little Bear's mom is a great mom! Maybe I am prejudice because of the cartoon series the mom voice is so gentle...but I think that is how you are supposed to read it and not harsh. She really is a positive, soothing, loving mom. Sometimes I wish I was as good a mom as Little bear's mom!

I agree!

Hmm, having only read the original books, I get a much more condescending tone from her. I think one conclusion we can gather from this thread is that the television versions of children's stories may be sugar-coating the original content to make it more palatable to a young audience. Remember, the tone in the shows is dictated by producers and not the author.

That said, I'll bet even the sweetened mother bear could learn a thing or two from you!

A few of the very first episodes were like they were reading right from the books. I think the flying to the moon episode was practically word for word. Then of course they started writing new episodes. When I read it to my sons I know I always loved mom and thought she was super duper patient.

Re: Curious George -- Yes! We have the original books (from my parents' basement) and when we read the original book I had to start quickly flipping and creating narrative, as I was shocked by the messages and imagery. Poor little George! This was years ago, but I remember having a long conversation about illegal procurement of animals from the wild once DS read through it on his own.