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Nancy Pelosi and others are vilified in a new children’s book

Posted on Nov 23, 2009 in Features

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When I was a child, my favorite books featured beautiful princesses, mischievous animals and Sesame Street characters. Unless Bert and Ernie were meant represent the president and vice president, I never read books about politics. I’ve come to realize that some of the children’s books on shelves today are very different from those of my childhood.

A brand new children’s book titled “Help! Mom! Radicals are Ruining My Country!” explores political themes using fantastical characters and vocabulary that the younger generation can understand.

To paraphrase the book’s official Web site, the book is about two children fighting to maintain their swing set business while being oppressed by 246 czars and dealing with insanely high taxes.

As an adult, I don’t even know if that’s a book I would want to read during hard economic times; it just sounds depressing. But we have to remember that this book was written for children.

One aspect of the book, raising eyebrows nation-wide, is the vilification of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

The author of the book, Katherine DeBrecht, defends this portrayal of the Speaker, saying, “When Nancy Pelosi was elected Speaker of the House, all we heard was how wonderful it was that a mother and grandmother rose through the ranks to such a position. In reality, that mother and grandmother has played an enormous role in ensuring that our children and grandchildren are shackled with debt for decades to come.”

That’s DeBrecht’s opinion: the economy is bad and will continue to be bad, and a lot of the problem has to do with Nancy Pelosi.

I don’t know if I agree or disagree with DeBrecht’s thoughts; honestly, I don’t feel that I know enough details about the situation to form an educated opinion on it. What gets me is that she puts her opinion about a very adult problem in a children’s book and delivers it through colorful characters and exciting dialogue so that kids will understand it. If you ask me, that’s kind of disgusting.

It’s bad enough that children have to live with the bad economy. It’s bad enough that countless children will have few or no Christmas presents next month. However, do the economic problems have to make an appearance in the books that these kids read?

When I was a child — and even still today — books were a way for me to escape. When I would pick up that book about Bert and Ernie looking all over their house for Bert’s lost bottle cap collection, I was getting away from my life. I didn’t have to think about my spelling tests or fighting with my big brother, and certainly not about the economy.

I will say that I think it is important for children to read educational books. It’s great for kids to read books that teach them about the presidents of the United States or other American historical figures such as Amelia Earhart and Martin Luther King Jr. Those sorts of books are rooted in fact while DeBrecht’s books are rooted in the author’s opinion about a highly-debated subject.

Children are very impressionable. My best guess is that DeBrecht’s books are aimed toward parents who agree with her thinking and want to teach their kids to think the same way.

I think it is important to teach your child from an early age to have an open mind. DeBrecht’s books seem to be teaching the opposite.

Email: hwebber@uab.edu

 




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