"Mom...who do you like better, Snow White or Cinderella?"
For five years we have successfully avoided all references to the Disney wronged, but rescued, woman books. Not one damsel waiting to be saved by the all knowing, and all handsome, prince can be found on our shelves. There are no less than the 30 reasons that immediately come to mind when I start my objections to the Disney books, primary being that this idea of the prince really needs to go. It balloons from there, but suffice it to say that I am horrified by the notion that in any way my life was about waiting until this dashing prince appeared to save me from my day to day existence. And I don't really care for the big poofy pink dresses either, but that is much further down on my list.
Certainly I knew that our Disney free days were coming to an end, I was prepared and ready, but we were hit hard. Day One, a large pink princess backpack in the kindergarten line, this was going to rougher than I had imagined. In my own bubble world I had assumed that everyone shared my horror, that we, as a society, had evolved past the knight in shining armour mentality, much like I assume that no one feeds their children McDonalds, but I'm wrong. Life exists outside my carefully crafted Disney Fast Food Free Zone.
And now I bring my own personalized madness to the library, but to be fair, I didn't start it, and I can say that, it's a grammar school of course. The library with so few books owns an entire shelf of large full color Disney books, donated years ago, possibly by someone whose had already wedged their feet into glass slippers, found their prince, and no longer needed the guide books.
The first grade class overwhelmed our small space, and in no time, 98% of them had found the Disney books. Their teacher objected, certain they could find something else. Her issue, these books were not reading level appropriate for seven year old students, and I suspected, she just thought there were better books out there. The books were moved to another area. Now in week three we have children still begging for Disney, one little boy asks every week for Mulan. "What? Mulan?", I had no idea what that was, thinking that perhaps this child was in search of a book on a country unknown to me; I was being outsmarted by a six year old. Wrong.
And so my issue, aside from the antiquated story lines, is that for some children there seems to be nothing else. A library is a wonderful place to open your mind and discover new things; being trapped in Disney's world doesn't allow for much exploration.
Who do I like better? Snow White, but only because of that catchy little song. However her stepmother tried to kill her, Cinderella's only made her do all the housework, which comparatively doesn't seem so bad. Both were survivors who fought their way out and and were finally saved from the anguish of toil and trouble, although I suspect they were soon back at it, up to their elbows in pots and pans and dust mops; someone had to clean that palace.
NorthSideFour: You're never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child. Dr. Suess
1 comment:
So true, so true. And it doesn't get better as they get older. Bella Swan (she even sounds like a Disney princess) is saved from her ho-hum, average existance by a vampire (or love - if you're a hopeless romantic). Then there are the blue bood novels - the heroine actually has an inherited protecotr... Need I mention PC Cast? This is an actual description of her latest book:
So…you’d think after banishing an immortal being and a fallen High Priestess, saving Stark’s life, biting Heath, getting a headache from Erik, and almost dying, Zoey Redbird would catch a break. Sadly, a break is not in the House of Night school forecast for the High Priestess in training and her gang. Juggling three guys is anything but a stress reliever, especially when one of them is a sexy Warrior who is so into protecting Zoey that he can sense her emotions.
Yikes! Where are the YA books that feature strong young women who are more interested in finding their own way through life than dating the captain of the football team or scoring the latest "it" bag?
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