and superficial
These four books each with a different illustrator are attractive enough to look at. But one wonders for what age of child they were intended. The illustrations show ten or elevenyear olds enjoying themselves with the sports and interests of each season. The text. though, seems intended for four or fiveyear olds and is full of obvious facts about the different times of the year with a few discussion points brought up here and there. Were they. designed, perhaps, for backward readers?
m is SERIES of picture books, each one with a different illustrator again, as in the series above, noses the question "Who are they written for?" Each book deals with a problem as seen through the child's eves. These children being of primary school age, perhaps the books are intended as school readers to be kept by the teacher to hand out to children with one of these particular problems in his or her life.
They appear to be of American origin, about all-white families of one or two children only and with fathers who are carefully depicted helping in the house as much as, if not more, than mother.
Though they are probably intended to be helpful, they present only superficial solutions to each difficulty. The only exception is the case of Don't Call me Fatty where sensible ways of reducing weight are woven into the slur) and the victim and her family benefit as a result. This being a physical rather than a spiritual matter was probably easier to deal with in a series where possibly any religious solutions were to he avoided.
Joan Newton