Thanks to a full-page ad in the book review journal Book Links, I now have a new favorite publishing company: Magination Press, “Self-Help Books for Kids…and the Adults in Their Lives.” Winning titles include (see if you can guess the theme):
Clouds and Clocks: A Story for Children Who Soil.
Sammy the Elephant and Mr. Camel: A Story to Help Children Overcome Bedwetting, “a gently empowering book for children who have trouble staying dry.”
And my personal favorite, an iParenting Media Award Winner:
It Hurts When I Poop! A Story for Children Who Are Scared to Use the Potty. “This story, along with [protagonist] Ryan’s ‘poop program,’ will help young children gain the confidence they need to overcome this common problem and establish healthy habits.”
Oh, man. I trust no commentary is necessary.
(Insert disclaimer here about how I am a bad, bad librarian and teacher for mocking books for children with embarrassing personal problems. I…think I can live with that.)
8 responses so far ↓
1 Marc Moskowitz // Dec 17, 2007 at 3:41 pm
If it hurts, the kid should maybe see a doctor, and not a self-help book, no?
2 colorwheel // Dec 17, 2007 at 3:46 pm
i’m with marc — that’s exactly what i said when i saw their ad in the journal i write for.
“it hurts” is a warning sign for all sorts of bad things, none of which sound like the book’s subject according to the subtitle.
3 dpg178 // Dec 17, 2007 at 7:12 pm
Umm, as far as the hurting, it really depends on the age of the child. I assume that this book is for children aged 2-3 who are in the process of toilet training. For those children, statements like “It hurts when I poop” are almost always signs of fear of the potty and nothing more (unless there are other symptoms, like blood in the stool, of course).
4 colorwheel // Dec 17, 2007 at 9:51 pm
dpg178: sure, but there’s a big difference between what a kid says and what a book should be titled. if the book is about fear (which i think it is), they shouldn’t use the word “hurts” in the title no matter how common it is for kids to express it that way. it’s misleading and confusing to their audience — the kids who are in the process of learning all those very words and concepts.
5 dpg178 // Dec 17, 2007 at 10:08 pm
colorwheel: Ahhh, I see what you mean. If the book is actually aimed at the kids, it shouldn’t be titled that. But I assumed the book was actually for kids who are already using the “it hurts” language. That may well be an incorrect assumption. I guess there’s no way to tell without actually looking at the book (thankfully my children are past this stage, so it’s not something I have to delve into…).
6 Sara // Dec 18, 2007 at 9:36 am
DUDE, you can read these online! they are amazing. Sammy the elephant TRIES to carry the water bucket, but he drops it. “Can’t you HOLD ON TO IT LONGER” the other animals say. Meanwhile, the circus tent is big enough that IT CAN EASITY HOLD EVERYTHING WITHIN. (Emphasis theirs.)
7 Sam // Dec 18, 2007 at 9:41 am
Thanks for the excerpt, Sara! The subtitle should clearly be “A Story to Teach Kids the Joy of Extended Metaphor.”
And DPG and CW, I had no idea this was going to turn into such a serious discussion of the ethics of vocabulary in children’s literature! You lost me back at poo = hilarious. :)
8 colorwheel // Dec 18, 2007 at 12:32 pm
dpg178: my opinion is that if they’re going to writing a book about pooping being scary, they should title it such that it can reach that whole category of kids who may be scared, rather than just a subset who uses a mistaken description of what the problem is. placing the “it hurts” phrase in the title may catch readers who do use that phrase (and parents of those kids), but it potentially leaves out the rest of the group — kids who are scared but don’t happen to mislabel their fear as hurt.
these authors have latched on to a figure of speech that, while relevant to a subset of the scared kids, may confuse the rest of the scared kids or mislead them about the book’s topic.
full disclosure, i am a children’s lit critic and former toddler teacher. ; )
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