![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conuly
You know me, always looking for new books.
It is up to parents to decide what they expose their children to, but I must have read the book several times before even noticing the illustrations of same sex couples. The creators might show respect for different points of view around this controversial topic by at least being up-front about the messages in this book. Do we really need to make sure our babies see lesbians laying in close proximity on a bed and homosexuals taking a walk, arms draped around one another? I don't. We mostly play with toys, go to the playground, read books...I guess at age 2 and at age 9 months, I haven't felt the real neccesity of discussing the varied sexual preferences that go on between older people. They like to talk about lollypops, balloons, and the zoo, (well, my 2 year old talks while my 9 month old squeals) but so far, they don't seem very interested in discussing alternative lifestyles. Hmmm. Maybe it's me. The creators may think this is quite a coup- introducing the very young to "alternative families" seems to be high on the gay and far- left liberal political agenda. But I think it is dishonest to sow these subtle illustrations in a book for babies with no warning to the buyer
Leaving my comment, hold on for review number TWO!
I am appalled that the author/illustrator sneaks in illustrations of "alternative" lifestyles. Its disappointing that I now have to screen my seemingly innocent child's books for sexual innuendos. Once again the liberal establishment is trying to brain wash our children's minds into thinking that their view is the "correct" one. Christians and other like-minded individuals should keep this junk away from their children. To bad we all enjoyed reading this book until we noticed this. Now its heading for the trash. Good Riddance!
Leaving my comment, hold on for review number THREE!
I truly loved reading this book to my 2 year old daughter until I really looked closely at the illustrations. The book is full of small vinettes of familys with babies. Well, hidden among the typical male-female type family, are two pictures that truly caught me off guard. One shows two women lying in the bed trying to rock a babies to sleep. The other picture is one of two males arm in arm embracing as they walk down the street. I am a Christian mom who want my child to grow up knowing what is right and wrong. I am shocked that this issue would creep into my 2 yr olds bookshelve without me even knowing, as if this should be thought of as "normal". Now, a great book is being tossed in the trash because of these illustrations.
Leaving my comment, hold on for review number FOUR!
I agree with the prior reviewer. Althougth subtle and easily overlooked, the homosexual undertones of the few sketches surprised and disappointed me. Although this may be "politically correct" it is NOT biblically correct and not something I would want my children to think is OK. If you are trying to instill Christian values in your children, be very discerning as to what they are exposed. The things we may overlook...our children may not.
Many of the children reading this book, or having this book read to them, may be living in an, ahem "non-traditional" family. That's even despite the fact that it's getting promoted as being gay-friendly for having exactly two families with presumably gay parents - and those families, by all accounts, aren't even very noticeable. How spiteful are they, that they would call this immoral, or repugnant, so much so that these babies and their loving families can't be seen by the precious offspring? Are these people really so small-minded that they can only think of teh sexx0rs? When they see a man and a pregnant woman, do they automatically think about all the fucking that went on to get that baby? Do they consider this every time they view their children? I truly hope not. So why can't they put that out of their minds to read this book? If it must come up with their children who talk about balloons, and candy, and occasionally (they must!) their families, why not say "some people do things we don't approve of" and leave it at that? Would anybody get away with saying "OMG! It showed a biracial couple, and my child just isn't ready for that, my child is interested in toys"? Would it even cross somebody's mind to complain that the book features various children of different races?
*sighs*
Most of the reviews seem to be positive. All the one star ones, I listed. There's also one three-star one with the same complaint, but said more fairly At the risk of being labeled backward and narrow-minded, I will share my thoughts about this book. I checked this book out of our local library thinking it would be a fun read for my 18 month old daughter, who like most toddlers loves babies! Stangely enough, my husband read through the book on his own before reading it to our daughter. (We are not usually inclined to carefully preview her books.) He pointed out the pictures of same sex couples to me. He was a little uncomfortable with sharing the book with our daughter. We chose not to. As parents, we must make choices based on what we feel is best for our child. We are not gay bashers. We have friends and colleugues who are gay. We do not point a judgemental finger at them just as we do not do so to our friends who eat too many Twinkies or spend too much money at Anne Taylor. (Though these activities are not endorsed by the Bible either.) Christ does call upon us to show love and kindness to everyone, but this is not to say that we should endorse any lifestyle choices that the Bible says are sinful. I know this is not a popular view but it is one that my husband and I feel we must take. We do not plan to shelter our child from the reality of same sex relationships forever. But at 18 months, we don't think it needs to become part of the fabric of life just yet. So we will pass on Everywhere Babies for now. We encourage those of you writing these reviews to remember that Amazon reviews are a wonderful way to help parents make informed parenting choices. Knowing that this book contains illustrations of same sex couples is a good thing, whether it makes you more, less, or just as likely to purchase this book for your child.
Of course, the "I even have gay friends" comment sounds to me a lot like "I don't hate blacks, I have black friends, I just don't want them to be paid better than me or live where I do", but at least it's a start.
And now I'm having fun marking all those reviews as unhelpful, even when, in reality, they were very helpful. Go me.
Edit: My daughter has loved this book since the first day we received it as a gift many months ago (she is now 16 months old) and begs us to read it to her at every opportunity. We actually have a few "love rips" in it that have been repaired with packing tape. I feel that I must address the bigoted comments previously listed concerning this book. #1 for those of you who call yourselves Christians, please remember that there are gay and lesbian Christians, too. #2 a supposed hallmark of Christianity is that you are supposed to love your neighbor as yourself and not judge people. #3 the fact that you were innocently enjoying this book with your children until you "looked closely" to find the alleged subversive content is telling. This reminds me of the folks who were freeze framing Disney videos, attempting to find offensive content in "The Lion King." (Who has the dirty mind here?) As a previous reader pointed out, the folks portrayed in this book don't necessarily have to be gay or lesbian; plenty of people in cultures around the world (as well as our own) show same sex affection that is not necessarily sexual in nature (or these people could be blood relations). But I will grant you that I, who am heterosexual and married, who leads a moral life (indeed, a much more moral life than Christians like Jerry Falwell and Jimmy Swaggart), relish the idea that these folks are or could be gay, and so does my husband. We have many gay and lesbian friends and wish they could be even more represented in books like this. I will proudly point out these pictures to my daughter as she gets older and asks questions. It seems difficult to believe that someone would take offense at these innocent pages. In an age in which heterosexual relationships are constantly popularized by mindless, commitmentless pap such as "Who wants to marry a millionaire", "Joe Millionaire" and its ilk (I can't even remember the rest of the shows' titles, they are so stupid that I never watch them), it's pathetic to think that anyone could be less than thrilled to see same sex couples lovingly, devotedly, caring for their happy, contented, children. And finally, I must say to you, Lighten Up! It's just a book about BABIES! It's not the Gay Manifesto!
Nancy Stender
*hugtackles*
Love you dearly.
It is up to parents to decide what they expose their children to, but I must have read the book several times before even noticing the illustrations of same sex couples. The creators might show respect for different points of view around this controversial topic by at least being up-front about the messages in this book. Do we really need to make sure our babies see lesbians laying in close proximity on a bed and homosexuals taking a walk, arms draped around one another? I don't. We mostly play with toys, go to the playground, read books...I guess at age 2 and at age 9 months, I haven't felt the real neccesity of discussing the varied sexual preferences that go on between older people. They like to talk about lollypops, balloons, and the zoo, (well, my 2 year old talks while my 9 month old squeals) but so far, they don't seem very interested in discussing alternative lifestyles. Hmmm. Maybe it's me. The creators may think this is quite a coup- introducing the very young to "alternative families" seems to be high on the gay and far- left liberal political agenda. But I think it is dishonest to sow these subtle illustrations in a book for babies with no warning to the buyer
Leaving my comment, hold on for review number TWO!
I am appalled that the author/illustrator sneaks in illustrations of "alternative" lifestyles. Its disappointing that I now have to screen my seemingly innocent child's books for sexual innuendos. Once again the liberal establishment is trying to brain wash our children's minds into thinking that their view is the "correct" one. Christians and other like-minded individuals should keep this junk away from their children. To bad we all enjoyed reading this book until we noticed this. Now its heading for the trash. Good Riddance!
Leaving my comment, hold on for review number THREE!
I truly loved reading this book to my 2 year old daughter until I really looked closely at the illustrations. The book is full of small vinettes of familys with babies. Well, hidden among the typical male-female type family, are two pictures that truly caught me off guard. One shows two women lying in the bed trying to rock a babies to sleep. The other picture is one of two males arm in arm embracing as they walk down the street. I am a Christian mom who want my child to grow up knowing what is right and wrong. I am shocked that this issue would creep into my 2 yr olds bookshelve without me even knowing, as if this should be thought of as "normal". Now, a great book is being tossed in the trash because of these illustrations.
Leaving my comment, hold on for review number FOUR!
I agree with the prior reviewer. Althougth subtle and easily overlooked, the homosexual undertones of the few sketches surprised and disappointed me. Although this may be "politically correct" it is NOT biblically correct and not something I would want my children to think is OK. If you are trying to instill Christian values in your children, be very discerning as to what they are exposed. The things we may overlook...our children may not.
Many of the children reading this book, or having this book read to them, may be living in an, ahem "non-traditional" family. That's even despite the fact that it's getting promoted as being gay-friendly for having exactly two families with presumably gay parents - and those families, by all accounts, aren't even very noticeable. How spiteful are they, that they would call this immoral, or repugnant, so much so that these babies and their loving families can't be seen by the precious offspring? Are these people really so small-minded that they can only think of teh sexx0rs? When they see a man and a pregnant woman, do they automatically think about all the fucking that went on to get that baby? Do they consider this every time they view their children? I truly hope not. So why can't they put that out of their minds to read this book? If it must come up with their children who talk about balloons, and candy, and occasionally (they must!) their families, why not say "some people do things we don't approve of" and leave it at that? Would anybody get away with saying "OMG! It showed a biracial couple, and my child just isn't ready for that, my child is interested in toys"? Would it even cross somebody's mind to complain that the book features various children of different races?
*sighs*
Most of the reviews seem to be positive. All the one star ones, I listed. There's also one three-star one with the same complaint, but said more fairly At the risk of being labeled backward and narrow-minded, I will share my thoughts about this book. I checked this book out of our local library thinking it would be a fun read for my 18 month old daughter, who like most toddlers loves babies! Stangely enough, my husband read through the book on his own before reading it to our daughter. (We are not usually inclined to carefully preview her books.) He pointed out the pictures of same sex couples to me. He was a little uncomfortable with sharing the book with our daughter. We chose not to. As parents, we must make choices based on what we feel is best for our child. We are not gay bashers. We have friends and colleugues who are gay. We do not point a judgemental finger at them just as we do not do so to our friends who eat too many Twinkies or spend too much money at Anne Taylor. (Though these activities are not endorsed by the Bible either.) Christ does call upon us to show love and kindness to everyone, but this is not to say that we should endorse any lifestyle choices that the Bible says are sinful. I know this is not a popular view but it is one that my husband and I feel we must take. We do not plan to shelter our child from the reality of same sex relationships forever. But at 18 months, we don't think it needs to become part of the fabric of life just yet. So we will pass on Everywhere Babies for now. We encourage those of you writing these reviews to remember that Amazon reviews are a wonderful way to help parents make informed parenting choices. Knowing that this book contains illustrations of same sex couples is a good thing, whether it makes you more, less, or just as likely to purchase this book for your child.
Of course, the "I even have gay friends" comment sounds to me a lot like "I don't hate blacks, I have black friends, I just don't want them to be paid better than me or live where I do", but at least it's a start.
And now I'm having fun marking all those reviews as unhelpful, even when, in reality, they were very helpful. Go me.
Edit: My daughter has loved this book since the first day we received it as a gift many months ago (she is now 16 months old) and begs us to read it to her at every opportunity. We actually have a few "love rips" in it that have been repaired with packing tape. I feel that I must address the bigoted comments previously listed concerning this book. #1 for those of you who call yourselves Christians, please remember that there are gay and lesbian Christians, too. #2 a supposed hallmark of Christianity is that you are supposed to love your neighbor as yourself and not judge people. #3 the fact that you were innocently enjoying this book with your children until you "looked closely" to find the alleged subversive content is telling. This reminds me of the folks who were freeze framing Disney videos, attempting to find offensive content in "The Lion King." (Who has the dirty mind here?) As a previous reader pointed out, the folks portrayed in this book don't necessarily have to be gay or lesbian; plenty of people in cultures around the world (as well as our own) show same sex affection that is not necessarily sexual in nature (or these people could be blood relations). But I will grant you that I, who am heterosexual and married, who leads a moral life (indeed, a much more moral life than Christians like Jerry Falwell and Jimmy Swaggart), relish the idea that these folks are or could be gay, and so does my husband. We have many gay and lesbian friends and wish they could be even more represented in books like this. I will proudly point out these pictures to my daughter as she gets older and asks questions. It seems difficult to believe that someone would take offense at these innocent pages. In an age in which heterosexual relationships are constantly popularized by mindless, commitmentless pap such as "Who wants to marry a millionaire", "Joe Millionaire" and its ilk (I can't even remember the rest of the shows' titles, they are so stupid that I never watch them), it's pathetic to think that anyone could be less than thrilled to see same sex couples lovingly, devotedly, caring for their happy, contented, children. And finally, I must say to you, Lighten Up! It's just a book about BABIES! It's not the Gay Manifesto!
Nancy Stender
*hugtackles*
Love you dearly.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-03-15 10:36 am (UTC)But I do think the idea that if you see a gay couple all you can think of is sex, but if you see a heterosexual couple you don't fixate on sex is a problem with the people who hold it. They need to get their own minds out of the gutter and not assume everyone else lives there.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-15 10:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-15 10:47 am (UTC)I've been wanting to give Six Dinner Sid to my nephew... he's still young enough. But I worry that my family will see its subversiveness and read too much into it. They don't know I'm poly, and it's a beautiful story of poly acceptance, or it's a beautiful story of a cat who liked having six homes. I don't know how people who aren't aware of poly would find it.
But it makes me happy it exists.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-16 03:20 am (UTC)The only other thing I can think of that they might object to is one of Sid's identities being called Satan. Other than that, I don't think you've got anything to worry about.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-15 10:39 am (UTC)Ah, that review (hell, this whole post) will be sent to my Christian friends (those who care, at least).
-Kimothy
no subject
Date: 2005-03-15 10:39 am (UTC)Be sure to credit the brilliant and wonderful reviewer.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-15 11:14 am (UTC)Those people are so SICK.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-15 10:36 am (UTC)But I do think the idea that if you see a gay couple all you can think of is sex, but if you see a heterosexual couple you don't fixate on sex is a problem with the people who hold it. They need to get their own minds out of the gutter and not assume everyone else lives there.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-15 10:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-03-15 10:47 am (UTC)I've been wanting to give Six Dinner Sid to my nephew... he's still young enough. But I worry that my family will see its subversiveness and read too much into it. They don't know I'm poly, and it's a beautiful story of poly acceptance, or it's a beautiful story of a cat who liked having six homes. I don't know how people who aren't aware of poly would find it.
But it makes me happy it exists.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-16 03:20 am (UTC)The only other thing I can think of that they might object to is one of Sid's identities being called Satan. Other than that, I don't think you've got anything to worry about.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-15 10:39 am (UTC)Ah, that review (hell, this whole post) will be sent to my Christian friends (those who care, at least).
-Kimothy
no subject
Date: 2005-03-15 10:39 am (UTC)Be sure to credit the brilliant and wonderful reviewer.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-15 11:14 am (UTC)Those people are so SICK.
no subject
Date: 2005-03-21 03:35 pm (UTC)I love this "liberal establishmen" it's like "the man". where is this liberal establishment? or are they like the illuminati...watching your every move and waiting to POUNCE and make you GAY!
no subject
Date: 2005-03-21 03:35 pm (UTC)I love this "liberal establishmen" it's like "the man". where is this liberal establishment? or are they like the illuminati...watching your every move and waiting to POUNCE and make you GAY!