Sunday, October 2, 2011

Bedtime Literary Analyses

Seriously, I can't help myself. When I read to my daughter, I find myself analyzing the books. For example:


Mickey, The Brave Little Tailor - completely sexist. They refer to Princess Minnie as Mickey's "prize" - infuriating. I really need to put that one in the trash.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar - A story not only of metamorphosis, but also of balanced lifestyles & diet. He eats all these fruits, then has a binge, then goes back to veggies. Then he has a good rest & emerges transformed & splendid!

BUT - the one that really has my head spinning? The Cat in the Hat -





I've had plenty of opportunity lately to ponder "Hat" & it's inner meanings recently. It has surpassed Cinderella as my daughter's favorite book. (Don't worry, princess people, "Rella" still gets plenty of spin.)

Here's the thing. I'm not sure there is a Cat at all. Or a Thing 1 or Thing 2. There may be a Fish, but I'm not sure he's doing any talking. Have you noticed how he calls the mother "your mother" at first? Then he switches to "our mother" later on? (No? Just me. Fine, whatever. Take my word for it though.)

So, my theory is - the little boy telling the story (Sally's brother?) -- that the Cat & the Fish are his conscience. That he & Sally are Thing 1 and Thing 2, and that they mess up the whole house. What I haven't worked out yet is how they get that mess cleaned up. I mean it's so big & so deep & so tall.

Also, I'm not sure whether this is a sign that my brain is turning to oatmeal or an innovative way to keep my brain from turning to oatmeal. I am sure that it's very good news on a number of levels that there have been no fevers this weekend - back to work in the morning!

1 comment:

  1. Go pick up a set of the original Peter Rabbit books - I was shocked that they said Peter's dad was killed and cooked in a meat pie. I had to do some quick editing as I read ;)

    My recent favorite kids books were sent to me (not sure why - probably to force me to write a review on the blog!) from some editor at Groupon. They're Those Darn Squirrels and Those Darned Squirrels and the Cat Next Door (cheap on amazon). They actually made Adam and I giggle, which is as welcome blessing in a preschool book!!

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