If a book lasts fifty or even seventy-five years, it must be because it’s just a wonderful book. Right? Well, sometimes, that’s true. Let’s face it, when parents or even grandparents have wonderful memories of the book, they want to share it with the next generation. Most of the time, it works. While the adult may have to explain certain aspects of life that are different today. (“No, Anne and Diana never took a selfie. They didn’t have cell phones.”) Then there are those books that have become classic children’s movies and families want to read the original. Never forget that modern directors often change a book before bringing it to either the big or the little screen. We’ll look at three books and discuss how well they have aged. Then you can decide if they are right for you and your family.
Make Way for Ducklings bby Robert McCloskey
Since it won the Caldecott Medal in 1942, the book had been continuously in print and sold more than two million copies. The book follows the adventures of Mr. and Mrs. Mallard as they look for the perfect place to build a nest and raise their brood of ducklings. They fly over Boston and enjoy time in the Public Garden Lagoon until a bicyclist almost runs over Mr. Mallard and Mrs. Mallard decides that it is just too busy a place to hatch eggs. So, they find a quiet island in the Charles River and Mrs. Mallard lays her eggs and tends them. Mr. Mallard goes off to explore Boston, while Mrs. Mallard tends the eggs. The two promise to meet in the Public Garden. When the ducklings are old enough to make the journey, Mrs. Mallard leads her brood through Boston, much to the delight of the residents. The book ends with the family reunited in the Public Garden Lagoon.
The book is significantly longer than most picture books of today, coming in at 72 pages. But, like many modern picture books, McCloskey uses short phrases to pace the book. Children and adults alike will worry, along with Mrs. Mallard when a bicycle threatens Mr. Mallard and swell with pride when everyone admires the ducklings.
While the gender roles may feel a little dated, and the cars and fashion in the pictures are definitely from another time, the story and illustrations hold up to modern standards and audiences.
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
With the recent reboot of the book on Netflix, the books are getting new life. And the books have already had a long and happy life. Originally published in 1908, the book has been translated into 36 languages and sold more than fifty million copies. So what is the book about?
Anne (spelled with an e because the owner of that name feels it’s more elegant,) is an orphan in a rural part of Canada. She has spent her childhood passed from house to house, caring for younger children. She has had so little care that the adult in charge of her has left her alone at the train station when the train arrives early and Matthew Cuthbert is not there to meet her. When he does arrive, he is dismayed to discover that she is a girl, because he and his sister had agreed to take in a boy to help him around the farm.
When Anne discovers this mix-up, she is heartbroken. When Marilla Cuthbert tries to fix the situation, she sees other adults all to ready to turn Anne into a household drudge and decides to keep the girl. This begins Anne’s education of what it means to be part of a family and a community. Anne fails as much as she succeeds, in fact, in many escapades, it’s hard to tell whether the result is a success or failure.
This is probably why the book has endured when many other “orphan” books haven’t lasted. Modern readers can identify with Anne’s desire to set herself apart. They can laugh right along with Anne when she messes up and cheer when she tries again.
However, some children, especially children who have been through the foster care process or have been adopted, may identify too much with Anne. Her early childhood is, quite frankly, abusive. While adopted children were not valued in the early part of the 1900’s, that is not the case now. So allow this book to spark conversations about families and adoption while it entertains.
Curious George by H. A. Rey
Parents who have watched the popular PBS series may think the books are the same.
They aren’t.
The book has been in print continuously since its introduction in 1940. In the first book of this series, a curious little monkey named George finds a big yellow hat in the middle of the jungle. The Man in the yellow Hat captures George and takes him on an ocean journey to a large city. During this time, George tries to behave like a person, but causes a wide range of problems from falling in the ocean to calling the fire department. After a series of adventures, he ends up in the zoo.
The first thing modern parents will notice about the book is that it’s far thicker than most children’s picture books. It is 64 pages to the usual 32. To hide the higher word count, each page uses a lot of white space and smaller pictures.
What really sets it apart from modern picture books is the role of George. He isn’t really an animal, because he thinks like a child. But he isn’t really treated like a child either, because they put him in jail, and then in the zoo. Because of this ambivalence, many parents and teachers alike have objected to the treatment of George in the book.
The fact is, this is one book that just doesn’t hold up to modern standards. Today we would never celebrate the poaching of a wild animal. Authors would never have both the parent figure (the Man in the Yellow Hat) and the child figure, (George) smoking a pipe. And finally, incarcerating the curious little monkey in the zoo would not be the happy ending of a modern tale.