Serious Nonsense in Children’s Literature

         According to Linda Salem in her essay on Edward Gorey’s personal library, “Nonsense evokes discomfort and tension in audiences. Ridiculous, paradoxical, and unpredictable, it is at the same time meaningful and meaningless. It disturbs and tricks readers’ expectations” (232). The genre, then, encourages a reconsideration of the familiar by causing the reader to feel uneasy about the subject of the literature at hand. Dr. Seuss’s cautionary tale, The Butter Battle Book (1984), teaches its readers about tolerance and respect. John Hursh quotes Thomas Fensch: “While [Seuss’s] book received significant criticism when first published, it also received considerable praise. Writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak remarked: “Surprisingly, wonderfully, the case for total disarmament has been brilliantly made by our acknowledged master of nonsense, Dr. Seuss. . . . Only a genius of the ridiculous could possibly deal with the cosmic and lethal madness of the nuclear arms race” (n.p.). By subverting reasoning, the text cautions its readers against immorality.

While Dr. Seuss may have received a balance of criticism for his tolerance and demilitarization message in The Butter Battle Book, Michael Ian Black was accused of being an immature American for his childish nonsense book, A Child’s First Book of Trump (2016), which was meant for adults. Black’s rhymes coupled with Marc Rosenthal’s illustrations are reminiscent of Dr. Seuss’s nonsensical, artistic style. The text, according to the July 5, 2016 New York Times article, was a “. . . perfectly timely parody picture book intended for adults that would be hysterical if it wasn’t so true.” In genuine nonsense form, the piece cautions its readers against sightings of the “Americus Trumpus” (n.p.):

So what shall you do with a Trump running wild?

The answer is all up to you, my dear child.

Run away screaming? Or maybe you fight?

Reason and logic will only incite it.

You can cover your ears or run up a tree,

But the best thing to do is . . . (n.p.)

Adults (the intended audience), however, found the piece immature and indicative of sore “losers.” Kayla Welch commented on the New York Times article on November 7, 2017:

This book is the perfect example of why our country – namely the left – is so immature. I’m a libertarian, I voted as such, and yet I cannot understand this immaturity from people who have the right to vote.

Your side lost, so did mine. Grow up and please do not instill such immaturity in your child. . .

Another commenter, Jason Powell, responded on November 6, 2017 by saying “Written by the haters for the losers. Don’t read this to your kid if you want the child to be an achiever.” The comments these adults make point to several issues, but the question of the child audience is probably easier to consider in such a short discussion. How does one determine the criteria for a child audience? What are the criteria for children’s literature as a genre? Certainly, this text could entertain a child as well as Little Red Riding Hood.

Children know the difference between right and wrong. They know the difference between moral and immoral. In a CNN video published to YouTube on March 4, 2016, some confident children respond to news clips of the “Americus Trumpus.” When Trump complains that a million-dollar loan from his father was not very much, one young person responds mockingly: “It hasn’t been easy for me, but I’m filthy rich.” Another young person responds to Trumps comment about Rosie O’Donnell by saying, “If he’s going to be rude to ladies, he shouldn’t be a president.” Is it not possible, then, that children can handle discussions about complex topics in the literature written for them?

(KT)

Works Cited

Black, Michael Ian, and Marc Rosenthal. A Child's First Book of Trump. First ed., 2016.

"Children react to Donald Trump." https://youtu.be/3DcDdHdImM4. CNN. 4 March 2016.

Clark, Dorothy., and Linda C. Salem. Frontiers in American Children's Literature. 1st unabridged. ed., Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016.

Hursh, John. "Exploring Civil Society Through the Writings of Dr. Seuss: International Law, Armed Conflict, and the Construction of Otherness: A Critical Reading of Dr. Seuss's The Butter Battle Book and a Renewed Call for Global Citizenship." New York Law School Law Review, 58, 617 2013 / 2014. https://advance-lexis-com.libproxy.sdsu.edu/api/document?collection=analytical-materials&id=urn:contentItem:5CFF-JJ30-00CV-20HP-00000-00&context=1516831. Accessed December 9, 2018.

Seuss. The Butter Battle Book. Random House, 1984.

San Diego Theaters featuring Children's Lit: Pam Muñoz Ryan, Dr. Seuss, and Rudyard Kipling adapted for the stage!

Running from January 3-17th, Esperanza Rising adapted for the stage will appear at the Casa del Prado Theatre in Balboa Park. Esperanza Rising is an amazing novel by local author Pam Muñoz Ryan about a young girl living a privileged life in Mexico when tragedy strikes. Esperanza must relocate to California with her mother, and face the hardships of working on a farm camp during the Great Depression. Esperanza Rising won many awards, including the Pura Belpré Award which honors work that best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino/a cultural experience. 

Pam Muñoz Ryan is an alumna of SDSU, a friend to the National Center for the Study of Children's Literature, and an overall stunning figure in the world of art for children. Keep an eye out for an interview with Pam Muñoz Ryan titled "Writing the Whole Child" in the Unjournal of Children's Literature. 

Visit the Junior Theater website to purchase tickets ($10-$15) to Esperanza Rising. There will be a noon showing on January 14th for schools, and a post-show talk with Pam Muñoz Ryan herself following the January 10th showing. 

The Junior Theater will also showcasing another famous San Diego children's author: Dr. Seuss! On January 8th and 14th you can see a production of The Cat in the Hat. If you'd like to see some Seuss for the holidays, you can visit The Old Globe for their 16th annual production of How the Grinch Stole Christmas- it's running now through December 28th.  

In Spring 2014 a production of the Jungle Book will appear in the Don Powell Theater here at SDSU. Director Margaret Larlham will bring a local perspective to this classic by setting the story here in San Diego, "in a secret jungle in our own Balboa Park, a magic place between the leaves and vines bounded by park, zoo, and the freeways." 

Links for a Tuesday

Here are a few fascinating reads regarding the world of children's literature and culture...

Girls Gone Missing: Reel Girl takes a look at the movie posters for 2013 and calls out the insidious dearth of representation of female characters, even if the film has a female protagonist. What's up with that? Jezebel.com also featured Reel Girl's piece and posited a few theories.

Top 10 Bizarre Fairy Tale Adaptations: Flavorwire's list includes fantastic short story collections like Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber and Kate Bernheimer's My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me as well as cheeky retellings like Six Gun Snow White and a profound examination of Hansel & Gretel's hunger set during the Holocaust.

SDSU Professor Emeritus Jerry Griswold's latest review for the New York Times examines two middle-grade books set during World War II.


Kansas State Professor (and SDSU friend!) Phil Nel has a rundown and critique of a ridiculous lawsuit occurring in the academic publishing industry.

Is reading a good way for children to learn grammar? (That would be a resounding yes.) The Guardian explores how children's fiction might be a better grammar resource than a textbook.

You need to read this article about Theodor Geisel's relationship with hats. And definitely take note of the picture of Dr. Seuss in the San Diego State band hat.

This Tumblr of gifs of one librarian's response to common library occurrences is hilarious. Hilarious, I tell you!