Big Red Barn
Margaret Wise Brown's classic barnyard story is now available in this sturdy board book edition. A lulling text and exquisite illustrations follow the animals' day on the farm as they make their noises, play in the grass, and return to the big red barn to fall sound asleep.
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What Hacker News says
- Alright, a response:
> It's very upper-crust early 1900s
It's nice to expose children to a wide range of lifestyles, particularly ones that reflect their own cultural origins. Gives a jumping off point for discussion.
> There's an open fireplace, fer chrissake!
I have an open fireplace in my house. I don't use it often, but it's there, and it's cozy enough. Wood smoke isn't that great for you, so I only light it at Christmas usually.
> What's up with the little old lady whispering "hush"? Who is she?
It doesn't matter. Nanny, grandmother, not important.
> Turn the light off. No kid goes to sleep with a light on
Yes, that would have been a good addition. "Goodnight light".
> The green-and-red color scheme makes it look absurd.
I think this is an artifact of the printing technology available at the time.
> A bowl of mush? Mush what?
It's gruel.
> Margaret Wise Brown also wrote The Big Red Barn which has a lot of the same sort of problems.
Ahh, I love that one too, though!
> Why did the big white hen stand on one leg? Why did the smaller breed of chicken have a clutch of 10 eggs, vs the white chicken's 1 egg?
Maybe a farmer would have had answers for that. Maybe it was common knowledge a generation ago.
> Where did the children go?
Now they're grandparents, no doubt, and wonder the same thing
- Bearing in mind that I admit up front these items are emotional and not particularly rational, and also all from dimming memory. My kids are 18, 16 and 13. I haven't read Goodnight Moon in at least 10 years.
1. It's very upper-crust early 1900s. Very prim and proper, everything in its place, and not very many things.
2. The items that it dwells on aren't very relevant to today's children. There's an open fireplace, fer chrissake! Huge safety hazard, and absolutely unfamiliar.
3. What's up with the little old lady whispering "hush"? Who is she? What's she doing in that kid's room? Is she Mrs Bates? No explanation or context at all.
4. Turn the light off. No kid goes to sleep with a light on. Sure, some of them claim they need it, but turning it on is an invitation to stay up til midnight.
5. The green-and-red color scheme makes it look absurd. Is it Christmas in that room all the time? I think the window is open, too, so maybe it's Christmas in June?
6. A bowl of mush? Mush what? Granola? Cornflakes? Oatmeal? Grape nuts? Could be any, all are revolting when they've soaked up the milk to become mush. The mush needs to be thrown out.
My World, which appears to be a follow on to Goodnight Moon, seems like the author was high. Extremely disjoint.
Margaret Wise Brown also wrote The Big Red Barn which has a lot of the same sort of problems. Why did the big white hen stand on one leg? Why did the smaller breed of chicken have a clutch of 10 eggs, vs the white chicken's 1 egg? What happened to the story of the children who play in the hay? That was a story for another day, but surely that day has come and gone. Where did the children go?
