I'm going to backtrack a little on my last post on one item. I'm not so sure that I'm excited about Guji Guji. This book was on a list of books people were recommending for adoptive families that Rumor Queen was putting together on her blog. Several people mentioned Guji Guji.
I looked for it on Amazon, but it's out of print and ridiculously expensive there. I did, however, find it at a very low price on eBay. I ordered it last week, and it arrived on Tuesday. I read it quickly in the car as we were on our way out when we got the mail and thought it was cute.
Last night, I read it to Sera as her bedtime story. I didn't care for it much on the second read through. It's the pretty standard tale of a mama duck sitting on her nest. One of the eggs is much larger than the others, but she doesn't notice it. When the eggs hatch, three ducklings and a crocodile are born. They become a loving family. So far, it's all good. Three crocodiles appear and inform Guji Guji that he is not a duck; he is a crocodile. They are portrayed as the evil villians of the story. They practically bully Guji Guji into helping them trap and eat the ducks. Guji Guji, of course, finds a way around their plan and protects his duck family.
On the surface, it's pretty standard. Crocodiles are pretty evil if you're a duck. I liked the way mama duck loved all her children regardless of their differences. My concern is the message that anyone who looked like Guji Guji was scary and bad.
Tell me, am I overreacting? I'm not sure if I am or not. On the one hand, ducks would think crocodiles are scary and bad. They eat them. On the other hand, I don't want Sera to get the message that only the duck (us) family is good and that crocodiles (Chinese people) are bad.
I looked for it on Amazon, but it's out of print and ridiculously expensive there. I did, however, find it at a very low price on eBay. I ordered it last week, and it arrived on Tuesday. I read it quickly in the car as we were on our way out when we got the mail and thought it was cute.
Last night, I read it to Sera as her bedtime story. I didn't care for it much on the second read through. It's the pretty standard tale of a mama duck sitting on her nest. One of the eggs is much larger than the others, but she doesn't notice it. When the eggs hatch, three ducklings and a crocodile are born. They become a loving family. So far, it's all good. Three crocodiles appear and inform Guji Guji that he is not a duck; he is a crocodile. They are portrayed as the evil villians of the story. They practically bully Guji Guji into helping them trap and eat the ducks. Guji Guji, of course, finds a way around their plan and protects his duck family.
On the surface, it's pretty standard. Crocodiles are pretty evil if you're a duck. I liked the way mama duck loved all her children regardless of their differences. My concern is the message that anyone who looked like Guji Guji was scary and bad.
Tell me, am I overreacting? I'm not sure if I am or not. On the one hand, ducks would think crocodiles are scary and bad. They eat them. On the other hand, I don't want Sera to get the message that only the duck (us) family is good and that crocodiles (Chinese people) are bad.
Labels: adoption, child wrangling, daily life
1 Comments:
Nope. I think you're on the right track here. Looking different means nothing. It's the inside that matters.
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