I Can Say No
A child’s book about drug abuse
Sanford
1987
There I am, casually wandering through the catalog and this book rings a bell. I am sure I have heard of the author and illustrator. I take a closer look at the book and get a creepy vibe from the illustrations. Then it dawns on me. This book is by the same author and illustrator as the Satan for Kids book we posted on our site way back. (The follow up post can be found here.) Same author and same illustrator. The basic story is about our young protagonist who notices his brother is donning leather jackets and sunglasses and by logical extension, doing drugs. (I guess after you are satanically abused, you light one up and start disobeying your parents.) Protagonist finally shares with Mom and Dad. Crying and wailing follow. Parents ground brother for a whole month and then tell him drugs won’t make him happy.
Story is weak and I am a bit biased against these kinds of “message” heavy books. I just can’t see how reading a book will make you stop doing drugs (or start doing them for that matter). Perhaps for counseling professionals, there is a therapeutic benefit to these types of “story” books but in my opinion, they don’t work as children’s literature. However, I will keep an open mind and I am willing to entertain suggestions of books that might be beneficial to kids growing up in a family with substance abuse issues.
Mary
Of course I would be remiss if I didn’t mention our most popular anti drug book, Latawnya the Naughty Horse in our list of past favorites. Clearly, one of the most “awful” ever featured on ALB.
Awful Library Books 