Awful Library Books

Watermelons Not War!
Cloud, Deegan, Evans, Imam, and Signer
1984

Evidently the authors felt that it was important for parents to talk to children about possible nuclear annihilation. For context, nuclear accidents and war were constantly in the news at the time. Many respected doctors and educators were talking about how children at this time were experiencing a lot of anxiety about war. I looked through this book and really couldn’t see the point. Of course children are anxious. So was I, and every other kid that hid under a desk in case the big one came. I am not sure why talking about fruit and war helps, but I will keep an open mind. Maybe writing a letter to President Reagan is a good idea. I don’t know. This book feels a bit ridiculous. (I would actually rather the read the Nuclear War Fun Book.) There are lots of things in this world I can’t explain. I gave up trying sometime in the mid 1990s when I started working in a public library and my kindergartner asked me why everyone was mad about President Clinton and that girl with the blue dress.

Mary