AIBU to have serious concerns about a Julia Donaldson book?

[BabyNameHelpPls]

Specifically, Fox’s Socks.

The fuck is going on with this guy? He’s woken up at 10am, his clothes are all over the place—his hat is underneath the bathmat, and one of his socks on the head of a frankly disturbing Mr. Punch character in the attic… how much did Fox have to drink the previous night?!

Or, as I’m coming to wonder, how involved is the mouse in all this? She’s so unreadable: at first I thought she was just smug, passive-aggressively following him around and not helping to find any of these clothes in bizarre places.

But does she, in fact, have MH issues, possibly even dementia? She pauses halfway through to make a hat out of a rose, for god’s sake. Is Fox a carer for Mouse? Did he sleep through his alarm from sheer stress and exhaustion, to find she had woken up and distributed his belongings throughout the house? Or is this an abusive relationship and she’s gaslighting him into thinking he’s losing his mind?

AIBU to be very worried that this is not an example of healthy dynamics, regardless of character motivations, and damaging to my toddler’s perception of the world? Should I ban the book? Or is there a more nuanced and wholesome interpretation of the work that I’m missing? Any advice welcome.

Absolutely best thread on Mumsnet.

On Tabby McTat though - if we are suggesting that Stickman is some sort of deadbeat dad - they surely we must also do the same for Tabby McTat. Leaves his wife and son to go find his mate.

I had to read Fox’s Socks, Rabbits Nap & Hide & Seek Pig to DD every night for at least a year. Torture at the time but happy memories now. She’s a teen now and we still have the books.

I despise the Paper Dolls. The introduction of the fleeting 'bad boy' character who destroys the dolls and ruins everything. Right, well that doesn't play into unhelpful stereotypes at all... My son asked me who the bad boy was and why he had done it and why didn't we know anything else about him. Absolutely no answer because it's bullshit.

Also the Ugly Five. Horrible. Having to explain to your preschooler what it means to be ugly and that people might not love you as a result.

Both can get in the bin.

The book that bothers me the most is Dear Zoo - the level of sheer entitlement and lack of gratitude is rage inducing!

I love the Paper Dolls (but know what you mean about the "boy" character) - would substitute the Smartest Giant in Town for a place in the bin. Giant is pleased with smart new clothes and then gets guilt tripped into handing them over by a bunch of random strangers who haven't done anything to help themselves, and who then gas light him into thinking he didn't want the nice things anyway and is happy dressing in a sack, cos that's the only way to #BeKind

My daughter called it the 'find the duck' book - she was obsessed with ducks as a toddler so she really wasn't interested where Fox had left his various items of clothing, she just wanted to spot a duck on each page.

I don't think fox killed the duck, later installments suggest that she moved in with mole. Maybe Fox is her ex, in which case girl has a type because mole is equally incapable of finding his stuff, the duck's watching him hunt high and low for his spectacles thinking 'this again?'

I don't even want to think about what's going on in A Squash and a Squeeze (DD's favourite).

I love Room on the Broom the best, each character gets a different poorly executed regional accent from me every time I read it. That green bird is clearly a scouser and I won't have it any other way.

I always thought Mr Fox must have been on a bender the night before

I've always been concerned about how Stick Man and his wife produce kids. Wouldn't all that vigorous rubbing make then go up in flames?

And I've never been quite sure who taught the snail on the whale to write

I'm several children into Julia Donaldson books and generally love them.

However, the Snail and the Whale near done for me.

That was the book that alerted me to just how literal and over-thinking my DS2 is.

I ended up googling the swimming ability of snails, how long they could breathe under water for, could they stay stuck on in water only to culminate in DS announcing that he just didn't think the snail could go over sand like it did. That was the unbelievable bit for him.

Although all JD is better than frigging In The Night Garden.

Also, I'm convinced that the horse in Zog doesn't get given lots of hay and is messily devoured as a group meal as soon as they fly off. Look at the expression on his face - he knows it too. Where's the RSPCA when you need them?

I find Stickman unbearably sad since I read in a book about children’s literature that JD’s son had schizophrenia and died by suicide - if you see it as a character helplessly running and trying to evade increasingly outlandish peril while trying to reach home it is……awful.

The rhymes in all her books are often torturous to read aloud.

Actually, re sexism in children's books, I do actually love Tabby McTat but it's one of the many books that eventually prompted my DS to wail 'Mama, are thiefs ALWAYS boys?

The Snail and the Whale has convinced him that all sharks have 'hideous, toothy grins' and he found it very confusing recently when reading a shark fact book from the library to see pictures of sharks with no grins. 'But where are their grins?' Luckily the book was called 'Everything You Know About Sharks is Wrong', and this just proved it.

YES. I always read it while adding "please" and "thank you"

Not to mention all the animals are "he"

Not to mention all the animals are "he"

I'm like this about the "5 Little Monkeys" nursery rhyme. All boys falling over and mummy in charge of calling the doctor who needs to report a safeguarding concern about all these head injuries.

When I sing it I alternate randomly between bumping his/her head and mummy/daddy/granny/grandpa phoning the doctor

I changed the pronouns for some of the animals in Dear Zoo. My poor bemused toddler was once treated to a lecture on animal welfare practices and responsible acquisition policies during a reading. In my defence it was lockdown and we were all a little crazy.

I was always convinced the horse was eaten in Zog.

A doomed rendezvous from the start, they should’ve known it would never end well.

I thought this was going to be about The Ugly Five and I was so keen to run it down. Beastly book, they aren’t ugly at all, the poor bastards.

Of course, Madam dragon may well have been telling the truth. Lots of hay to fatten the poor horse up so there’s more of him to go around 😅

I think this is massively unfair to poor ol stickman - he was trying to get home the whole time!

Not to derail but ....it's when you have to read story books aloud that you realise how rubbish many of them are. Like the captions not matching the pictures? Not Julia she is brilliant!

Ps I wish someone would reprint the Puddle Lane books , they were simply the best.

Yeah but he's clearly a bastard, going out to do his hobbies and leaving Sticky Lady to get the three children up and do breakfast.

I now regret selling the whole collection- I want to read them all again 😂

I need a list of recommended children's books now lol! I borrowed Goat goes to playgroup by JD when my niece was little, haven't read most of the ones mentioned here...

We love these books and the others in the series. The animals always dress so dapper and have lovely homes. My 2yold sreads this hinself 'Naughty Fox lost his socks' and I read your whole post in his voice <3

I have ADHD. Neither I nor my child have ever questioned the clothing placement, late awakening or mouse's aimless wandering and sporadic crafting. Just a normal day here.

YABVU

This is hilarious, but I also have this book memorised because my toddler loves it. 😂