Disturbed by animals pretending to be humans in storybooks!

[whethergirl]

This just creeps me out.

I read a lot to my 4 year old DS and love a lot of the fab books
that are out there.

I don't mind all the other made up stuff - wizards, spells, flying carpets, magic beans, flying cars etc. And I don't mind animals that can talk in storybooks, as long as they are still animals, say in a jungle scene.

But what I can't stomach, is animals, wearing human clothes, living in human houses, having jobs in offices and eating human food. Especially if the drawings are sort of serious drawings if you know what I mean (rather than cartoony ones).

WEIRD. Anyone with me?

you don't like the sylvanian families then

Even the chosen family name, Sylvanian, seems to me, like a desperate attempt to choose a most human sounding surname! Not even Mr and Mrs Bear, no, this lot have a proper surname!

Yes Alex Scheffler has a lot to answer for doesn't he?

Don't ever buy 'Tales from Acorn wood' it's very freaky.

Didn't it start with Beatrix Potter?

But I like the Sylvanians' names - my favourite was the squirrel - Douglas Furbanks.

Beatrix and Sylvanians are not even the worst culprits - mind you I've not really come across them much. I did read a book tonight about an elephant family, with the dad in his office suit and briefcase, the mum in her slippers baking a cake (now imagine baking a cake if you had elephant feet).

I did read a book from the library a few weeks ago called Willie and Hugh? or something, and it was about monkeys acting as humans, but what was funny was that they went to the zoo and there was a picture of a human family sitting on a sofa in a cage! So that was alright, at least it was ironic.

Was that by Antony Browne whethergirl? Some of his books follow a similar theme - the animals are like humans and vice versa.

I can cope with animals like the Large family (the elephants mentioned). It is animals who have other animals as pets who freak me out e.g. in the tv cartoon series arthur ( who is something furry) has a small pet dog but his best friend is a rabbit the same size as him.
Maise Mouse really does my head in.

Willie and Hugh is def Anthony Browne

He does a similar thing in 'Gorilla.' I heart Antony Browne.

Yes, cornsilk, it was Antony Browne. It was a good book actually. Animals as humans but in an ironic mood.

Charmander....yes, that is precisely something else that does my head in about animals pretending to be humans, when they actually have a PET!!! Which basically is another animal, which for some reason CAN NOT do all the humanly things their animal owner can do. Double freaky.