Unhappy with school reading book

[Kinect]

DD is in reception & has three reading books a week. We have a little book to fill in with a note of how DD reacted. Yesterday's book was, "a princess & a dragon'. Story went like this princess, dragon, roar, help, prince, prince saves princess, they are happy.

I have written in the notebook that it is against my feminist principles to read the story with DD.

I am very unhappy about material like this being in school.

Should I take this further with the school?
Or is my comment in the notebook sufficient.

There are some fabulous fairy tales from around the world. It's very much not a white boy genre. I think fairy tales have everything. Talking animals, cunning heroes, clever heroes, magic, witches, wizards, spells, language, moral messages - just everything. I actually think they are a rich source of ideas and motifs that feeds children's imaginations at a very profound level.

And, talk about them for Heaven's sake. Who thinks what? Why was the Princess so wet? What would you do in those circumstances? Take a real, deep-learning interest, not just a note to the teacher interest. Write the note if you want. Why not? It can't hurt, but it seems to me to be missing an opportunity.

'It's called the Hidden curriculum.'

I'll say.

My DS was sent home with a picture book (he's 4) and he had to describe the pictures and state which job the people had. The doctor, teacher and vet were women, and the builder and postman were men. I took this up with his teacher too.

I wouldn't characterise the princess as 'wet'.

I'd go for 'gosh, she was unlucky to be captured' 'what do you think she'd do if it the dragon had caught the prince?'

We had a book removed from the school reading book rotation, it was called 'mum's diet' and it was about a family who were 'forced' to eat salad as their mum was on a diet.

Go for it. It's probably worth a lighthearted comment.

I complained once about one with a health and safety issue - Biff and Chip digging an enormous hole on the beach and burying someone in it I think .

What a lot of responses!

To answer some questions.

No I don't read Sleeping Beauty, Snow White or Cinderella at home. DD has had the opportunity to watch Cinderella a few times, but won't stay in the room because of the music. Sofia the First was on TV this weekend and DD asked to watch something else.

DD does have a Rapunzel dressing up dress and regularly watches Tangled & we have the interactive book on the iPad. She is getting a Merida costume for Xmas, she also has the book, but isn't very interested in it. Her life isn't completely devoid of any Princess material.

I am a feminist that believes in equality. Not sure where in my opening post conveys that I don't believe in equality. If there are other books that are brought home that I have an issue with, I will respond in same way. My question was over this book in particular, as it is the first, hopefully only, book I have a problem with.

The book is terribly simplistic, pretty blonde princess in a pink dress etc.

I am certain the books are chosen by the teacher / TA. Tuesday's is library day, when they get to choose two books to bring home for the week. Last week DD chose two reference books about birds, this week the Wishing Wand and Four Franks.

Thanks a lot for all the suggestions of great books. We do already have Zog. I think DD will love the one with the pirates.

We do try and analyse and talk about the books, but DD just isn't there yet. I try and talk to her about the best / favourite / most fun thing in a playground and she won't engage. She is four and a quarter and sees things in a very simplistic way and is usually focussed on one thing at a time. So whilst I appreciate peoples comments to use this as a learning opportunity, there isn't one there at the moment.

That aside, it doesn't stop me being unhappy about the book being standard reading material.

The book is changed over today, so I'll see if there is any reaction from the school.

Flick do you think the messages children pick up along the way have no influence?
Parents can't challenge every little thing kids may see in a day. It's impossible - there are simply too many images to be able to have a conversation about each one. But all those images sink and bleed in and create a kind of cognitive template that we are not even aware of building.

In that context it's not too much to expect the school to help out and counterbalance those damaging messages. They could if they wanted, so why not?

What I tend to do is switch genders in any old story. (Mine are preschoolers so can't read yet so it's easy for me) So if you have a boy / girl team and a dragon say, you'd be surprised how often the Prince 'said kindly/shrieked in fright' and the Princess 'stomped off angrily/said No!' It's an interesting experiment And it's so subtle you can't expect children to critique it in all it's nuance and context.

It's not censorship to say that kids deserve better than crap books.....

So why can't other people apply other criteria to the books they give to children Flicktheswitch? Why are you allowed to critically think about what you show your children and we aren't?

Also why do you think children would be deprived if they never saw another prince rescues princess story ever again?

Society is telling girls all the time that men are the protectors, the doers, the rescuers, marriage is the answer, knight in shining armour bullshit etc etc. Why should we accept what society tells us what we read and watch any more than you do?

"So why can't other people apply other criteria to the books they give to children "

Some can. Some can't. Judging by this thread, some choose not to.

The question is, why give children crap books in the first place? We are careful about the food we put in their bodies- why feed their minds rubbish?