SPOILERS!
I will tell you the ending first, in case you, like me and the hedgehog, read the ends of books first to find out whether they are too sad for you to read:
"Stink bugs are temporary. Love is Forever."
(Yes, I am aware that the proposition "Love is Forever" especially in the context of two people who apparently get married _the day they meet_ or really, really shortly thereafter is much more probable in fiction than IRL.)
This short book has a complex political background that I don't fully understand. And while I bought the kindle version, it is one of those incredibly irritating kindle versions that only works on a very short list of devices, so I had to go read it on my Mac, which meant I had to download a current Kindle for Mac and so forth. No, it does not work on iOS apps. Boo, hiss, Chronicle Books.
That said, it is a children's picture book, so I do grasp there are some tradeoffs. Not sure I agree with those tradeoffs, given how awesome the tablet versions of Sandra Boynton board books were, but, whatever.
In this book, a bunny who lives in the Pence household is a little lonely and bored, when, one day, he meets an amazing other bunny and they fall in love and no longer feel lonely any more. Deciding to hop together forever, they gather friends (turtle, hedgehog, a very good dog, etc.) and an officiant (a woman cat named Pajama, who brings her wife as a date) to get married. The ceremony is disrupted by a Stinkbug who thinks he is in charge, so they hold an election, putting Stink Bug up against Not Stink Bug on the ballot, Not Stink Bug wins, they shout down Stink Bug's heteronormative ideas about Love and proceed with the wedding.
The pictures are enticing and entertaining. The story is told concisely and with great humor, with a moral that entirely aligns with my values. And while I'm sure some would disagree, it manages to make its point without blugeoning the reader with it. If you grew up in a world with No Stink Bugs, you might scratch your head at the implausible Bad Guy, but the rest of the tale would be absolutely enjoyable regardless. I mean, Meet Cute, etc.
Should you ever find yourself confronted with a ballot with a choice of Stink Bug or Not Stink Bug to be In Charge and to Make the Rules, please please please vote for Not Stink Bug.
This was Lucky Number 13 for the year, if I'm counting correctly.
I will tell you the ending first, in case you, like me and the hedgehog, read the ends of books first to find out whether they are too sad for you to read:
"Stink bugs are temporary. Love is Forever."
(Yes, I am aware that the proposition "Love is Forever" especially in the context of two people who apparently get married _the day they meet_ or really, really shortly thereafter is much more probable in fiction than IRL.)
This short book has a complex political background that I don't fully understand. And while I bought the kindle version, it is one of those incredibly irritating kindle versions that only works on a very short list of devices, so I had to go read it on my Mac, which meant I had to download a current Kindle for Mac and so forth. No, it does not work on iOS apps. Boo, hiss, Chronicle Books.
That said, it is a children's picture book, so I do grasp there are some tradeoffs. Not sure I agree with those tradeoffs, given how awesome the tablet versions of Sandra Boynton board books were, but, whatever.
In this book, a bunny who lives in the Pence household is a little lonely and bored, when, one day, he meets an amazing other bunny and they fall in love and no longer feel lonely any more. Deciding to hop together forever, they gather friends (turtle, hedgehog, a very good dog, etc.) and an officiant (a woman cat named Pajama, who brings her wife as a date) to get married. The ceremony is disrupted by a Stinkbug who thinks he is in charge, so they hold an election, putting Stink Bug up against Not Stink Bug on the ballot, Not Stink Bug wins, they shout down Stink Bug's heteronormative ideas about Love and proceed with the wedding.
The pictures are enticing and entertaining. The story is told concisely and with great humor, with a moral that entirely aligns with my values. And while I'm sure some would disagree, it manages to make its point without blugeoning the reader with it. If you grew up in a world with No Stink Bugs, you might scratch your head at the implausible Bad Guy, but the rest of the tale would be absolutely enjoyable regardless. I mean, Meet Cute, etc.
Should you ever find yourself confronted with a ballot with a choice of Stink Bug or Not Stink Bug to be In Charge and to Make the Rules, please please please vote for Not Stink Bug.
This was Lucky Number 13 for the year, if I'm counting correctly.
Sneetches w/ or w/out Stars
Date: 2018-03-22 07:01 am (UTC)If “Stink Bug” turns out to be right, does he become “not Stink Bug”?
“Look, an island!”
“Stay in the lifeboat!”
“Get lost, Stink Bug - Oh [BLEEP], cannibals!”
“’Scuse me while I stink.”
I think you may have misunderstood several important points
Date: 2018-03-22 11:30 am (UTC)First, you seem to be using Seuss’ Sneetches to defend Stink Bug, a character whose position is anti-inclusive. That, at a minimum, seems weird.
Second, I hope you aren’t silly enough to think that some form of “right” or “wrong” is determined by voting. I mean, there’s some research to suggest that having a group of non-experts vote does a better job of coming up with the right answer than asking one of the non-experts what the right answer is, but that would seem to be completely unrelated to any of this discussion. The vote was not about correct / incorrect factual information or anything resembling it. The vote was about who got to define group social norms. And Stink Bug did not get to define this group’s social norms..
Three, defending Stink Bug in terms of this book equates to opposing boy bunnies marrying boy bunnies, supporting loud mouths who disrupt weddings and supporting one particular would be dictator who, after losing the election, continued to act as if he had not. If this is the Devil who hired you as Its Advocate, you must be truly desperate for work. Again, weird, in this economy.
ETA: I am sort of interested if anyone can extract any indication of a legal system from this book. I think it is largely anarchic.
“Soylent Green is people!”
Date: 2018-03-22 05:49 pm (UTC)On second thought, strike this reply. I was being good-natured in the above; you are not so. So be it.
Take Your Support of Stink Bug Elsewhere
Date: 2018-03-22 07:30 pm (UTC)This is directed at anyone reading this post or the comments and contemplating commenting.