Has anyone read this series. The first book was published more than 100 years ago. Scores of others have been written since then, and the earlier stories were revamped once or twice. I remember reading them in 1st - 3rd grade. I really enjoyed them.
Well, I have a Kindle. Books that are no longer copyrighted fall under the public domain and can be downloaded for free. Just for the heck of it, I downloaded a few of the Bobbsey Twins books. I enjoyed them so much when I was younger that I thought Kathleen might enjoy them, too.
I am so glad they were free.
The Bobbsey Twin parents have to be the two most negligent parents I have ever witnessed. Their younger twins (about 5 years old) are constantly getting into trouble. They're forever wandering off, getting lost, nearly getting run over by sleds, sleighs, and run away carriages, and not once do their parents ever tell them no more. They tell their kids you must never do such and such in this manner again, and the kids, being conveniently literal, don't. Then never do such and such in that manner again - they do it some other way.
And all their parents do is to tell them to not let it happen again.
The parents don't restrict their precocious tot the house because they can't be trusted not to get into trouble when outside alone. They don't give their older children responsibility to watch them. They don't ground them. They don't even give them explicit instructions telling them that they must not set foot outside these boundaries - and explain under no uncertain terms what these boundaries are - or they will be restricted in to the house for the rest of the week. No! They just let them wander off into trouble over and over again. Their mother never thinks to herself, "Hmmm, I wonder if I shouldn't watch them more closely myself (it's not like she couldn't spare the time - she has hired help!). It's ridiculous.
How could I have ever liked these books? Really, if you want a laugh, try reading one of them. That's all you need. If you read one, you really have read them all.
2 comments:
I enjoyed the books, too. But I didn't wander off constantly (my mother was actually very strict) and the books didn't tempt me to. I would guess that you weren't a wayward child, either. Just because the books present a terrible example of parenting, does that mean that a child who reads them will internalize it? I didn't (and apparently a century of children didn't either). Do you assume that Kathleen would?
No, I know she wouldn't the same way I know she wouldn't bash anyone over the head with a 2x4 after watching an unedited episode of Bugs Bunny (which are the only episodes worth watching since there's nothing left after you take out all the 2x4s). I just can't believe the books. They're so . . . naive isn't the word I want, but it's the only one I have just now. I'm certain I'd think the same thing if Kathleen weren't in the picture. And yet I just downloaded several more. They bring back good memories of being a budding bookworm being allowed to go to the school library and "check out" a few books.
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