These recessionary times call for repeat visits to the library -- yes, that publicly financed institution that we remember from our childhoods and those pre-Wikipedia days. It's free. You get no backlog of books the kids never read. They have DVDs. They are entirely computerized so no satisfying stamp on each book, just a mundane beep from a scanner. They also catch up to your fines quicker. A book of mine got stuck in the kid book pile and I ended up paying more in fines on it than the paperback was worth. But, you can pay with your ATM. Who knew.
In my continual search to educate children about interesting things that do not have to do with contemporary media and plastic guitars, the biography section is my new haunt. I remember a surfeit of bios of all the dead white guys -- especially conquistadors. Well, the conquistadors have been replaced by tomes devoted to every possible Indian tribe and African American hero. I don't care to get into the PC or anti-PC movement -- remember when that was the hotbutton of talk radio rather that bonuses to bailout executives? Something did seem a little odd that there was one skinny paperback devoted to Gandhi and next to it was the official biography of Sean Puffy P Diddy Combs. I believe this man was once charged with accessory to murder when his bodyguard shot someone in a nightclub when he was still dating Jennifer Lopez -- but let's let bygones be bygones and celebrate his success as a fashion entrepreneur.
On the positive side, they do have more women represented than I remember, but mostly the usual suspects like Madame Curie and Amelia Earhart. I also managed to find a bio of Hilary Clinton that was written some time during the last election. There are a few problems explaining controversial figures to 6 year olds. What to do about the messy intern situation? Say that he was nearly thrown out of office due to an "office romance" but that she stood by her man.
Best recent library revelations: check out of An American in Paris. Never seen it, but should have. The kids thought the dancing was brilliant, they recognized the places in Paris as related to Madeleine books and the damn thing was so happy.
Believe it's possible to give up on all the crappy kid films and just show them great musicals. Next up: Guys and Dolls. Had trouble explaining what the Salvation Army is but they did recognize that Sinatra has a great voice. Girl child asked what "sexy" meant when I described Marlon Brando as such.
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I read in a parenting magazine that "Singing in the Rain' is one of the great movies of all time for kids. I bought "Hello Dolly" a while back, and the kids loved it! Of course, it's too long, and I don't think they have actually sat through all the way to the grand "Hello Dolly" number, but they call it the princess movie. I am a believer that great american musicals are fantastic movies for kids....
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