Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Exploring the military-industrial complex in children's literature

Wherein also an environmental message that would most likely not be allowed


Yes, it's another round of GUESS THAT BOOK. This one is a popular children's book from 1957. You probably read it as a child and it's still easily available today. To be honest, there was a series of books and you're probably most familiar with the first title. Still, you might recognize the style and you'll get full points for shouting out the protaganist's name.

Quote:
But there isn't much else to do on a desert, [he] realised as he looked around, except maybe play in the sand.

Then he remembered how the government has fun on the desert. It shoots off rockets.

Yay government!

12 Comments:

Blogger XWL said...

"Existentialism and Human Emotions" by John Paul Sartre, came out about then, and was a popular children's book, right?

(my guess might be slightly off . . .)

My alternate guess, Encyclopedia Brown (which might actually be much older, not sure).

Also, other fun things you can do in the desert besides 'getting your rockets off':

Shoot stuff, arrange volcanic rocks into rude sayings, burn stuff (hell, there's a whole festival devoted to that one), drive wrecklessly, make sand angels, revel in sun-baked dehydration caused hallucinations, and enjoy the emptiness among many, many other things.

Deserts are fun (just bring plenty of liquids).

8/29/2007 02:12:00 PM  
Blogger Icepick said...

My wife is currently stuck in the middle of the Mojave Desert, and she assures me it's no fun. She also spent her teen years there, so this isn't just an off day for the Mojave - it's no fun pretty much all the time.

8/29/2007 03:27:00 PM  
Blogger Ahistoricality said...

Sounds like Curious George to me.

Could be a Tom Mix, I guess. But it really sounds more like Curious George.

8/29/2007 05:53:00 PM  
Blogger P_J said...

I can't remember if it's "Goodnight, Goon" by Margaret Wise Brown, or "The Little Golden Book of Multi-Environment Warfare"

8/29/2007 06:15:00 PM  
Blogger bill said...

Those certainly are guesses.

8/29/2007 07:41:00 PM  
Blogger bill said...

clue #1: Color

8/29/2007 07:44:00 PM  
Blogger bill said...

Clue #2: Implement for writing or drawing

8/30/2007 08:12:00 AM  
Blogger bill said...

Clue #3: name of a Nobel prize winning British playwright.

8/30/2007 08:15:00 AM  
Blogger bill said...

answer

8/30/2007 08:18:00 AM  
Blogger bill said...

Pastor Jeff, you should find yourself an artist to mimic the golden book style and write ""The Little Golden Book of Multi-Environment Warfare."

Sounds like it would be more entertaining than those parody politically correct fairytales from a few years ago.

8/30/2007 08:20:00 AM  
Blogger P_J said...

Now that you mention it, that could make a good book. It would certainly breathe new life into the "Sammy the Seal" character.

Have you seen Brendan Douglas Jones' creative "Breakfast of the Gods"? It's a great story of evil Count Chocula's war against the old cereal mascots.

8/30/2007 11:02:00 AM  
Blogger XWL said...

LOL Pinter?!?

Imagine a Harold Pinter version of a Purple Crayon book, or vice versa, imagine a Crockett Johnson retelling of The Birthday Party.

The mind boggles.

8/30/2007 03:40:00 PM  

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