Picture Book Linkeration

I ran across these two links awhile ago, and have been carrying them around in my Google Reader ever since.

First, courtesy of Bookshelves of Doom, is The Most Depressing Children's Books Ever Written from the 10 Zen Monkeys webzine. I've read most of the books on the list and they are all, indeed, depressing as hell. Two are about 9/11. However, there's an annoying undertone to the commentary that seems to run, "OMG, this isn't about hugs and puppies! Don't you know the tender kiddies can only handle hugs and puppies?" . . . Sheesh.

Second, from my Google newsfeed, is The Five Most Overused Children's Book Plots at ParentDish, which made me laugh but also roll my eyes a little. Yeah, we're tired of them, but we're not the target audience.

The best part of both articles, of course, are the responses. This being the Internet, they range from slavish agreement to sharp, child-development-aware slaps upside the head to "You are mean and have no sense of humor" responses to said slaps.