Raising Sam

Recognize this book?  I’ll bet you do and I’ll also bet you got 12 copies of it, kept one and re-gifted the rest and are now reading it over and over again.

I have a love-hate relationship with this book.  I’m sorry let me rephrase that, as it’s technically not even a book but a “touch and feel collection of activities” for baby. I’ll start first with the love.

pat the bunny was read to me as a child, and it became one of my all-time favorite books, which brings back warm fuzzy feelings from my past.

I love the concept; a touch and feel book, simple and fresh, with cute vintage illustrations, a pretty color scheme and activities on every page for baby to do.  It keeps baby engaged and teaches basic skills, like how to pat a bunny, play peek-a-boo, look in a mirror, smell flowers, touch daddy’s scratchy face and wave bye bye.

I also like the way pat the bunny is packaged and presented with thick card stock pages, bound with a coil which makes it kind of unique and good for babies as they can chew on it.  The thick pages also make it easier for baby to take part in turning the pages, as Sam loves to do.

pat the bunny is a charming, delightful and refreshing little book. It is positive and encouraging – it shows baby that if the main characters, Paul and Judy can do lots of things, baby can do lots of things too!

But, as an adult reading pat the bunny, I’m reading it in a new light and this is where the hate part comes in (well … I know, I know … hate is a very strong word so I’ll use dislike instead).

Like a lot of baby books and toys, it is super dorky – who are these Paul and Judy characters anyway and why should baby do what they do in the first place?  Let’s teach our children to think for themselves, not be copy cats of Paul and Judy.

Ironically every time we get to the second last page where “Paul can put his finger through Mummy’s Ring, Now YOU put your finger through Mummy’s ring” Sam always cries.  It could be because it is the second last page, one page closer to bedtime and as most Moms know, baby gets cranky when bedtime is nearing.  Or there could be some subliminal, unconscious message in that Sam somehow knows deep down that his own parents aren’t married and there is no ring for him to practice with like Paul does.

Fine, logically I think the first explanation makes more sense, but still … this is only representative of one kind of family, when there are all different kinds out there – Mommy and Mommy, non-married folks, common-law parents, Daddy and Daddy, and single parent families, only to name a few!   It seems to be a little on the narrow-minded side.   Yes, I know, I realize that this book was written in 1940, so what can I expect really?  Most Mommies at that time would have a pretty gold ring, like the Mommy in this book, but still, it’s a little dated.  What would happen if Mommy divorced Daddy and ditched her ring? Just a thought.

The other problem, so I have discovered after giving the book to an eight month old, is that while the card stock and coil binding is cute and unique for those who don’t have a desire to rip it apart, it is not exactly the most durable book for a baby/toddler who likes to experiment and is curious, as the picture to your left demonstrates.  Sam had the book in ruins in about 5 minutes.

Will I still read pat the bunny?  Absolutely!  I will join the other 6 millions reading it to their babies each night, just like it was read to me, over and over again.  I think it’s helping Sam. After all, if Paul and Judy can do basic things like wave bye bye, than so can baby Sam!  And hey, maybe by the time Sam is old enough to understand the book, his own Mommy will have a ring on her finger … that part is to be continued…