Charlotte's Web vs. Mrs Frisby and Rats of Nihm vs The Boxcar Children

[Parker]

All three of these books were children's staples (well at least I had to read them for elementary school). But, let's look at the underlying themes.
Add your takes on these, if you remember them.

Charlotte's Web, a smart spider saves a fat pig from being slaughtered. Well, if he didn't get fat, then he wouldn't have been considered in the first place. Of course all the animals exhibit Anthropomorphism, which is common in childrens books, which unconsciously helps children either to assign evil or good attributes to animals. Underlying theme in the book, "I don't want to die!", by Wilbur, echoing what people in his predicament say when they are told that they are overweight


Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nihm. Mrs Frisby gets help from lab rats who have near human intelligence. They have a mechanized society.Thety have elevators and tap into the electrical grid of a famrhouse. Questions? Why the hell are intelligent Lab Rats who were soo intelligent to escape NIHM laboratories, end up on a farm, why not creat their own damn society.





The Boxcar Children....Ah, this one reeks of 1920's Depression Era logic. Four orphaned kids rool out on their supposedly evil grandfather, who is their legal guardian. But, they decide to live in a freakin Boxcar. Great. Then, it turns out that their "evil" grandfather, wasn't so evil. So, they ran away for no damn reason. The logic is just stupifying. Reminds of the logic that John Steinbeck had in having a family move all the way to California to be fruitpickers, and go thru a city....where there is work...yet, they continue on to Cali... 

[Tombo]

Kids rarely see past the simple morals of the story, even then its further comprehension study of the novels which helps them to understand such things, they just enjoy the story.

[Parker]

Kids rarely see past the simple morals of the story, even then its further comprehension study of the novels which helps them to understand such things, they just enjoy the story.

Yep, i enjoyed the stories. Unfortunately, where I lived, every time the teacher would read a book to us, The Blue Angels would roar overhead, so there was no class, and she would take us out to watch them

[Tombo]

were they like acrobatic pilots or something?

[Tapeworm]

were they like acrobatic pilots or something?

You're thinking of The Little Prince.

[Parker]

were they like acrobatic pilots or something?

Yeah, The Blue Angels are the Navy'. Acrobatic pilots. They practice out here before The US Naval Academy's graduation. So, there is nothing but noise sometimes. People sit out and watch them. They've even been known to rattle people's windows out.

[polychronopolous]

I remember Templeton was a sly little sonovabitch.