Customer Reviews

NO, George, NO! The Re-Parenting of George W. Bush

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1 star:		(8)

 

 

I came to this review by way of the reviews of a conservative counterpart, almost a mirror-image of "No George, No" called "Help, Mommy, there are liberals under my bed!" I became interested and found both books in libraries to read. Both books are funny for those who seek humorous confirmation of their own ideological positions. From what I read, however, THIS book isn't really intended for kids but is clearly a parody. (I should say that it strikes me as adult-audience parody--I'm sensing that others, but not all, view it the same way). Its conservative counterpart (Help...liberals under the bed) was really intended and is really being used to "educate" kids on conservative values (I'm basing this on what I read about the author's inspiration). To me, this makes a huge difference. It's one thing for adults to use the children's book form as parody to poke fun at their leaders. It's another to actually pass down to our kids the bitter partisanship and disrespect for leadership that these books exemplify. Neither book is really appropriate for kids, nor would I think young kids would enjoy them much. Even politically aware kids should be more interested in issues than in mud-slinging, I hope. I realize both books CLAIM to deal with issues, but on a level that I think would go over most kids' heads.

PARENTS: Don't be fooled by children's book covers. Read books yourself, then evaluate their appropriateness for your kids.

REVIEWERS WHO TRASHED THIS BOOK: I bet you would LOVE "Help, Mommy, there are liberals under my bed" for exactly the same reasons liberals love this, so get off your high horses about what's right and fair. Political dissent of all forms has a long history and a valuable place. I don't see where it should affect our kids, but that's just the form these parodies take. (I sincerely hope most people see BOTH books as parodies.)

The fact that people can read this book and think it's a children's book is sort of scary. This is satire folks. The book is using something called "irony" in an attempt to be "funny." I'm sure you've heard of satire. Now learn to recognize it. This book is a lampooning of the book "Help ! Mom! There are Liberals Under the Bed"...by the way, that book is designed to be a children's book. This one is intended to be funny.

If you're still struggling with satire and irony I'll give you another example. "Things sure are going great in America. Under the leadership of that genius George Bush, things couldn't be any better. We're winning the war in Iraq. If it weren't for those darn T.V. cameras that show all those bombs killing all those people everyone would know we're winning. Why doesn't the media show bombs NOT exploding? Where are those stories? We no longer have anything to fear because President Bush has got everything under control. God Bless the smartest, bestest President ever, George W. Bush."

Although I'm far to the right of ol' President-funny-faces, this book drew more than a thin smile from me, page after page. Still, I had a more serious purpose in purchasing this book, and it does serve that purpose. This is a nice, to-the-point listing of the left's grievances with both H. sapiens and economic realities--through George Bush. My daughter will benefit from such forewarning when she is school-aged. Whether your purpose is as sinister and calculating as mine, or whether you're among the delusional of the left, I recommend this book. (If you're among the delusional of the right, though, perhaps something from the Creation Museum might be a bit more satisfying.)

I pitty the poor child subjected to this. Let children be children.

This book boldly points out, in the simplest ways, the following facts that republicans consistently ignore:

It is a well-established fact that the rich are becoming richer and the poor are growing poorer. To say that "every one is getting wealthier" is beyond delusional. When Bill Gates' income goes up by the millions while Joe Average gets a couple hundred, something is drastically wrong.

Every expert group on terrorism agrees the US and the world are at greater risk of terrorist attack thanks to George Bush's policies. Not only is his system of ignoring civil liberties and starting unprovoked attacks unethical, it's also counterproductive, dangerous, and downright irresponsible. I am tired of the republican party touting itself as the only ones who can "save" us from terrorists; this is just a fear-tactic used to garner votes. In fact, all republicans are doing is wasting enormous sums of money all the while making the entire world hate us--thus increasing our risk of a terrorist attack.

Government could easily help stop the rising cost of health care if it stopped giving tax breaks to the richest Americans and instead used that money to supplement health care expenses. Yes, the top bracket of wealthy Americans pays the largest percentage of taxes--but they have far, far more excessive, unnecessary income to give (and both can and should be giving more), as opposed to the average American who is struggling just to make it from one month to the next.

While many republicans rail against programs like welfare and universal health care, I think a few days on the street would change their tune....Let them live as one of the Americans who relies on welfare to keep him out of absolute poverty and I have a feeling their thoughts on the program would change. The first time they could not get a much-needed medical procedure for lack of money I'm sure they would change their opinions on health care as well. The fact that we are the only modernized nation in the world without universal health care is embarrassing, and revolting.

Thank God the nation is finally catching on to the callous, irrational, war-mongering, money-grubbers that the republicans currently in power truly are. I hope their party has the same success in the next election that it saw in 2006. ;)

First of all, I'm not a conservative, so don't discount the review on that basis. I also trashed "Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed!" Both books suffer from dogmatic stereotypes and are inappropriate for children. But beyond that, "No, George, No," is just plain bad. Poorly written and poorly illustrated, it's a crummy kids book. Period. Save your money and buy something by Eric Carle or Richard Scarry. In other words, by a good children's book.

While Ms. Eder is described as "a teacher who is actively trying to create a peace-filled and just world", she is, without a doubt, a liar. Horrible that someone can publish this rubbish!

As a hardcore liberal I think this book is horrible. To read such political hack job to children is bad. This is as bad as "Help Mom there's a liberal under my bed." Teaching your children such garbage is a case for your reparenting. If you get it for yourself, than it's just another liberal book making fun of Bush.

It's a shame it's become so politically correct to bash Bush. What's worse is to "hide" behind the cloak of a child's book to do it. By the way I wonder if the author has taken the opportunity to illustrate what other presidents have done (ie in the Oval Office)? I would not read my child this book. The book itself is built on a false premise. Could you imagine the outrage (ie on The Today Show from Katie) if someone had done a book like this about John Kerry. The liberals would demand it be torn from the bookshelves and would call on every good citizen to boycott Amazon and Borders.

Hilarious, but sad tale of what has been done to us by this administration. Yes, it's preaching to the choir, but maybe, just maybe, those who have had their heads in the sand might pick it up and read it and learn the truth. For world peace, one can only hope.