Customer Reviews

Spotty

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I actually have a quite different view of the book. While I certainly see the merits of discussing issues and I really don't believe children take away from the book all that an adult would, I have to say that I feel uncomfortable reading this book to my four year old. I consider myself rather progressive. I live in the metro DC area and am mid-30's and have one 4 yo child. I guess since I haven't found the opportunity to discuss these issues with my daughter yet, I haven't felt it is something she can't grow up without (as others have suggested). Here are some of the reasons why:

* When talking to Aunt Eliza, Mother Bunny cries because her son Spotty is brown and not white and looks different than her other children. She is worried about what Grandpa might think. (My thought: who cares?)
* Little Rosie asked Aunt Eliza about her brown bunny brother named Spotty. "Don't you like brown spots, Auntie?" to which Eliza answers, "I certainly don't... go and play now."
* On two occasions, Mother Bunny tells Rosie to "stop asking questions" on a very important issue because it's a bad time for her-- first it's dinnertime, later it's bedtime). (My thought: nice.)
* Aunt Eliza advises Mother Bunny to leave Spotty home because he might upset Grandpa. She admonishes with, "you certainly don't intend to spoil the day for Grandpa and all the family."
* Mother Bunny gives in. The author writes, "So she had to go and tell Spotty that he was to stay home." (Huh? She HAD to...?) Mother Bunny told her little bunny, "It's just because of your brown spots... I'm so afraid that Grandpa may not like you as well as the others. I wish we could take you, Spotty, but we'll bring you something nice from the party." Rosie protests, but Mother says he'll have a "nice quiet day at home. Spotty could not say a word." (Yeah, I guess not.)
* The family leaves him behind and Spotty can't even eat his breakfast. He gets a chemical off of the shelf and tries to remove his spots to no avail. He then determines that it would be "easier for Mum" and for himself if he left his family and ran away from home. As he's walking, it begins to rain and he feels "tired," "lonesome," "scared" and "very sad."
* The book goes on and Spotty meets a family of brown bunnies that look just like him. They are called the Brown family. In this family, there is one isolated bunny that is "all white with pink eyes and a pink nose." Mr. Brown "lowered his voice" to explain to Spotty who the "strange looking" bunny is that is cowering in the corner. He further explains that Grandma "would be upset if she saw Whitie."

Yes, there are definitely merits and a moral to the story. I think that the book was written in a time that it was very important to discuss unspoken bigotry and unbased biases. But I think it's a sign of the times that I am (and I'd have to guess a few others might agree) that some of the elements of the book send the wrong signal. (Again, kids don't pick up major cues from stories. I totally get that... I think this is more about my discomfort in reading it.)

Merits/Morals:

They talk about the fact that Spotty is able to hide better and early on, Mother says that she loves Spotty for the way he is and Mr. Brown says that he has "always loved Whitie" and that "it all seems pretty foolish." Mother Bunny cries when she reads Spotty's note that said that he was running away and she and her family prepared to go out and look for little Spotty. And in the end, Mother Bunny says that she was "foolish" and she kissed Mr. Brown and then "everybody kissed everybody and everybody asked everybody's name and everybody laughed and danced and sang." I'm not saying the book is without merit. It just makes me squirm to read it and there are about a million other books with wonderful morals that I could read before this one.

My daughter, age 4, just loves this book. It is a paragraph book, not a one-liner read-aloud, and adults will find it enjoyable to read to children. The basic story is that Spotty has spots while his siblings don't. He gets left behind, runs away (which I usually don't like to see in stories, but I just correct verbally to express the dangers of and move on), and gets taken in by a family of spotted bunnies who have ostracized their plain bunny just the same as he was an outcast in his family! So, of course, eventually all the bunnies get together and learn that the spots and colors don't really matter and that it's more important to be kind and loving... all told in the warm medium of adorable bunnies which any child would love. It's rather hard to find these days, but worth buying!

Growing up in the 50's, Spotty was my favorite book (even though I loved my dad's classic children's book, Little Toot, very much too). I have one dog-eared copy but wanted one(s) for my grandchildren. And I found it here!

I have spent a life trying to treat everyone the same and not put people into categories by their color, ethnic background, their economic status ... and guess what??? I now realize that I absorbed these values from reading Spotty as a young girl! It tells so gently what it feels like to be a spotted bunny in a family of white bunnies (and ostracized) and how it feels like to be a white bunny in a family of spotted bunnies (also made to feel "different").

Do your kids and grandkids a real life-long favor by reading this enjoyable, heart-warming, positive book to them. It changed my life and could change theirs.

Linda Gramatky Smith

Spotty is a dotted, spotted bunny born to a family of white, pink-eyed rabbits. Although Spotty's mother loves him very much, as do all his brothers and sisters, she's afraid Grandpa will not approve of a bunny with brown spots, so she leaves him at home. Spotty becomes despondent and runs away, only to find a family of spotted rabbits with one all-white bunny.

The book is a celebration of differences, and teaches children the very important lesson that we are who we are, and nothing can change that, nor should we try. This reaches all levels - differences in attitude to the obvious difference in skin color.

"Spotty" reaches so much farther than any of the Rey's "Curious George" works, and I highly recommend it for every parent.

I recently discovered this book while at a museum exhibition of Margret and H. A. Rey's work. When I saw the picture of Spotty trying to use spot remover, I had tears come to my eyes because I could totally relate. As a queer person with a challenging family history, this book really resonated with me. e.g. The themes of not fitting in with ones family of origin, being ostracized for being different and rejected because ones family is worried about what others will think, trying to change one's true nature, and ultimately running away to make things easier on others and to find community. It's all freakishly dead on. Now, if only more families would realize how beautiful and precious their children are the way Spotty's family did.

My siblings and I were raised on this book in the 1950s and 1960s. Seeing it in the movie "You've Got Mail" brought back fond memories. I am now purchasing it for the children in my life. In an era when tolerating differences is at a shortage and sorely needed, no child should grow up without "Spotty".

I was delighted with the used book I ordered. It was in such good condition that I could give it as a gift and didn't have to say it was used. Since this was a book I had loved as a child, I didn't think I'd find it anymore, since I'm close to 70. But I got it and in brand new condition.

My father's first cousin Margret wrote this in collaboration with her husband Hans many many years ago. I was weaned on this and all their other books and LOVE LOVE LOVE them all.

This book has the most adorable pictures. The Reys were Jews who fled Nazi Germany and this is a story about being singled out because one isn't blond and blue-eyed (I mean, white and pink eyes - it's about rabbits). A wonderful morality tale. My only complaint is that the Spotty rabbit stuffed toy that they make to go with this book isn't very cute at all. I wish they would make a good version of it as Spotty is such a cool rabbit.

This book makes the intolerance, nonacceptance, and bigotry about those who are different an everyday, normal, acceptable thing and it is not!

Furthermore it shows the parent bunnies as being cowards and not standing up for their little oddball bunnies. That is not okay either.

This is an awful, awful book. I would never read this to my kids and I'm glad I caught it before they read it. (We received it as a gift.)