Greenberg, D. (1983). Slugs. Toronto: Little, Brown and Company.
Summary:
A moralistically disturbing tale of revenge, this book is not suitable for children. It begins with a silly rhyming scheme about the many uses for slugs, which primarily include destructive and violent acts against them.
The slugs turn on the boy who has been conducting these cruel experiments, they swarm him and “chop [him] into pancakes, “turn [him] inside out, so [his] liver is on the outside and [his] brain is sauerkraut”.
Evaluation:
The images that accompany the story are seemingly amusing and colourful. They depict funny characters with silly facial expressions doing funny things. The images suggest that the book is intended for children. However, as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that the violence depicted in the story is not for the faint of heart, or for that matter, for children.
The images that accompany the story are seemingly amusing and colourful. They depict funny characters with silly facial expressions doing funny things. The images suggest that the book is intended for children. However, as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that the violence depicted in the story is not for the faint of heart, or for that matter, for children.
The images would most likely make many children giggle, however, the text and images are not harmonious, in that the images do not fully depict the cruel and sadistic actions taken upon the slugs and then to the little boy at the end of the story.
The purposes of sharing this book with children may be to teach them a harsh lesson about treating people nicely and with respect. However, I can think of many other ways to convey this message without the use of violence and graphic imagery.
Age Range - adult
RATING
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