TresSugar

Children's Books You'll Never See

GiggleSugar — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:00:00 -0700

Grimm's Fairy Tales aren't exactly shielding Junior from nightmares, but these book titles are without question in the "too much, too soon" category. (Thanks, eBaum's World!)

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Recalled Children's Books

GiggleSugar — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 02:00:00 -0800

Someone with a wicked sense of humor "retouched" the covers of some classic kiddie books. The artwork remains the same for the most part, but the titles have been edited - for better or for worse? - I'll let you decide. I must admit that the title My First Rave: Fun With "X," accompanied by a photo of half-dressed toddlers running in circles with their hands in the air like they just don't care, is a little magical. But maybe that's just me.

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Thanks, eBaum's World and Something Awful!

Heartwarming Children's Books: NOT Just for Kids

DearSugar — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 11:00:00 -0700

I know kids' books can seem a little childish with all the bright colors, huge text, and cartoon-like people, but many of them have hidden messages that adults can really take to heart. These are some of my favorites. Check them out the next time you're in the bookstore and I guarantee they'll spark some memory or feeling inside you. They'll have you tearing up and saying "awwww" in no time. They also make great gifts for the people in your life who have everything.

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Meghan McCain Shares Her Dad with Other Kids

LibertySugar — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:00:46 -0700

Meghan McCain has announced plans to publish a children's book about her dad, just in time for Father's Day. The book will be out in September.

In a story about patriotism and tenacity, the 23-year-old daughter of a maverick follows Daddy John's life as a Navy brat, through five-and-a-half years as a POW in Vietnam, all the way to the Republican convention where he will be nominated for president.

Meghan can now add author to a resume that already includes blogger; She keeps an online diary of her experience on the campaign trail at McCain Blogette.

Do you think this biography-turned-children's book is a blatant campaign public relations tactic, or a sweet Father's Day gift that all of American's children can cherish? Would you read McCain's biography to your children as a bedtime story?

Do, Dump, or Marry? Spike Jonze

TresSugar — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:15:00 -0700

Director, skateboarder and all-around Gen X superhero Spike Jonze was told that turning the beloved children's book Where the Wild Things Are into a movie couldn't be done without serious artistic compromises. Well, not only did he prove his naysayers wrong, his movie was number one at the box office over the weekend!

This iconoclast has been doing his own thing for a while, though, starting out as an untrained videographer for skateboarders, moving on to direct cool videos for bands like The Beastie Boys, and following up on Being John Malkovich and Adaptation with a filmic ballad for the latch-key generation.

So boyish is this 39-year-old, Catherine Keener's son once asked him why he didn't live with his parents. What do you think about this talented guy?

Say What? Where the Grouchy Things Are

TresSugar — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0700

"I would tell them to go to hell. That's a question I will not tolerate."

- Maurice Sendak, author of the classic children's book-turned-movie Where the Wild Things Are, when asked "What do you say to parents who think the Wild Things film may be too scary?" I guess this is artistic integrity, but it's kind of a valid question, no? Unless it's simply not a children's movie . . .

DC Sniper's Ex-Wife Says Those Bullets Were Meant For Her

TresSugar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0700

On October 23, 2002, Mildred Muhammad was visited at her Maryland home by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents. They'd come to inform her that her ex-husband, John, had begun shooting people around her. "You are the target," they told her ominously.

John Muhammad would come to be known as the "Beltway Sniper," and with his teen accomplice Lee Malvo, he went on a shooting spree in Maryland, DC and Northern Virginia that left 10 people dead. Malvo is serving a life sentence, and Muhammad is scheduled to be executed November 10 of this year.

In her new book, Scared Silent, Mildred Muhammad talks about her 12-year marriage to John. Things started out well, but John became emotionally and physically abusive after he returned from an Army tour during the Gulf War. Mildred is convinced that his plan was eventually to kill her so that he could regain custody of the children he lost in 2001 and to get compensation for them as crime victims. (He believed the nameless "Beltway Sniper" would be blamed.)

"I was recalling every frightening comment John had ever made to me. He once said, 'When a man hits a woman, it means that he has lost all respect for her. It would be easy for him to kill her after that.' But I did not foresee, not even in my wildest nightmare, that John would ever kill people who had nothing to do with me or our troubled marriage."

Mildred Muhammad hopes that her book will help other victims of domestic violence get the help they need.

Aborigines Incensed Over Didgeridoo "Dare" in Book for Girls

CitizenSugar — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:00:56 -0700

The Australian answer to the hit book, The Daring Book for Girls is striking the wrong note with Aborigines. The book teaches girls how to play the didgeridoo - despite the fact that Aboriginal culture views the instrument as strictly boys only and not to be played by girls.

The publisher says it wasn't aware of the taboo and has apologized for the faux pas saying there was a "divergence of opinion" on the matter. The hollowed out instrument with the quintessentially Crocodile Dundee-esque sound (just try to imagine that tone without thinking of the movie) is viewed by Aborigines as a male ceremonial instrument. Not only are women forbidden from playing it, but doing so could cause grave consequences, even infertility.

The Daring Book has a less controversial profile than it may seem - its mission: "Whether you’re a girly-girl, an athlete, a brainiac, or a little bit of everything, The Daring Book for Girls gets you ready for anything - from pitching a tent and building a campfire; to running a lemonade stand and learning about female heroines in history; and even to tying a hitch knot and organizing your own spy team. The Daring Book for Girls is the can-do, how-to manual for enthusiastic, unfettered adventure, cheering girls on to be curious and brave-and above all, to have fun."

Source

Guides Hope Public Will Have Big Love For Polygamy Tours

TresSugar — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:10:00 -0700

Has Big Love only intensified your curiosity about the mysterious lives of polygamists? Perhaps you should book your next vacation to Arizona, where former fundamentalist Mormons have launched a tour of a polygamous colony.

Starting next weekend, outsiders will get an inside look with "The Polygamy Experience: A Guided Tour of Colorado City." The tour is not for the passingly curious, as it lasts four hours and involves meetings with people who have been exiled by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). Even so, it promises to be respectful. The guides will educate tourists on the history of fundamentalist Mormonism and explain why they take more than one wife in the first place. Paying customers will also learn what's behind the prairie dresses and long braids.

The tour costs $70 for adults and $60 for children (children, really?). Would you shell out the money to see polygamy up close?

Source

Mighty Hermaphrodite Author on Being Intersex

TresSugar — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Hida Viloria, author of the upcoming book Mighty Hermaphrodite, has an inkling of the pain Caster Semenya's going through. Like the South African runner who was tricked into having her sex verified (she's now in hiding and on suicide watch), Viloria is an intersex person.

Formerly known as hermaphrodites, intersex people, says Viloria, are hard to classify either as male or female. Intersex is a group of conditions where there is a discrepancy between the external and internal genitals and the normally corresponding chromosomal makeup. For example, an intersex person can have female chromosomes and ovaries but have male genitalia. Or, they can have male chromosomes and either ambiguous male genitalia or female genitalia. These are just a couple intersex variations. Hear more about Viloria and what she has to say about Semenya.