Book review ‘Schoolyard Rhymes,’ distributed to kindergartners, sparks controversy

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A book of old-time playground rhymes recently distributed to the state’s kindergarten classes as part of an annual literacy program has created a stir because of its “rough-around-the-edges” verses that some parents and educators are calling inappropriate and rude.

“Schoolyard Rhymes” is a compilation of 50 silly verses that have been created over the years by children who chanted them during recess while they skipped rope, bounced balls and played other games.

With the poems selected by award-winning author Judy Sierra of Castro Valley, Calif., and illustrated by Melissa Sweet of Rockport, the book recently was handed out in bags to each of the 18,000 kindergarten pupils through Read With ME, a literacy project supported by Gov. John Baldacci and first lady Karen Baldacci, to highlight the importance of early childhood reading.

Karen Baldacci, who is a former kindergarten teacher, spearheads Maine Reads, the nonprofit umbrella organization for Read With ME that is funded by Verizon. The group receives no state money.

Although the nonsensical poems about such things as gross table manners, weird boyfriends and exposed underwear are meant to be funny, officials said this week that they had been fielding complaints from about 15 or 20 parents and educators from across the state who weren’t amused by such lines as:

“Ladies and gentlemen, Take my advice, Pull down your pants And slide on the ice;” and

“Girls are dandy, made out of candy. Boys are rotten, made out of cotton. Girls go to Mars to get candy bars. Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider.”

Erica Smith of Hampden, mother of a 5-year-old son who goes to the McGraw School, said Monday that she was dismayed when he brought the book home.

“It’s completely inappropriate,” she said. “It’s rude. There are words in there that I don’t allow in my house.”

Smith said she complained to her son’s teacher as well as the school principal. She also called the governor’s office.

Commenting on the brouhaha, officials said the book had been chosen by a five-member committee of literacy specialists, librarians and educators – including Karen Baldacci – because it integrated physical activity with reading.

“The committee obviously feels that parents should use their own judgment on what they feel is appropriate for their children,” Crystal Canney, spokeswoman for Gov. Baldacci, said Monday.

She said she received about a dozen e-mails and phone calls from people who said they were “uncomfortable” with the book.

“People just felt like it was a book that could have used a little bit more scrutiny,” Canney said.

Officials also noted that the rhymes have been around for generations and are meant to be taken lightly; that the intent was never to offend anyone; and that many of the complaints had been tempered by compliments about the seven-year-old literacy outreach program.

“People really love the program and don’t want to see anything happen to it,” Sarah Cecil, coordinator of the Portland-based Maine Reads, said Monday. She said she received “less than 10” calls and e-mails from parents and educators and was surprised by the reaction.

“It’s the first time there’s been anything but just glowing thank-yous,” she said. “At the same time, we’re sorry if we offended people and we can respect each parent’s or educator’s decisions about whether to read the book or not.”

This year’s book bags also contained reading activity sheets, a resource guide and a bookmark developed by the illustrator and the Maine Department of Education.

Cecil said an evaluation form had been sent out with the book and that “the majority of the forms that have come back have been positive.”

She pointed out that the book had been read at a Lewiston elementary school when the literacy event was launched several months ago and that no one had objected then.

“There’s a lot to love about this book,” illustrator Melissa Sweet said Tuesday from her home in Rockport. She added that she was “honored” to be part of the Read With Me initiative.

“It’s a big gift to everyone,” she said.

Thumbing through the book at her desk at the Bangor Public Library, Anne Mundy, director of the children’s department, said Tuesday that she could see both sides of the controversy.

The poems are a little “rough around the edges,” she acknowledged, noting that the words could be hurtful in certain situations.

“Everyone’s sensibilities are a little different, so it’s hard to find something that’s going to be welcomed by all families of kindergartners,” she said.

But she pointed out that she grew up reciting, “Liar, Liar, pants on fire,” – a verse contained in the book. And one of the book’s more gentle poems about a teddy bear is standard fare during the library’s story hour.

Rhymes play an important role in helping children learn to read, Mundy said. If children know eight rhymes by the time they’re 4, “there’s a very good chance” that they will be good readers by the time they are 8, she said.

Meanwhile, Canney said she hoped that Karen Baldacci’s message about the importance of early childhood reading “doesn’t get lost” amid the controversy.

And Cecil predicted that program organizers would be particularly cautious when they choose a book.

“We’re certainly going to take people’s comments to heart for future selections,” she said.

Rhymes in question

Some examples of the rhymes in the book, “Schoolyard Rhymes, ” selected by Judy Sierra:

Teacher, teacher, don’t be dumb,

Give me back my bubble gum.

Teacher, teacher, don’t be mean,

Give me a dollar for the soda machine.

Roses are red,

Cabbages are green.

You’ve got a shape

Like a washing machine.

I love myself, I think I’m grand.

I go to the movies. I hold my hand.

I put my arm around my waist.

When I get fresh, I slap my face.

She cannot read, read, read,

She cannot write, write, write,

But she can smoke, smoke, smoke

Her daddy’s pipe, pipe, pipe.