Schoolyard Insults

Roger Sutton of The Horn Book earned his keep today by spreading the word of a kindergarten controversy in Maine, as reported in the Bangor Daily News.

A private organization supported by the governor and his wife distributed 18,000 copies of Schoolyard Rhymes: Kids' Own Rhymes for Rope Skipping, Hand Clapping, Ball Bouncing, and Just Plain Fun to kindergartners. (Its illustrator is from Maine, probably not a coincidence.) As Sutton notes, the Horn Book review of the book said, "Those who know childhood humor will not be shocked that many of the poems do feature underwear and insults."

Such as:

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.

(And I thought girls were from Venus, boys were from Mars.)

About two dozen parents and teachers have stated that this material is inappropriate for such young children. Wait until they're fourteen years old and start saying "Bangor Daily." Heh heh.