Dee and Apostrofee

Why do we write for children? To entertain, to enrich, to educate. Adults take on an important obligation when we write for young ones, when we read to them or put a book in their hands. We want them to be better people when the last page is turned.

The mores of societies differ from place to place and over time. Whereas before, stereotypes and pejorative depictions were once acceptable, today writers now emphasize opposition to racism and negative depictions of different races or genders.

The topic of bodily functions was previously a taboo topic. Many teachers in early French immersion classes were surprised that picture books from Quebec and France included the topic of bodily functions. Attitudes began to change. In 1986, Robert Munch wrote I Have to Go!, a repetitive story about a child who needs to urinate at all the wrong moments, causing delays and mayhem in his family.

Not to forget the Grade 2-4 set, there’s Dav Pilkey’s “Captain Underpants” series, with plenty of toilet humour in the titles and content. It sold millions when it was banned in many places; “(banning) the gift that keeps on giving,” according to the National Coalition Against Censorship.

In the last number of years, it’s noticeable that novelists for middle years children and young adolescents have been incorporating belching, farting and other gross ‘stuff’ into their writing, so noticeably inserted that it’s clear the reference could be plucked out without any harm to the narrative.

So bodily functions have been normalized - perhaps it’s an advance that we’re not so prudish anymore. But what is the purpose, and what are the consequences?

The intent is to attract attention. After all, little children are titillated by the subject. In Dee and Apostrofee, Montrealer Judith Henderson, who describes herself as a “creator of content for children (she’s written five picture books and composed the theme song for the PBS show ARTHUR, for which she won an Emmy) has created a book that isn’t sure what it wants to be. The use of the punctuation device is partly but not thoroughly fleshed out. The plot jumps from one thing to another without resolving issues that are raised (what happened to Dee’s assertion that the best words start with D?) but there is the use of bodily functions, which may have been the catalyst for the add-ons to fill out the narrative.

The main character, the apostrophe, passes gas after eating too many ‘o’s in the word ‘not’ in a demonstration of how contractions are formed.

Burp

Un-Oh, I ate too many O’s

Poot

Poot

Poot

The apostrophe farts its way into the clouds ans is brought down to earth by releasing the airy vowels he’s consumed. It accepts a dinner invitation from the first letters of the words he ‘ate’ from. They forgive each others’ trespasses and dine in “peace ’n’ harmony.”

Children might indeed remember how to contract a word from this story, but they will also learn that bodily excretions are a topic to be thrown about in class and at the dinner table (they are eating together at the end, after all).

It takes no imagination at all to figure out what eight-year-olds will do when they read this book. For anyone who can’t imagine it: much belching, rump shoving and farting will ensue. Do adults want children to use this book as a model for their behaviour? Perhaps some parents will read this with their children, roll their eyes and share the giggle, but they will have to deal with behavioral issues that have been validated through the pages of a book.

As for educational settings, is this the decorum a teacher wants in a classroom? Does Henderson advocate this as a positive teaching tool? Are manners - not prudishness, but ‘a time and a place for everything’ manners not something we want children to learn? Are adults - and the books they write for children - not supposed to be good role models?

Other questions arise:

Why doesn’t Henderson teach the children the correct spelling of the word ‘apostrophe,’ even at the end of the story? Would it surprise anyone if a child continues to spell it incorrectly?

Why is the other character’s name spelled ‘Dee’ when the letter is only associated with one ‘e’ in each word, as in delighted and delish (which is not a word - a missed opportunity to teach the spelling of delicious). Why are the words ‘one’ll’ and ‘cause’ used, but it’s not explained that two letters are missing? What about ‘shan’t’ which loses three letters, including the ‘o’? Why is the excision of the letter ‘o’ explained, but not the letter ‘a’ in I’m, You’re, We’re?

Henderson uses the commonly accepted form of pluralizing letters with the insertion of an apostrophe, as in “o’s.” Wouldn’t children benefit from having that convention pointed out? If the intent of the book is to prevent wandering apostrophes, wouldn’t this be a teachable moment?

Why isn’t the difference between ‘it’s’ and ‘its’ explained? Children need to know when to drop the ‘i’ in ‘is‘. Wouldn’t a book teaching the use of an apostrophe be the time to explain it?

Why is the use of apostrophes with the word and (as in peace ’n’ harmony) assumed and not explained?

American illustrator and author Ohara Hale’s bright pastels speech bubbles sport large font capitalized text. Her letter characters and the apostrophe are expressive and humorous.

Good teaching is the key to a child’s learning grammar and punctuation. It’s not hard and need not be tedious. If teachers or parents are looking for humorous supports for English language spelling and conventions, they have plenty of well-written books and funny to choose from. Most notably, Brian P. Cleary’s “Words are CATegorical” series, 27 volumes of hilarious puns, poems, guffaws and jokes and knee-slappers, demonstrate each topic through the text and the illustrated representations. They are one of the best tools an adult can use to help a child learn and to make the learning stick. Not only do they teach grammar and punctuation, but they teach that humour can be elevated and prompt thinking.

Will children be entertained by Dee and Apostrofee - titillated, at least? Will they be enriched? Enrichment comes in many ways. They’ll certainly be exposed to a way of thinking. Learning - isn’t that why ultimately we write for children, so they will learn? What will they learn from reading Dee and Apostrofee?