Troubled by Trouble Dolls

[jbfins]

As a father/daughter thing, my oldest daughter (7 years old) and I are going to try and write a children's book. I've read "Trouble Dolls" and "Jollymon" to her hundreds of times, and have to say that now as she and I start to put pen and crayons to paper, I am deeply bothered by the fact that the mother in "Trouble Dolls" is dead. She died in an avalanche in Peru when the lead character in the story, Lizzie Rhinehart, was a baby.

The book my daughter I are writing has nothing to do with humans or family, but I can be pretty damn sure that if my daughter and I did write a book that did somewhat involve our family and the mother was dead, my wife would be just a tad upset about the whole thing. Especially if the book ever actually got published.

I am also bothered by the mother's death because it forces me to skip parts of the story when I read it to my kids.

There are enough children's books and movies that have death in them already (Disney anyone?), so I can't figure out why JB would choose to incorporate such a horrible topic (death of a parent) into a book he wrote with his daughter.

Did he ever explain why it was written that way?

[Staredge]

Because it fit the story??? Much easier to have the lead character lead the quest to find dear old dad when there isn't a mother/wife leading the charge.

[Tiki Torches]

There are enough children's books and movies that have death in them already (Disney anyone?), so I can't figure out why JB would choose to incorporate such a horrible topic (death of a parent) into a book he wrote with his daughter.

Did he ever explain why it was written that way?

Can't say that he really owes anyone an explanation. As you mentioned, it's not like it's the first children's book that approaches the subject of death. Perhaps the authors that have used it did so because no matter your age, you're going to have to face the death of a loved one at some point.

[chippewa]

FYI, do NOT take the kids to see Bambi.

[TropicalTroubador]

FYI, do NOT take the kids to see Bambi.

And you *really* shouldn't take the kids to see Bambi Meets Godzilla.

[ph4ever]

FYI, do NOT take the kids to see Bambi.

And you *really* shouldn't take the kids to see Bambi Meets Godzilla.

Yeah, it's absolutely heart wrenching what happens to Godzilla.

[dnw]

FYI, do NOT take the kids to see Bambi.

And you *really* shouldn't take the kids to see Bambi Meets Godzilla.

Yeah, it's absolutely heart wrenching what happens to Godzilla.

[bravedave]

OK, I have been watching a little too much Criminal Minds lately, but on it they quoted G K Chesterton. "Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."
I guess every child, deep within their heart, holds the knowledge that parents can be taken away (by death), but the fairy tale provides for that which follows.