Papa Small

Rating:
Summary: Worthy of Your Lenski Collection& A GREAT Children's Book
Review: More than any other in Lois Lenski's Small series, "Papa Small" will strike almost any modern family as utterly archaic. Papa gets up in the morning and goes off to work while Mama stays home and cleans and cooks. The whole family drives into town to do Saturday grocery shopping. On Sunday, they go to church.

You may find this book charming and it might be a good jumping-off point for a discussion with your child about how your own family differs from the Smalls. But unless you are a Lenski completist, I'd stick to Cowboy Small, the Little Farm, the Little Fire Engine, or the Little Train...those are the best.

Rating:
Summary: Old Fashioned Family almost a museum piece
Review: More than any other in Lois Lenski's Small series, "Papa Small" will strike almost any modern family as utterly archaic. Papa gets up in the morning and goes off to work while Mama stays home and cleans and cooks. The whole family drives into town to do Saturday grocery shopping. On Sunday, they go to church.

You may find this book charming and it might be a good jumping-off point for a discussion with your child about how your own family differs from the Smalls. But unless you are a Lenski completist, I'd stick to Cowboy Small, the Little Farm, the Little Fire Engine, or the Little Train...those are the best.

Rating:
Summary: Worthy of Your Lenski Collection& A GREAT Children's Book
Review: This is a fabulous kid's book--I have two copies of it including an original non-colorized one that was mine as a child that I now read to my boys. I am a working, college educated professional and this book is far from archaic. It's hard to find books these days that depict a two-parent family, that goes the church on Sunday, and the dad does yard work with a reel mower (my husband does and we live in a suburb of the O.C. where people pay gardners to cut their postage stamp lots). We love this book (even though we are a multi-racial family) since the family does all the things that we do including go to church every Sunday. Perhaps you are a stay-at-home mom (I'm not), you'd enjoy this one with the Small smalls helping Daddy and Mama too. "Mama Small takes care of the house....Mama Small cooks the meals. Paul and Polly Small help. They set the table. Baby Small is hungry...When Papa Small comes home, the small Smalls run to meet him. Dinner is ready. The Smalls sit down to eat... " But lest you think Papa Small is doing nothing..."On Monday Mama Small washes the clothes. When Papa Small comes home he helps hang them on the line...Papa Small likes to help around the house. On Wednesday he hangs up a picture up for Mama." Etc. Great book. Read it all the time. You should get it. Pitty they've colorized all of Lois Lenski's fabulous two-color books. In the 21st century, yes, we now have working single parents, same-sex two parent households, all colors and stripes, but that doesn't make it wrong to depict the "traditional," nuclear family. Yes according to the recent census that's only now 22% of the US population, but this book is still a keeper. Thumbs up, way up!