"Long ago people began to forget about God. They were mean and bad. Only Noah was good." These are the first sentences in a children's book titled "Noah and the Ark" published by Standard Publishing out of Ohio.
My 20 month old daughter was carrying this book one day when I left my babysitter's house. I did not notice the title or content as she had an iron grip on it. It was easier to let her take it home so I told my babysitter I would return it to her. It is easy to understand why my daughter likes this book. It has a little handle so she can carry it around and it is filled with cartoon-looking animals which she loves. However, the story is awful! I can not believe that people let their children not only read these books, but carry them around. The back cover reads, "Young children will love carrying around this little Bible story classic, part of the best-selling series First Bible Collection."
I am not a christian; however, I did not think I would ever object to my child being exposed to a bible story. After all, they are just stories in the same way that Dr. Suess books are just stories. But when I saw the very first message of this book is fear god, I was appalled.
The same people that wrote this book are the same people preaching "family values." Is fear now a value? According to the back of the book, this book is meant for children from "birth to 3 years." So this is how republicans are made, brainwash them with fear from birth to 3 years--then they are hooked for life. No thanks. I'll continue teaching my children the non-christian values of equality, justice, and peace.