Lane Smith has never been one to baby our kids. He teamed up with Jon Scieszka to create two of my kids' childhood favorites, The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales
and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
. His latest is causing a bit of a stir because of some language that strikes some book buyers (and sellers) as not okay for the target audience, listed as Grades 3-5. I know there's going to be some parental tsk-tsking, but so far critics are cool with it. Wall Street Journal praised the stylish design, and School Library Journal says, "Mouse delivers the final punch line, which will lead to a fit of naughty but well-deserved laughter." The last line is included in the little trailer above. What do you think?
My kids, for better or worse, grew up with some pretty salty language around the house. Back when my daughter was in the "Stinky Cheese Man" demographic, she described me to her teacher as "a Christian who says 'shit'." So I won't be the one to cast the first stone.
Visit Lane Smith online.
