Throwback Thursday is a little late this week so I’m just going to combine with with Series Saturday.
I was a book nerd as a kid. When other parents were trying to get their kids to read I was threatened with having my books taken away. Here’s how this little scenario would go.
I would mouth off about something and get sent to my room. Instead of just gong upstairs to cool off with a book I would stomp on the stairs while continuing to mouth off about how I was going to be in my room reading. At that point I would inevitably be told that I better not be reading. I was so delightful. And I am starting to bet a glimpse of some of that delightfulness in my daughter. Payback…..
I was definitely reading. I was reading all the books.
What was I reading when I was supposed to be thinking about what I did? The Anastasia Krupnik books by Lois Lowry, of course. Ironically, these books were #29 on the American Library Association’s “100 Most Challenged Books of 1990-2000.” Wow! I had to go back and read them to see what the controversy was.
Anastasia is bookish, inquisitive, and dramatic (can’t you see why I related so much to her?) The first book, Anastasia Krupnik, chronicles Anastasia’s adventures as she navigates life with her parents, middle school, becoming an older sister, and a grandmother she can’t relate to. I just love Anastasia’s parents. Her dad is an English professor at Harvard and a published poet and her mom is a painter and children’s book illustrator. They are supportive and pragmatic and shine in their ability to not be shocked by their children.
Throughout the series Anastasia is constantly getting herself into scrapes, like advertising to be an elderly person’s companion and being hired as a maid instead, taking charge of the household and her brother’s chicken pox while her mother is away, losing 10 gerbils in her house and consulting with a statue of Sigmund Freud for advice, and learning how to climb the rope in gym class to impress visiting educators from different countries.
Anastasia’s antics are innocent enough, but the books have been criticized for their casual references to smoking, alcohol, Playboy, and sex. All of these subjects are mentioned in passing and Anatasia doesn’t partake in any of these things. Reading these as an adult, I think the casual references are very much a product of the time when the books were written (1978-1995).
I like that these books open up doors to discuss things that are very much issues that kids these days might face.
In Anastasia at this Address, Anastasia catfishes a guy before it was an actual internet thing. She responds to a newspaper ad from a 28-yr-old SWM with a picture of her mom at that age. Of course, this ends humorously when Anastasia meets the guy at a friend’s wedding (he never finds out who she is) and she learns a lesson about pretending to be someone else.
In Anastasia At Your Service, Anastasia mimics a wealthy woman who she is working for and refers to people who live in low-income housing as unwashed. Anastasia’s parents are swift to show Anastasia how wrong she is. Her father, who grew up in just this type of situation, especially takes great offense. Instead of just lecturing Anastasia he takes her to his old neighborhood so she can see what his childhood was like and to instill some empathy in her.
Finally, in Anastasia Has the Answers, Anastasia tells her mother that she has a crush on her female gym teacher and tells her mom it is “gross.” Her mother acknowledges that her feelings are normal and there is nothing gross about them. Her mom even lets her in on a crush she had on her piano teacher. Anastasia’s take away from the conversation is that her feelings are natural and nothing to be ashamed or uncomfortable about.
Overall, these books are lighthearted and funny and are filled with teachable moments. They are ultimately stories about navigating the world as a young teenager with some openings for some frank discussions. I know that my kids enjoyed these books just as much as I did when I was their ages.
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