Litterbugs Come in Every Size
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| Litterbugs Come in Every Size, written by Norah Smaridge and illustrated by Charles Bracke. Golden Press, 1972 |
Hi Guys!
Today I've got a weird eco-fantasy for you, courtesy of Golden Press! This was published in 1972, at the height of the Ecology Movement in the United States. In those days, littering was right up there with murder and kids had to be taught how evil it was! Don't get me wrong, littering sucks, but the zeal of some of this early ecology stuff is a little scary!
Anyhow, Litterbugs Come in Every Size was written by Norah Smaridge and illustrated by Charles Bracke. I've got a certain fondness for Bracke as he did the drawings for Whoa, Joey, one of my favorite books way back when!
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| Whoa, Joey, written by Daphne Hogstrom and illustrated by Charles Bracke. Whitman Tell-a-Tale Books, 1968 |
Litterbugs is written in that singsong rhyming style that has always been really popular for children's books. It doesn't have much of a plot, but instead it sets up the basic contrast between Litterbugs, or people who don't give a poo-poo about the environment, and "Neatos," who always do the right thing!
Like it says, the Litterbugs are literal monsters! They're deformed and ugly, and you can tell that they have no souls!
The Neatos aren't much easier to look at, but they are somehow more charming and everybody loves them!
The story goes on to describe all the different ways that Litterbugs mess up the world! Here we've got some candy-crazed jerk (you can tell by his rotten teeth) who has just tossed a sticky wrapper out of his car.
Neatos, of course, would never do such a thing!
This brain-dead Litterbug has just dropped his spent chewing gum on a subway seat! Not cool!
Neatos are not only careful to put their gum in the right place, but they don't even put their dirty feet on those subway seats.
Litterbugs don't understand that reading and eating usually don't mix. Librarians hate this kind of thing, but if it's your own book, I guess it's on you!
For Neatos, it doesn't matter if the book is theirs or not! They always make sure not to dump their nachos into it!
The story describes a few more of these contrasts and then closes with a veiled hint of violence! The Neatos might look like pantywaists, but they are ready to go to battle for Mother Earth! Sure, they'll try to sort things out peacefully, but in the early 1970s, peace wasn't on anybody's mind!
Behold the fate of all Litterbugs! Actually, this is only the second-to last page of the story. The final scene shows a joyous gathering of reformed Litterbugs lining up to join the Neatos' "gang." It's a happy, if heavy-handed ending!
I'm not sure if I like Litterbugs or not. Taking care of the environment and doing the minimum to keep it from becoming a giant garbage can is always OK with me. But I hate being preached at, even when the cause is good! I get it that this book is aimed at little kids, who understand things better when they are in stark black and white, but even so, I think there might have been smoother ways to address the problem. I dunno. Does it work for you? Tell me what you think!
Catch you later!
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Joey looks to be tweaking hard in that picture. I have seen this guy's artwork a lot, but try and find him on the net. I think this is his obituary - https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/10632473/Charles-F-Bracke
ReplyDeleteI remember on the first Earth Day my class going out and picking up litter in a field I used to walk through to get to school. I also remember wondering how on Earth picking up paper and cans was going to save the environment, something I still think about. I was then and now aware that toxins, like mercury and lead were far more dangerous. But it was a fun day, I would rather have been in that field than any of my waste of time classes.
Ha ha! Yes, I think Joey's snorted one too many Pixie Stix... The book is basically a cautionary tale for rambunctious kids who can't sit still. A generation later, the same idea was reiterated in Joanna Cole's "Norma Jean, Jumping Bean," which also featured a hyperactive kangaroo protagonist, very nicely illustrated by Lynn Minsinger.
DeleteThe first Earth Day would have been around 1970, no? If nothing else, picking up the litter helps you to be mindful about the environment -- on the other hand, you are denying valuable finds to the next century's archaeologists...
Lynn MUNSINGER. Fingers are in cahoots with the keyboard!
DeleteWhat about this Munsinger C***?
DeleteI was correcting a typo in my first comment -- nothing against her; I think she's a good illustrator.
DeleteHow rude of me! Sorry, I can be thoughtless.
DeleteNo worries!
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