I Prefer Dr. Seuss

I’ve always loved The Book of Knowledge set that was my dad’s when he was a child. Printed in 1933, they are full of duotones and articles like “How to Eat” explaining chewing and the stomach and ink etchings of Daniel Boone. However, they also contain copy that I can’t believe people used to read to their kids. Here’s a poem from a section called “Little Verses for Very Little People,” accompanied by a very frightening illustration:

The Poor Babes in the Wood

My dear, do you know,
How a long time ago,
Two poor little children,
Whose names I don’t know,
Were stolen away on a fine summer’s day,
And left in a wood, as I’ve heard people say?

And when it was night,
So sad was their plight,
The sun it went down,
And the moon gave no light.
They sobbed and they sighed, and they bitterly cried,
And the poor little things, they lay down and died.

And when they were dead,
The robins so red
Brought strawberry-leaves,
And over them spread. [Where were these robins when the babes needed them?]
And all the day long
They sung them this song:
“Poor babes in the wood! Poor babes in the wood!
And don’t you remember the babes in the wood?”

Okay Johnny and Susie. Goodnight and sweet dreams! Wow, this puts a whole new spin on the Great Depression.