See your mother, put to death

As a rule, I like my kid's books to be scary-ass-crap free. I know some people want their kids to be aware that the world is chock full of suckassity things, but I am holding off on most of that. One book that has failed the scary ass test is I am a Quetzalcoatlus. Those of you with young kids most likely know that the Quetzalcoatlus (or Q) is the largest of the flying dinos. My kids love them, so I grabbed the book at the library. All was well for most of the book. Daddy Q flies above looking for the baddies while Mommy Q tends to the eggs. We learn about the Q's daily habits and other facts. Then some other dinosaurs show up at the end and eat Mommy Q and the eggs. COME ON! My daughter told me we were never allowed to read that book again.

Now hold on, I hear you say. Aren't Disney movies littered with the corpses of Mommies of all shapes and sizes? Why Finding Nemo starts with a barracuda eating the Mommy and all her eggs, less one. The difference is in the emotional engagement. In the Disney movies, the parents die early before we know them. Their death is more scene setting than anything else. In this book, the kids become engaged to the family, and then they get eaten.

Yes, yes, nature is red in tooth and claw, and all that. I suppose if you want to educate your kids in the school of hard knocks, you can choose to do so. I'd rather not.