Rating: Needs Parent Supervision

I loved some of the poems and the photos often enhance them tremendously. Other poems were not aligned with my theology, and I was concerned that one seemed racist.

After showing a few poems that I liked, I’ll share a list of the poems that may be concerning or that I would omit if I were to share this with my child (and reason why I take issue). Notice one poem hints that a woman was eaten. Throughout the book, there are several references as such regarding dangerous animals.

Here is my favorite poem:

More good poetry:

Below is my favorite photo (look at that cheek!)!

My list of poems parents may take issue with (and why) is given here.

  • Dear Orangutan (strong themes of evolution; orangutan was here first and is in the family tree)
  • The White Rhinoceros (says his horn was “before the world was born”)
  • Mountain Gorilla (makes dieties out of the animals; they make thunder; they make earthquakes)
  • Zebra (racist; says white men think ___ and black men think ____)
  • Piety (says something about the God of Swine has snout and bristles)
  • Dog (says the sky is the belly of a dog who floats over us and has no master)
  • Animals (says animals don’t make the author sick discussing their duty to God; to me being with God is pure joy and nothing like duty.)
  • Magic words (says in the earliest of time animals could switch to people and visa versa)
  • Make the earth your Companion (personifies the sky and says the sky is always watching over you.)

Not all of these are my issue, but you can use the index at the back to find the ones that bother you & enjoy the rest!