Epaminondas and His Auntie

Rating:
Summary: A yardstick on how far we have come.
Review: First of all, let's not kid ourselves here, this book is racist. This book was a favorite in my family and I remember reading it when I was very young. Even then we knew it was racist and that the depictions were horrible stereotypes. The story itself is a good one, but the illustrations in particular are so racist that it makes the book almost unreadable by today's standards. I have read the other reviews claiming that this book is not racist, but the only way one could think that would be to either share those views or be completely lacking in social awareness. That being said, the reading of this book always takes me back to a time when reading this book and ones like it did not raise an eyebrow. For that reason I still have this book and "Little Black Sambo" to show my kids how far we have come and to illustrate how far we still have to go.

Rating:
Summary: This is a fine book for today's children.
Review: I accidentally came across this listing while searching for a different book, but the title struck a chord in my memory. I am 25 years old, and when I was about 4 or 5, my grandmother would read me this story over and over. I laughed and laughed at Epaminondas and his mistakes; he honestly tried to do the right thing, but because of his aunt's failure to be specific enough joined with the natural ineptitude of a child at that age, he continues to fail. Basically, this story relates how both giving directions clearly and paying close attention to those directions are very important.

This book is obviously quite controversial, given the other reviews on this page. I believe that the controversy is exaggerated for several reasons. First of all, when I was a child, I never made the connection that Epaminondas and his family were black, and that this was a stereotype of black people. While I might have noticed that he was black, I could not have connected his color to his behavior in any way. Only cynical adults and those children who are TAUGHT to notice such things ever would. If this book were written today, it would probably be inappropriate for the book to be written in the fashion that it was, using what was supposed to be a dialect of English spoken by black people in the South in the late 19th / early 20th century. However, to say that this book should be rewritten according to today's political correctness standards is overreacting. I do not for a moment believe that this book was INTENDED to be racist, though it does use inappropriate stereotypes. However, since the intention of the book, in my humble opinion, is benign (and is, in fact, instructional), and along with the fact that the book can be construed as not being intentionally racist (as I never did as a child), it should not be banned or otherwise denigrated. This book could be used as a tool of racists, however, many books including the Bible have been used (and twisted) as negative propaganda against certain groups of people for centuries.

This book should be taken at its face value; it is a children's story with a moral, not a story that is meant to teach that black people are bumbling idiots (by the way, I am very much against racism in any form). To read anything more into it is to be cynical or even to secretly hold racial prejudices against black people that could complement the stereotypes that can be seen in this book.

Rating:
Summary: This is a fine book for today's children.
Review: I accidentally came across this listing while searching for a different book, but the title struck a chord in my memory. I am 25 years old, and when I was about 4 or 5, my grandmother would read me this story over and over. I laughed and laughed at Epaminondas and his mistakes; he honestly tried to do the right thing, but because of his aunt's failure to be specific enough joined with the natural ineptitude of a child at that age, he continues to fail. Basically, this story relates how both giving directions clearly and paying close attention to those directions are very important.

This book is obviously quite controversial, given the other reviews on this page. I believe that the controversy is exaggerated for several reasons. First of all, when I was a child, I never made the connection that Epaminondas and his family were black, and that this was a stereotype of black people. While I might have noticed that he was black, I could not have connected his color to his behavior in any way. Only cynical adults and those children who are TAUGHT to notice such things ever would. If this book were written today, it would probably be inappropriate for the book to be written in the fashion that it was, using what was supposed to be a dialect of English spoken by black people in the South in the late 19th / early 20th century. However, to say that this book should be rewritten according to today's political correctness standards is overreacting. I do not for a moment believe that this book was INTENDED to be racist, though it does use inappropriate stereotypes. However, since the intention of the book, in my humble opinion, is benign (and is, in fact, instructional), and along with the fact that the book can be construed as not being intentionally racist (as I never did as a child), it should not be banned or otherwise denigrated. This book could be used as a tool of racists, however, many books including the Bible have been used (and twisted) as negative propaganda against certain groups of people for centuries.

This book should be taken at its face value; it is a children's story with a moral, not a story that is meant to teach that black people are bumbling idiots (by the way, I am very much against racism in any form). To read anything more into it is to be cynical or even to secretly hold racial prejudices against black people that could complement the stereotypes that can be seen in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Tickled pink!!!!
Review: I am so happy to see that I can buy this from Amazon.com!! I grew up with this book being read to me by my mama and it was by far my favorite!! We thought that you couldn't even buy it except from book collectors and are so happy to see it here!! I have been bugging my mama to pass her copy to me but there would be a fight between my sisters and me if that were to happen.
I also want to say that in reference to it being a racist book...at no time in my childhood (or adulthood for that matter) did I ever think that it was against black people. Furthermore, if we teach our kids appropriately then neither will they. My 5 year old daughter sees skin color for what it is....skin color!! She says I am white and she is brown because she has a natural tan and I don't. I think that this book would be equally funny if it were written about any ethnicity!! If you are afraid that it will offend you or your family there is a rewritten book called "Epossimondus" about an Oppossum who goes thru basically the same stuff as Epaminondus.
In my opinion, it is a truly GREAT book!! I can't say that it made me listen any better to instructions but it did give my mama my undivided attention for the reading of the book!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Tickled pink!!!!
Review: I am so happy to see that I can buy this from Amazon.com!! I grew up with this book being read to me by my mama and it was by far my favorite!! We thought that you couldn't even buy it except from book collectors and are so happy to see it here!! I have been bugging my mama to pass her copy to me but there would be a fight between my sisters and me if that were to happen.
I also want to say that in reference to it being a racist book...at no time in my childhood (or adulthood for that matter) did I ever think that it was against black people. Furthermore, if we teach our kids appropriately then neither will they. My 5 year old daughter sees skin color for what it is....skin color!! She says I am white and she is brown because she has a natural tan and I don't. I think that this book would be equally funny if it were written about any ethnicity!! If you are afraid that it will offend you or your family there is a rewritten book called "Epossimondus" about an Oppossum who goes thru basically the same stuff as Epaminondus.
In my opinion, it is a truly GREAT book!! I can't say that it made me listen any better to instructions but it did give my mama my undivided attention for the reading of the book!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Epaminondas And His Auntie
Review: I credit "Epaminondas and His Auntie" with my ability to think critically. I am an entrepreneur have employed many people. The single, biggest problem in today's work force is the lack of ability to think critically. When given an instruction, if it is remembered(!), that instruction is construed to mean applicable in EVERY instance. Epaminondas is the condition of too many people today. One example, true story, comes to mind of an airplane crash, the accident site was flooded with jet fuel and one of the survivors, on fire, was told to roll on the ground. Yes, that is the normal survival routine that we are all taught....it just doesn't apply if the ground is flooded with jet fuel!

Life is flooded with jet fuel. We have think beyond the instructions we've been given. We have to analyze the conditions and THEN think of the solution.

I compare "Epaminondas and His Auntie" with Aesops Fables. I do NOT think that because a character is black it is bad. Does everyone need to be white? Let's rewrite "Epaminondas" in every color and every language. It was a definitive book in my childhood.

Jan Zehr

Rating:
Summary: Enjoying this book for over forty years
Review: I enjoyed Epaminondas and His Auntie being read to me as a small child, and the laughter we shared as he desperately tried to follow directions. I then enjoyed it again learning to read to my siblings and sharing the laughter and his antics with them. As an adult, my sister and I shared the story with our children on tape. My son is now grown and still has that tape, and still recounts the story. It's a story that shares warmth, laughter and the earnest attempts of a child learning to follow instructions.

Rating:
Summary: Epaminondas & His Auntie
Review: My Aunt told my cousins and me the story of Epaminondas over and over through our childhoods. Aunt Elsie had a thick southern accent, and her characterizations were delightful. Not once did she describe the characters as black ("Negro" back then), nor did she use stereotypical black dialect in the telling. It just sounded like some country folks, much like our relatives and neighbors, and was a very funny story.

It has disappointed and dismayed me to discover the origin of this story. I don't know if I can ever tell it again without being aware of the cruel images it held for so many over the years. This racist depiction is NOT the story I heard and loved as a child, and I do NOT recommend that anyone buy or read it to their children. Any white person with the slightest commitment to eradicating racism in our society will understand the importance of boycotting a work of this type, short of using it as an example to educate on the subject. How sad that so many people lack this insight in the year 2003.

Rating:
Summary: SEMANTICS was never so much fun!
Review: This is an old Southern children's story that was updated around 1906 by Sarah Cone Bryant, then published and re-published for a century. It's fun and easy to read to children, because they immediately catch on--Epaminondas is just a young child who can never figure out why adults can't say what they really mean. He stays optimistic and confused. Have a nice time following in Epaminondas' footsteps, and read this story to your kids, grandkids, and anybody else who'll listen.

--Jim Reed...

Rating:
Summary: Delightful Story
Review: This is the story of a [handicapped] black kid, who is not only stupid, but cruel. He brutally drowns a puppy in the course of the book. My mother showed me this book around 1950 when I was eight years old. It made a very deep impression on me, and helped me realize the obstacles I would have to overcome in life. For me, it was a helpful dose of reality. Scared me half to death, but made me realize that as a black kid I had a heavy cross to bear and that I would have to earn self-respect where others might take it for granted.