This is Alpha, the first-born, when he was 2YO.
This is Beta, the second-born, when he was about 2YO.
This is Gamma, the third-born, when he was about 18MO.
True Fiction
May
15
2014
What’s wrong with this book?
My son checked this out of the library. He said his teacher was reading it to them; I assume he was just impatient with that slow pace.
I saw the cover as he was reading it and asked him to show me the spine of the book.
“Sure. Why?”
“I want to see how the library categorizes the book.”
“What?”
“They incorrectly put it in Fiction. As the sub-title clearly states, this is a true story. So it should be in the Non-Fiction section.”
“No, dad, that’s just what they call it. They also have the true story of the Three Little Bears and other things.”
“Well then, those people must not know what the word true means.”
There are other sub-titles that would have conveyed what I think they meant:
- The untold story of Rumpelstiltskin
- The life story of Rumpelstiltskin
- The whole story of Rumpelstiltskin
Why did they choose to dilute the word true?
I doubt their goal was to promote moral relativism in impressionable children, to muddy the meaning of truth for the next generation. That may be the effect, but I doubt that was their goal.
I assume their goal was to create an interesting phrase – “this one is catchy because it makes people stop and think, how can we have a true version of a fairy tale?” That works for the author’s generation because they know what truth is. But a catchy sub-title becomes popular, and before long, applying the word true to various things that aren’t true becomes commonplace, and then people get confused.
No, I don’t think this one book is going to cause the downfall of Western civilization. But it is somewhat telling of the mindset of people these days. Do people care what words mean anymore?
Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him.”
John 18:38
This little article thingy was written by Some Guy sometime around 6:41 am and has been carefully placed in the Marketing category.
May 15th, 2014 at 10:13 am
I was too distracted by the big RUMP to notice the tag line. Good catch.
May 15th, 2014 at 9:41 pm
I didn’t read the book, but my wife did. From what she said, the title character is mocked for his name. His name is the, umm, subject of many jokes (pun avoided).
May 19th, 2014 at 11:32 pm
Who is the author and why does his name sound like “lies shirt off?”