I'm not in Kansas anymore!

This book is so so dear to me.....It is a Swedish author and there was something so wonderful about it for me as a little girl. I loved these 3 triplet sisters. I loved the wonderful messages held in each of the books (there is a series) but this one in particular was my FAVORITE. I was mesmerized by those "New Dotted Dresses". I loved the art, the message and the characters. The three little girls go out to play in their new dotted dresses but meet an old lady carrying a heavy load so they help her with her load and then a whole funny series of events happen. I think I related to this story because I loved pretty things as a little girl but I was a tomboy and couldn't keep clean or out of mischief for the life of me.

I was absolutely thrilled when I went into a small bookstore and found these books. Tonight I gathered my two youngest to read it. It has a great moral to the story about always helping others in need so I figured it would be a great lesson to talk about as we read. We began to read about how the little girls are playing in forest and see a sweet old woman carrying a heavy load of wood they run to her and ask if they can help her. They worry about getting their dresses dirty but remember that their mother always taught them to help so they take the woman's load for her and offer to carry it home. At this point I am going to pause and talk to the girls about being helpful to others when Elle sits straight up and with the most concerned look on her face and with a very forceful voice says..."MOM, I would NEVER NEVER do that". I was taken back by her response, "What?" I asked. "Mom, these are very bad girls and I want you to know I would never do that". I cocked my head and wrinkled my brow so she could see I was confused. "That old lady is a stranger and could do horrible things to them, even kidnap them." she said

Well my sweet childhood memories of reading this book and learning about being kind were all swept away....I couldn't argue with her. I watched Oprah this week about the horrors of child predators and the alarming rate at which it is growing. I sat silent for a long moment to switch my paradigm.
"You are right Elle" I said, "you should never ever talk to, or help a stranger if Mommy is not there". How sad.