...Dum dee dum dee GAAAAAAH!In 1949 the great psychologist and evolutionary biologist Konrad Lorenz speculated that human nurturing instincts are triggered by infantile features, including heads that are large in proportion to the body, but COME ON, there's something to be said about too much of a good thing. Methinks Word Bird (the blue one on the right) must have one helluva chronic neck ache. That's an acre or two of prime real estate up top. And the duck ain't doin' so well herself.
A more recent edition of this classic has reduced our heroes' heads to a more manageable size:
Sadly it's also done away with the whimsical '70s font and border stylage that made the original cover so much more friendly and inviting. The new one, while assuaging my worry over Word Bird's chiropractic bill, seems cold and clinical in comparison with its older version. Or maybe I'm just instinctively drawn by Word Bird's ginormous noggin.
7 comments:
Umm, ahem, "schlub"?? Is that how you think of your maughta???
I just want to point out the Doc Turtle was very careful not to say "hydrocephalic", although we all know that's what he was thinking!! Perhaps he was worried about getting sued by Sarah Palin's lawyer? Snap!
The old one is definitely more fun, than the new one, even with the very oversized head. I've seen other easy reader books like this where they have replaced the original illustrations with boring, lifeless modern illustrations. I don't get it.
Why, don't you know about the Bird? Well, everybody knows that the Bird is the Word!
My first thought when I saw the second book cover: Duck U!
Dammit, Anonymous, now that song is going to be stuck in my head all freakin' day!!
"Watch the Word Bird Hump the Bumper on the Duck's yellow Bus."
there are some short "u" sounds for you.
Ugh, I thought I was the only one crazy enough to think of that song. I was wrong. I should have known. :P
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