Curious George and the Berenstain Bears are definitely SFW, but they're not often discussed at the water cooler in the office (or more accurately in our case, the coffee maker.) But when you work with lots of moms and you work for Kars for Kids, an educational youth charity, children's books come up frequently in conversation. Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Gordon Korman, Madeline... they're all up for discussion.

I've always been an avid reader and I have fond memories of many of the old classics. But not all of my colleagues think they're all quite so innocent.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid has obvious problems (more on that in a later post.) But even simple picture books came under attack. Mama Bear, they say, doesn't show the proper respect for Papa Bear. Curious George is constantly being rewarded for bad behavior (remember when he messes around with the ice cream or when he stole the bananas from the zookeeper?)

Apparently there's a dearth of wholesome children's literature that is both fun to read and imparts moral values. I didn't ask my crusading colleagues about Corduroy; I didn't want to hear what was wrong with one of my favorite teddy bears.

Is it true, what they say? Or are they reading too much into innocuous kid's books?

What do you say?