OVER THE HEDGE! A CHILDREN'S TALE WITH GANG UNDERTONES

Yesterday was my sons 1st day of school in 2nd grade.  Literacy is stressed in schools and rightly so.  60% of our prison inmates are illiterate.  Now you understand why reading is fundamental!!!!!  Anyway, my son told his teacher he didn't have any big books at home.  He has a lot of books I purchased between birth and 3 years old.

So, he was given a scholastic book 'Over the Hedge', a DreamWorks book.  The book begins with the tale of a raccoon.  The raccoon stole a bear's food supply and the bear found out about it.  The bear woke up and told the raccoon in one week I will awaken again if my food isn't back I am going to kill you.  So the raccoon went on his way and he noticed a hedge, he and his other animal friends wanted to know what was on the other side of the hedge.

Low and behold they found humans, humans that had food!  So the animals began robbing and stealing people's food under the guise of this raccoon.  Well one of the animals lets say a fox began to feel bad about stealing and he wanted to return the food.  The raccoon didn't agree, the fox and raccoon argued a bit and the fox soon realized that it was best to stay on the side of the raccoon.  (raised eyebrow starts here)

Well one particular human, Gladys, decided to hire an exterminator to get rid of the animals because they were wreaking havoc in her neighborhood breaking in people's houses, robbing and stealing their food.  The exterminator installed a Depelter something or another that was illegal in 48 states! (yes that is what it said in the book). 

So the animals devised a plan as to how they were going to get around Gladys security system, break in her house and steal her food.  They also had the skunk use her womanly charm to distract Gladys pet so that their plan would be successful.

The animals break into the home and are almost scott free but the raccoon decides he wants a can of cheese on a shelf.  That is when they are caught.  The raccoon knows he has to save his friends so he creates a distraction.  Somehow they get free and they are off with their cart full of loot.  A chase ensues between the animals, the exterminator, and Gladys.  The entire time the bear is watching from above with his binoculars.  When he believes the animals are caught he decides to go over the hedge as well in the hopes he will get his food back.

Well, the story doesn't end like that.  Gladys, the bear and the exterminator all end up in a trap, the bear is taken by animal control and Gladys and the exterminator are jailed for having the illegal Depelter.

The animals then tell the raccoon if he had told them that he took from the bear and had to return the food they would have given him food to have.  They also told him that they were a family and asked him did it feel good to belong to a family????? (raises both eyebrows and jaws drop.  The animals were breaking and entering, robbing, and stealing and nothing happened to them?????)

On the back of the book it said to some extent that the animals discovered that the grass was greener (I thought we learned the grass wasn't greener on the other side!!!) over the hedge and that humans lived to eat they did not eat to live.

So.....no where I repeat NO WHERE in the book did it mention that stealing, robbing, breaking and entering was wrong.  Nothing bad happened to any of the animals and the people who were stolen from all ended up locked up or taken away.

As a parent I realize that I have to read what my child reads before he reads it.  Subliminal messages are being sent to our children in the subtlest of ways.  We have to be on alert and train our children in the way they should go.

Please Note:  I may not have right which animal did what but I do have the story right 100%.   Words such as heist, steal, kill, illegal were 100% absolutely used in the story.