Zee

The illustrations are darling; I'll give the book that much. I want to reach in and shake hooves with the little zebra, Zee. But otherwise, the library book my youngest son chose is awful.

For instance, the zebra parents? Feigning sleep. While little Zee is awake and meandering around the house by himself. And he tells us right off the bat they will be angry if he wakes them. So he is fumbling around the kitchen, making coffee for them so they might wake up. NICE HOT COFFEE. He trips on a toy and VERY NEARLY BURNS HIMSELF, but is mostly concerned with the spilled coffee. Because now his parents won't wake up happy. Are you getting all this?

Finally he takes the remainder of the coffee to them in doll cups, and they complain about it and decide not to get up because it isn't enough coffee. The End. Happy, happy end.

I am so appalled by this book. It flies in the face of nearly every parenting belief I have.

fly in the face of
idiom
Also fly in the teeth of.
Act in direct opposition to or defiance of. This metaphoric expression alludes to a physical attack.
[Mid-1500s]
"fly in the face of." The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992. Answers.com 25 Jun. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/fly-in-the-face-of