Oh, Bother! Texas Kids Given Winnie The Pooh Book About…School Shootings?

Apparently, even the Hundred Acre Wood isn't safe from mass shootings anymore.

Recently, Texas school children were sent home with books provided by law enforcement featuring Winnie-the-Pooh telling children to, "Run, Hide, Fight" in a school shooting scenario. Some of the children were as young as four.

The book was given to children in Dallas-area schools on Monday without discussion or comment either with teachers or the families who received it. The move came on the week of the first anniversary of Uvalde, the mass shooting in a Texas elementary school in which 19 children and two teachers were killed.

I wish I could at least chuckle at the absurdity of this, but it just makes my chest feel really heavy and my eyes water. The most serious thing the huggable, lovable Pooh ever taught me at four was how to tie my shoes.

It's important to note that this book is not affiliated with or endorsed by Disney, as Winnie-the-Pooh himself is now in the public domain. Only Disney's version of Pooh with a red shirt is still under copyright. That's why there is a Pooh-based horror movie and now this horrific book.

I absolutely understand the need for it as mass shootings are a daily reality here in the U.S., but I certainly can't feel good about it. I am concerned it was given "without discussion" as this is a frightening topic for grown adults and surely must be upsetting to very young children.

One teacher, who wisely chose to remain anonymous amid our very polarized political climate, had this mic-dropping comment:

It’s a year since Uvalde, and nothing has been done other than this book. That is putting it on the kids.

Clearly, more needs to be done.