3 Days Late for 4/20

Continuing the recent theme of topics no trade publisher will touch: It's Just a Plant: A Children's Story of Marijuana. This self-published tome, illustrated by a boatload of artists, aspires to educate children about the wicked weed while neither stigmatizing nor glorifying its use.

Not a terrible aspiration, in my opinion, but as is all too typical of self-published books, the product is laughable. So many retro rainbows grace the pages, you'll swear you're trapped in a Roller Disco circa 1977. A text that's ridiculous and didactic. (“What’s that, Mommy?” asked Jackie. “Are you and Daddy smoking a cigarette?” “No, baby,” said her mother. “This is a joint.”) Imponderably set on Halloween so the little girl and her mother are riding a bicyle around town in bizarro costumes. (Is she supposed to be a Samurai?!)

BUT. How many other straight-talking picture books about marijuana can you name? Yeah, didn't think so!

You can ingest (just don't inhale) a representative sample of the book online, in your choice of English, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, or Thai. Because, y'know, marijuana is a global affair.

I'm guessing the current surge in publicity is due to the ignominious occasion of April 20. Maybe all the blog posts will help them sell a few books! (Via Big A little a.)