Can of Worms

The legendary can of worms has been opened today...

One of the books we checked out of the library today is called Going West by Martin Waddell, illustrated by Philippe Dupasquier. I give it a hearty thumbs up for several reasons: the honest portrayal of the difficulties early settlers faced as they headed west, the detailed illustrations that give so much more information than the text itself provides (it's enjoyable to spend a lot of time on each page, just looking at the pictures and talking about what's happening), and the happy ending. :)

But, oh my goodness! The same thing that makes it a good book--specifically, the honest portrayal of hardships--has opened a can of worms for Josiah. Since we read it, he has asked a multitude of questions about it.

"What is in that Indian's hand?" -- A tomahawk.
"Why did that man fall off his horse?" -- He died.
"How did he die?" -- The Indian threw the tomahawk and killed him.
" Why is that horse coming back with no rider?" -- His rider died.
"Why is that wagon burning?" -- That man set it on fire to turn the buffalo away.
"Why?" -- Because a buffalo stampede can kill people.
"Is that Indian a good one or a bad one?" -- A good one.
"Is that Indian a good one or a bad one?" -- A bad one.
"Were all the England people [Josiah's way of referring to white settlers] bad?" -- No.
"Were all the England people good?" -- No.
"Did that man drink bad water [some other people in the book drank bad water, got sick, and died]?" -- No, that looks like alcohol.
"What's alcohol?" -- Drinks like wine and beer are alcohol.
"Was that dead Indian a good or bad Indian?" -- I don't know.
"Why is that Indian watching them?" -- I don't know.
"What is he holding?" -- A spear.
"Was there a big war?" -- Well, there were a lot of battles between Indians and settlers.
"Why?" -- The settlers were taking the Indians' land.
"Was that good?" -- Well, (what should I say???) yes and no.
"What does that mean?"

Whew, on and on and on the questions came. We had endless discussions about people being good or bad, what makes them good or bad, how some people in any people group are good and some are bad, how we can't judge them by their group, how and why battles were fought, what kind of weapons were used, etc.

When we get books from the library, I usually read them after I pick them off the shelf to judge whether each book is acceptable and beneficial. With this one, I scanned it, loved the pictures, liked the subject matter, but didn't realize it was quite so REAL. Now I wonder whether I should have gotten it. Of course, I know Josiah has to learn about the harshness of life sometime...but is this the right time??? He's only 4! Now it's too late...he's seen the book, and he will doubtless have numerous questions every time we read it (and judging by past habits, he will randomly bring it up for months after we return it to the library!). But I wonder if I made a mistake?

But how should I go about the process of getting library books? In the heat of the moment, while trying to keep my eyes on both my boys and simultaneously scanning books to determine whether they're OK, it seems difficult to do a good job of both tasks sometimes! Maybe I should make a list before I go of books that I already know are good, and then look for them. But my limited experience with that has seemed even more difficult because I've had to really search (either the computer or the shelves or both) to find certain books, and that takes even more attention away from the boys and onto the books, and David is not quite old enough for me to look away from him for too long. What to do???