Anonymous, thanks very much for sharing information about the 1935 book "Southern Cook Book of Fine Old Recipes".I didn't know about that book before you alerted me to it.Here's the song fragment from that book that mentions "shortnin' bread":Two little ni&&ers lyin in bed, One of 'em sick an' de odder mos' dead.Call for de doctor, an' de doctor said, "Feed dem darkies on short'nin bread.
I am sure the creators found their product very unexpectedly popular outside of their own country (where it was marketed as series for early years English acquisition) and were mortified by how the global community read the message behind the characters. As a non white parent I have been quite appalled by the more recent depictions of the so-called 5 little monkeys being made very much in the image of black people.
There are versions where the number of monkeys in the rhyme are changed, Three Little Monkeys Jumping on The Bed is one such variation. There are so many other good YouTube videos for children that I've not replaced that video with another Five Little Monkeys video that I would consider acceptable.
My little one love 5 little monkeys and it definatly isnt out of racist slander! Mother called the doctor and the doctor said, But, the song has similar lyrics and tune to the first verse of the folk song "Shortnin' Bread." This has been a constructive dialogue. But, the song has similar lyrics and tune to the first verse of the folk song "Shortnin' Bread."
I pointed out what I believed-and still believe-to be stereotypical depictions of Black people in that particular video and I've since learn those depictions were in some other videos from that animated series and have since been changed.
I'm so glad I'm not the only one watching Dave and Ava and thinking oh my gosh they are portraying the black family as monkeys! It really has a white supremacist undertone and any intelligent person will realize this. I found the version of "Five Little Monkeys" that I show to my granddaughter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx1NcLZBZ1k Five Little Monkeys | Family Sing Along - Muffin Songs The monkeys in this video aren't drawn with exaggerated Black facial features or so-called "Black" hairstyles such as female monkeys with multiple braids in their hair.Also, the monkeys don't laugh when one of them falls off the bed.If you know other animated examples of that song that you like, feel free to share them. Unfortunately for us, it disappeared suddenly, and because my son is autistic, it was incredibly difficult to reconcile him to its loss. Thank you! My daughter loves them. No you're not alone! There are lots of "Five Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed" videos on YouTube. Dave and Ava's mother (stepmother?) Benefits of Summer Activities with Nursery Rhymes, Spending Time with Family Listening to Nursery Rhymes.
One fell off and bumped her head. Dave and Ava's animators should be aware of the racist connotations in their cartoons and change those drawings, for all of our children's sake. She acknowledges that she did not write the original lyrics, she heard it from her daughter. I don't think they would be irresponsible or be idiots to portray something like this. This original song based on a classic nursery chant has been used by parents for generations to teach a valuable lesson…little monkeys should never jump on the bed! Parents are the real issue reading too much into a simple cartoon.
Here's my note about that wiki.answers.com comment: "There is no known origin of the song, due to it being a modern nursery rhyme. It is a children's book and one can purchase it from Amazon for $9.89. It was only after contacting the website moderators that we learned that they had taken it down after learning it had racist roots.
Instead of “Monkeys,” “Five Little Monkeys” (also known as “Ten Little Monkeys” originally used the “n word” or “darkies” as a reference to Black people. My 19 month old daughter pointed to a group of African Americans and yelled "Monkeys!" The author of the book 'Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed' is Eileen Christelow. Totally unacceptable!! You may not have sung this song when you were little, but many people wish to add this part of the song because they believe that the song must conclude with all the monkeys falling off the bed. Unknown, thanks for your comment.I refer you to all the comments that I've made about my opinions about the depictions on that series. Thanks for sharing that information, Rose Whiting.When I put that link in Google, it directed me to this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25WIA-7LZFg&feature=youtu.be. Dave and ava have since added an actual black character who is not a stereotype. However, the cartoon is available in English because it was produced for English speaking audience. Of course it's racist but also problematic in other ways https://scientologymoneyproject.com/2020/09/03/scientologists-doug-and-laurie-dohring-owners-of-age-of-learning-inc-abcmouse-fined-10-million-by-the-ftc-for-their-illegal-marketing-and-billing-practices/. "Five Little Monkeys" is an English language folk song and fingerplay. What a shame on these perpetrators of evil.. . One fell off and bumped his head, Hi Molly. Laura Phillips, Ugh! You must complete your first Internet search for these songs, and you will find that the songs will give you may ways to sing with your classes. Five Little Monkeys is taken from four episodes " Picture of Health ", " That Healing Feeling " and " I Did That! " Apples and bananas part 2 I believe it's called is one of them.
John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." You may talk about behavior, and you will talk with your children about the monkeys, their social dynamics, and how they behave at bedtime. Your children may enjoy swinging from trees, and you may take them outside to replay the song. Thanks for your sharing your opinion, Anonymous. Over the years certain nursery rhymes have faded away and became less popular, but not this one. Mother called the doctor and the doctor said,
I think that the racist connotations of this song occur when the monkeys are drawn to look like some Black people. With regard to my comment to Nyx Qualls dated February 13, 2016 at 2:12 PM,I should have written "drawn to look like stereotypical images of Black people" instead of "drawn to look like Black people". ."
I just wrote this comment:"The animators of Dave and Ava cartoons should be aware that their depictions of monkeys (including their hairstyles) are offensive to Black people. It's awful, it's off our list too.
Out of all their videos, I find "Five Little Monkeys" video especially racist.I am not for hyper political correctness, but I find Dave and Ava cartoons to be racist and wrong.It's no surprise that they are from Ukraine. Ms. Powell,Thank you again.
That said, the drawings were considerably better than the "Five Little Monkeys" caricatures of Black people that I commented on before.