Where's my meatball?!

Last week I decided it was finally time to check out the new children's lit section at our local Chapters bookstore. Turns out it's pretty fantastic. It's colourful and bright and absolutely humongous, with spots for children to sit and read from row upon row of magical, wonderful books. I foresee many trips to this place in my family's future.

I was immediately drawn to the board book section, naturally, intent on buying baby Charlotte something new for her library. I never quite realized it before that moment, but let me tell you, there is a pile of board books out there.

After some searching I spotted a little book on the bottom shelf which I knew in an instant I had to buy. I grabbed it up without hesitation and headed for the check-out with Robert Munsch's "The Paper Bag Princess" in tow and a big ol' grin plastered across my face.

I adored this book as a child. I loved the illustrations. I loved the story. Yep. They made one of my childhood favourites into a board book and I couldn't have been happier.

Until I got home and actually read it.

Sure, the bare bones are all there. The drawings are all the same. But this board book volume is different. Very different. Dare I say it? Maybe just TOO different.

You see, there are a few parts of the original story that were my favourites as a child. I distinctly remember what they are to this day. Probably my favouritest line of all goes "The dragon didn't even have enough fire left to cook a meatball". And you guessed it. While the accompanying illustration is present, there is a distinct lack of any mention of a meatball. I could hardly believe it as I sat there reading. My heart sank to my feet. I read and re-read. Where's my meatball!?

I understand that board books, by their very nature, are short and condensed and so adapations must be altered to fit space constraints. My mother pointed this out to me over Christmas when she read Dr Seuss' ABC to Charlotte and noticed several missing bits. I wasn't bothered by it at all until they decided to mess with MY Paper Bag Princess and the adored uncooked meatball.

This whole fiasco has put me in an awkward position. Do I withhold this version from Charlotte and introduce her to my beloved "real" version when she's older? Or do I simply insert the meatball and any other important missing bits when I read it to her now? I haven't decided.

I do know one thing: read before you buy. Especially when it comes to board book adaptations of childhood favourites. You never know what delicious Italian dish might be missing. Buyer Beware!!