The Stupids Die---??

No pun intended, but I think The Stupids Die by Harry Allard was one of the stupidest books I have ever read. First of all, the cover has nothing to do with the story. It’s all yellow, and just has an outline of a little boy’s upper body and it just says “Kid” on the whole entire cover. Just the fact that the last name of the family is Stupid, and that the author consistently refers to them as “the Stupid kids”, “Mrs. Stupid” is very controversial in itself. I know I would not want my kids reading a book where stupid was used and thrown around so much. In addition, Allard uses the word stupid to describe things going on. Stupid is definitely a word we do not want our children and students freely using like it is in this story. Now I can see how probably the majority of young students would love this book. At this age, they love silly, “stupid” humor and find it very amusing and entertaining. However, it is simply not appropriate. I did like how the author used humor in the pictures (the mom wearing a live-hen dress, using a sprinkler system to water the plants inside, the kid mowing the carpet), but Allard could have incorporated these pictures without the inappropriateness of the word “Stupid”.
Last, but not least, the ending of the story. First of all, the book is titled “The Stupids Die”, however, there is nothing about them dying in the book. The story ends with Mr. Stupid apologizing that nothing “stupid” happened that day, and them going to bed. I was so confused at the end of the book, it made absolutely no sense. In addition, the author uses “die” so freely in the title, which could easily offend some students, and make others feel uncomfortable. Overall, I would not suggest reading this book in your household, or classroom.