It's effectiveness is enhanced because it all starts out at a very silly level of a border guard using his Snick-Berry switch. Then things go wrong because "a very rude Zook by the name of VanItch snuck up and slingshotted my Snick-Berry switch!" The border guard for the Yooks tells his superior. The scientists get to work, and soon an improved weapon (a Triple-Sling Jigger) is available. The Zooks counter again, and so on it goes. The names, characteristics, and illustrations of the weapons are hilarious. Then, just when you are enjoying the folly, the scientists come up with the BITSY BIG-BOY BOOMEROO, which fits in the palm of a hand. Everyone has to get into a shelter underground because it is so dangerous. "'Grandpa!' I shouted. 'Be careful Oh, gee! Who's going to drop it? Will you . . . ? Or will he . . . ? . . . We'll see. We will see . . . .'" To go from that silliness to that horror in such a short number of pages is an amazingly effective job of story telling.
The book also explores how such conflicts are caused by lack of communication. There's a wall between the Yooks and the Zooks. Over the years, it gets higher and higher. So they can see a little about each other, but not talk. From what they see, they are astonished that one side eats their bread and butter with the butter-side up, while the other eats with the butter-side down. I thought that was a pretty interesting way to capture the kind of small differences that often lead to border wars. Consider the former Yugoslavian states.
The primary drawback of such a story for children is that it is a chilling tale. Visions of mutual destruction are not exactly what I would want to read to a small child just before bed. However, it may be appropriate for some children who are very violent in their play and need to be reined in a little. I would suggest that it be read early in the day, however, even in such a case. For children who are sensitive and easily frightened, this book should probably be read much later in life than age 8. If this were a movie, I would suggest at least a PG-13 rating, and possibly an R.
Definitely, every adult should read this book. We still live in a world where these issues are current. I hope that someday this book will seem quaint and obsolete as a characterization of human beings. Until it does, the book should be sharing its message broadly.
After you have finished enjoying the book, I suggest that you consider how you can help promote international understanding. Perhaps you can at least find someone to correspond with by e-mail on the other side of the world. Better yet, can you lend a helping hand somehow?
Live long and prosper . . . because of friendly, cooperative competition!
The story contains the Zooks and the Yooks. They are both similar in their looks, but it is by the means which they butter their bread, that they are at odds with each other. Zooks butter their bread upside down, while yooks right-side up. It is this dispute that causes them to not get along, as an older Zook tells his grandson. Then one day, Grandpa patrols the wall, when his guard device, a "Snickberry Switch," is destroyed by a Yook named Van Itch. It is this that leads to the chain reaction of arms and almost total foolishness, as the Zooks and the Yooks begin building larger and stranger devices to keep the other at bay. finally, it all comes down to the "Bitty Big Boy Boomeroo." A tiny device about the size of a gumball. It causes both Yooks and Zooks to take cover, but the Grandfather Zook and Van Itch stand at the wall, waiting to see who will drop their first. In a children's story, this is quite a world view. Much as the Lorax was on the fact of nature and the care it must have to be maintained, this book delves greatly into the human psyche. Why is it that becuase of subtle differences, we, ashuman beings, cannot look past these and accept the others. Mainly, I read this book thinking of the Arab and Plaestinian conflict in thet middle east. If a child needed a book to read to show them the follies to avoid in their adult life, I'd recommend this one for sure.
