Jill (Duggar) and Derick Dillard can’t even read their kids a bedtime story without taking heat from parent shamers.
The former Counting On couple shared in an Instagram snap on Sunday to share they were beginning a new series of books to read their sons, 2-year-old Israel and eight-month-old Samuel, before bed.
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Jill told followers that her mother-in-law, Cathy Dillard Byrum, had gifted her toddler some books from the Tuttle Twins series by Connor Boyack. She shared a photo of the book titled “The Tuttle Twins and the Food Truck Fiasco.”
“Y’all! @cldilla just got Israel some of the @tuttle_twins books and we read this one before bed tonight! Awesome book! If you’re looking for new books for the kiddos, check this series out! Teaches some great lessons! Israel grabbed another one off the shelf and asked to read it when we finished this one. can’t wait to read the rest!” Jill beamed to followers.
But her recommendation garnered mixed reactions from fans who have read the books or looked up information online about the author or book series.
According to Boyack, “Food Truck Fiasco” explores how “disruptive businesses must fight against their crony competitors — the ones with friends in government who try and protect them from innovative upstarts.”
Some praised the books’ themes of sharing the meaning of “freedom” and “liberty” to young readers, while others slammed them as inappropriate for children.
“These books are about ‘the evils of socialism’ and ‘second amendment rights’. These are not for small kids. Heck at least read a good kids’ bible story to the kids if you can’t handle mainstream kids books,” one follower wrote to the religious mom.
Another critiqued a separate book in the series, “Search for Atlas,” which is loosely based on the principles from adult novel “Atlas Shrugged” and is positioned to show “how things begin falling apart when socialism creeps in.”
“The book ‘Atlas’ basically promotes the idea that being poor is a consequence of laziness and success is solely based on meritocracy,” a follower wrote on Jill’s post.
“Another reason I think this book is inappropriate for younger learners as it introduces ideas with a strong bias. Young kids will only be able to understand the story at face value, and miss the underlying themes,” another shamed the book choice.
While the Tuttle Twins books are targeted toward ages 5-11, Boyack says the goal of the series is to combat the ways children are “spoon-fed false history, bad economics, and logical fallacies.”
“Well-meaning parents have long desired a way to inoculate their children against this trend to help them really grasp the importance of freedom and free markets — the pillars of peace and prosperity that create abundance and social harmony in our world,” he continued. Boyack says his series of books are for socially-minded parents who seek to teach their offspring these principles.
And while Jill and Derick were bashed by some for introducing the book to their toddler, it isn’t the first time they have been shamed for their parenting choices.
Recently, the mom of two was criticized for putting Samuel on the “dirty” floor rather than let him play on a blanket or in a seat. Derick was also accused of harming his son when he allowed him to chew on a “toy” water bottle with the cap on.
The couple have also been scrutinized and booted from the family’s reality show after Derick made unwarranted and offensive comments about fellow TLC personality Jazz Jennings, a transgender teen from the series I Am Jazz.
Following multiple incidents from Derick, the network announced he was fired, though he claims he “decided” to remove his family from the show.
