A man has stumbled across a rather NSFW inclusion in a four-year-old’s ‘Biff, Chip and Kipper’ book, written by Roderick Hunt and illustrated by Alex Brychta.
Parents who know the agonising boredom that comes with re-reading the same book for the hundredth time with your child, appreciate it when the author includes something for adult eyes only, but this was a little unexpected.
Ed Brody, explained on Twitter that the book had been provided by the child’s school and he decided to share the illustrations after he came across some “dubious scenes”.
The scene shows Wilma in the foreground playing in a river with a stick, but in the background there is a group of three men who disappear into a bush, before being followed by a (very shocked) pensioner.
Although Brody didn’t explicitly say what he thought was going on, other parents on social media have been quick to give their verdict.
Most parents have found the inclusion hilarious, and say that it gives them something to laugh at when they’re reading with their children.
The ‘Biff, Chip and Kipper’ books are a mainstay of the UK curriculum and are used in more than 80% of the nation’s primary schools with a total of 800 titles.
Having been published for more than 30 years, the books are a familiar sight for parents teaching their children to read.
Part of the Oxford Reading Tree reading scheme currently used in 8-% of primary schools, Roderick Hunt set out with the simple aim of teaching young children to read in carefully laid-out stages: starting with picture books with no words at all.
And the publishers Oxford University Press deny that there is anything untoward going on in the pictures.
But it seems that Brody’s discovery isn’t the only example of pictures that may have a dual meaning for adults and children, as other parents started sharing their own.
Including a priest in a changing room.
And these letter blocks.
It also inspired parents to share funny examples from other children’s books.
HuffPost UK contacted publishers Oxford University Press for comment and will update this article with a response.