Little kids (like the character in the book) call it how they see it. We've all probably heard them make comments in public that aren't appropriate. I myself once, when really little, was behind an obese woman in Safeway and loudly asked my mother, "Mom, who's that lady with the big big big big butt?"
I would never say something like that today, because it's horribly rude and I know better, but little kids just don't understand tact. The author was in that frame of mind when he wrote the book, and I think people just fail to understand that.
Dunno.