Children's Books I hate! - Page 2

[kewb]

I got around the Curious George thing by teaching my children that the man in the yellow hat is a poacher. Poachers are not doing good things.

I can not stand Good Night Gorilla. My kids loved it when they were little. I would rather pull my finger nails off then read that book.

Love you Forever. I just love that one. My ds thinks it cool that mom loves her son so much she is willing to break into the house rather then use the house key that he is sure the son must have given her.

[felix23]

I thought of another one I hate - No David. I read it to my class of 5 year olds once and their response was "Why doesn't the mommie say anything but No?" I see no point to this book and also didn't like this illustrations.
Oh, for some reason I remember disliking Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, but I can't remember why.

[box_of_rain]

Originally Posted by felix23

I thought of another one I hate - No David. I read it to my class of 5 year olds once and their response was "Why doesn't the mommie say anything but No?" I see no point to this book and also didn't like this illustrations.
Oh, for some reason I remember disliking Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, but I can't remember why.

Ah yes! The NO David books! I always felt weird reading those! It just felt wrong to be saying NO like that, over and over again...Of course, they were my son's favorites for awhile.

[fiddledebi]

I can't stand Olivia! She's so annoying and --while I hate the word, I'll use it -- bratty. I worked for the organization that gives children's book awards, and knocking Olivia there was like saying you don't believe in apple pie or grandmothers, but yuck. I don't like her.

I also think the Giving Tree was a martyr and bad example. Feh.

One that surprised me and that I was sad to put away was Rhinoceros Tap by Sandra Boynton. It's a book of songs that comes with a CD. We had another book like this by her called Philadelphia Chickens, and it was great, but this one has the most AWFUL song on it called, of all things: "Bad Babies." The lyrics include such lines as "they whine and they bite...they make the most terrible noise." Nice. I really want my older daughter singing that with her new baby sister in the house...NOT.

[zipworth]

I just can't get the message of 'The Giving Tree' or 'The Rainbow Fish'. Nothing good comes to mind anyway...

[Thalia the Muse]

I love No, David. I think sometimes kids do feel like all they hear is "no."

[Daffodil]

Originally Posted by boatbaby

There aren't any i HATE at the moment...

BUT - I never understood the appeal of...

Goodnight Moon
Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
Olivia
Moo-Baa-La-La
Goodnight Gorilla

I love Goodnight Moon! It's simple and soothing, but with enough slightly quirky or unexpected bits to make it interesting. How can anyone not love "Goodnight nobody?"

The sound and rhythm are the appeal in Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. It's really fun to read aloud.

Something about the illustrations in Goodnight Gorilla really appealed to my DD when she was little, so I can see why it's popular. (It's more interesting once you know to look for the balloon on every page.)

[Katerz2u]

I HATE HATE HATE, the Winne the Pooh goes to the Doctor book. Christopher Robin takes him for an annual check up and at the end Pooh gets a shot to keep him healthy so he doesnt get mumps and measles (bumps and weasles as Pooh says or something..)Anyways, it annoys the heck outta me!

[RainCoastMama]

Goodnight Moon...ugh! Why is this considered mandatory reading to your kids? (Well, not mandatory, but everyone seems to have a copy). It doesn't totally rhyme, and I find the illustrations creepy...but that's just me

[MamaDimstam]

This is obviously for slightly older readers, but I cannot stand the Junie B. Jones books for all the deliberate misspellings. Dd saw one and asked why the writer made Junie so "not smart." Awful.

[hottmama]

I can't believe anyone could dislike Is Your Mama a Llama? We love that book!

I think Curious George is creepy, creepy too. First he's abducted,they put him in a zoo, they make him wash windows for his food, and then they send him off into space all alone. And he spend time in jail. Poor monkey. I do think he's cute, though, and we liked the movie okay.
Mostly I hate boring baby books. We just don't read them. The little guy gets to hear whatever my 4 yr. old is into.

[formerluddite]

i totally agree about rainbow fish, love you forever and giving tree. bleh. and the rainbow fish author did one about wasteful mice destroying their island to dig up glowing rocks. message pounded home with a sledgehammer.

any dizney. dh bought a stack of diz golden books, to indoctrinate the kids in all those movies of kidnapped/orphaned kids (lion king, bambi, dumbo, hercules, sleeping beauty...). the kids know "mama doesn't read disney books." the prose is leaden, the plots boring, even the ones where the movie was ok.

goodnight moon grew on me; we find the mouse on every page (he roams around, eats the mush, looks out the window...) and the clocks go from 7 to 8 o'clock.

love the detail in the drawings in mouse/cookie and pig/pancake books. the mouse to school, pig/party and moose ones seemed a little tired, though ("if you give an author a contract, she'll probably milk it for way too long"...). the illustrator (?felicia bond?) also did big red barn, and tumble bumble, another 2 favorites.

i love GE&H. the expressions on all the people floating in the water (after the car/train/boat crash) as they wait to see if he'll like it! and when dr. seuss died in the early 80s, saturday night live had rev. jesse jackson read it on the weekend update skit. he did it with full preacher/politician flourish. it was hysterical.

i hate the endless assortment of bedtime books that have babies/kids contentedly drifting off alone in their cribs with their bottles and bears. i like the boynton bed books because all the animals get in together.

and amelia bedelia: stupid is not that funny to me.

[UUMom]

Originally Posted by sunnysideup

The interpretations of books in these "what books do you hate" threads are always so literal. :

I know. It frightens me. Seriously, it does.

[Daffodil]

Originally Posted by hottmama

I can't believe anyone could dislike Is Your Mama a Llama? We love that book!

But look at that kangaroo! She's got an extra bend in her front legs, and her feet look like hooves! If you were getting paid to draw a kangaroo, wouldn't you at least look at a picture of an actual kangaroo for reference? The seals are weird, too. And I think the words are a bit awkward. And then (just to nitpick it to death ), there's that unnecessary comma in "I understand, now."

I do actually think it's kind of cute, and all the mamas and babies are sweet, but it annoys me too much for me to really enjoy it.

[paquerette]

We have a Rainbow Fish bath book and it's about the fish swishing and swimming together. Sounds like it's really different from the regular version!

I have issues with Where the Wild Things Are. What a mean mom. Starves the kid because he was boisterous and sassy? And can't even be bothered to come and apologise later, just sticks a plate of food in his room? :

[UUMom]

Originally Posted by paquerette

We have a Rainbow Fish bath book and it's about the fish swishing and swimming together. Sounds like it's really different from the regular version!

I have issues with Where the Wild Things Are. What a mean mom. Starves the kid because he was boisterous and sassy? And can't even be bothered to come and apologise later, just sticks a plate of food in his room? :

You aren't serious, are you?

Are you?

[BennyPai]

"Love You Forever" also creeps me out, but my dd loves the song.
We have discussed the sneaking into the house with a ladder part, however. We "lose" it on occasion. We have been given 3 copies, so this is easier said than done.

[aeiouys]

Cat in the Hat - Can't stand this book! Partly because I had to read it over and over when ds1 was younger and partly because that cat is just so stinking rude! Sure he helps them clean up at the end, but he made the mess in the first place, agaisnt the children's wishes!

[sunnysideup]

Originally Posted by BennyPai

"Love You Forever" also creeps me out, but my dd loves the song.
We have discussed the sneaking into the house with a ladder part, however. We "lose" it on occasion.

Come on people! It's not meant to be taken literally. Small children find the idea that mom will always want to rock them to sleep comforting. They know the pictures of the mom rocking the grown man are silly and not meant to be serious. The same is true for Runaway Bunny. Children are comforted by the idea that mom will love them and want them around even when they are mad at mom--and it's supposed to be funny too.

[mistymama]

Most of the books listed here are some of our favorites!

We love the animals in Goodnight Gorilla sneaking in to sleep with the zookeepers!

Love You Forever brings me to tears each time I read it.

Why does everyone take things so literally? The point of that story is that no matter how big you get, your Mother will always love you. I love to read that book to my son and tell him that no matter how big he gets, he will always be my baby. He's a huge 4 year old and loves to climb in my lap and ask for the "rocking song" (the song she sings while she rocks in that book).

I feel the same way about Runaway Bunny .. the point is about unconditional love in a way children can understand. That no matter how mad you are at your Mom, she will always love you and want you around.

I've always disliked Curious George, did as a child. So I have not picked up one of those books in 15+ years and my son has no idea who he is.

One of my son's favorite books right now is "There is a Nightmare in My Closet", and while it's a cute story, the boy shoots the nightmare with a gun and it's made my son keep asking for one, and turing legos into guns to shoot nightmares. But I think the point of the story is great, so it really does not bother me much.

I guess I"m a book lover .. I can't think of any books we have that bother me. Certainly none that I HATE!