Awful, awful children's books - Page 11

[Elastagirl]

All my Babar books are in French!Hee hee hee...the kids will never know!! I read them in French and then translate -- so some parts can get left out -- but the ones I have aren't that bad... they're just old-fashioned!

"Love you Forever" = CREE-PY, but mostly because of the artwork (I just think it's weird and ugly!) and the fact that the mother has to call her son and guilt him into coming over when she gets "old and sick." Why wouldn't he think to visit her on his own?

My mom finds some of the cutest books for the kids; the most recent one is "Pass the food, Dude!" dd and I LOVE it, but my 5 yo was disappointed. he said, "I was hoping it would be a learning book." He is way into his picture encyclopedias and animal/bug books right now!

[Daffodil]

Anyone else less than enthusiastic about Eric Carle?


The Very Boring Author

In 1969, Eric Carle wrote a book about a caterpillar. But it was very boring.

In 1977, Eric Carle wrote a book about a ladybug. But it was very boring.

In 1984, Eric Carle wrote a book about a spider. But it was very boring.

In 1987, Eric Carle wrote a book about a hermit crab. But it was very boring.

In 1990, Eric Carle wrote a book about a cricket. It had a page that made a cricket sound when you opened it, but it was still very boring.

[Katielady]

Originally Posted by Daffodil

Anyone else less than enthusiastic about Eric Carle?


The Very Boring Author

In 1969, Eric Carle wrote a book about a caterpillar. But it was very boring.

In 1977, Eric Carle wrote a book about a ladybug. But it was very boring.

In 1984, Eric Carle wrote a book about a spider. But it was very boring.

In 1987, Eric Carle wrote a book about a hermit crab. But it was very boring.

In 1990, Eric Carle wrote a book about a cricket. It had a page that made a cricket sound when you opened it, but it was still very boring.

!!!

I hate Eric Carle. It's not so much that the books are boring, it's that they're UGLY. The colors, the chunky collages, everything about them repulses me. I don't get their popularity at all. Although DS did love the bear book when he was a baby.

[spero]

Originally Posted by Katielady

The colors, the chunky collages,

And that is exactly what we LOVE about Eric Carle books. They're very visually appealing to us. Different strokes for different folks.

[Katielady]

Originally Posted by spero

And that is exactly what we LOVE about Eric Carle books. They're very visually appealing to us. Different strokes for different folks.

So you like his liberal use of mottled diarrhea brown?

Different tastes do make the world go round though.

[newbymom05]

Originally Posted by Daffodil

Anyone else less than enthusiastic about Eric Carle?


The Very Boring Author

In 1969, Eric Carle wrote a book about a caterpillar. But it was very boring.

In 1977, Eric Carle wrote a book about a ladybug. But it was very boring.

In 1984, Eric Carle wrote a book about a spider. But it was very boring.

In 1987, Eric Carle wrote a book about a hermit crab. But it was very boring.

In 1990, Eric Carle wrote a book about a cricket. It had a page that made a cricket sound when you opened it, but it was still very boring.

Oooh, I so agree! People insist on giving us those as gifts because they're classics, I suppose. To me it's the saaaame book over and over. We have the endangered species one that I feel obligated to read--luckily it almost always puts DS to sleep.

[LaughingHyena]

I quite like the very hungry caterpillar. I'm not so keen on the others though, we also have the cricket one and that is really dull, even with the sound effect (when we can get it to work.

I'm also having second thoughts about the Mr Men books, I loved them as a child but I'm really not enjoying rereading them. Some I don't like the messages they are sending others I;m just fed up with before I even start.

anyone else not enjoying books from their childhood?

[momileigh]

The repetition in Carle's books is GOOD FOR YOUNG CHILDREN. They like repetition and it is good for their brain development. I love how my girls learned to "read" Carle books to themselves so easily, exactly because the repetition plus the illustrations makes it easy to memorize. They are geared toward young kids who are learning their colors and animals and such. Plus, you have the introduction of species children may not be familiar with (Luna moths), life-cycle events (caterpillar to butterfly), and even romance, when the cricket made the "most beautiful sound she had ever heard." I remember when my little 18-month old would "rub her wings together" (her hands) every time I read that part, and then she would say in her little chipmunk voice, "Nuting happen, not-a-sound!" Maybe if you find these books boring, you just don't know how to read them in an engaging way. They are "boring" the same way you probably wouldn't be especially engaged by shaking a rattle... that does not make them awful children's books.

[momileigh]

Originally Posted by LaughingHyena

I'm also having second thoughts about the Mr Men books, I loved them as a child but I'm really not enjoying rereading them. Some I don't like the messages they are sending others I;m just fed up with before I even start.

My mil just pulled "Mr. Funny" "Mr. Clumsy" and "Mr. Clever" out from storage. I don't think they are awesome but they are a big step up from the Tweety Bird and Woody Woodpecker golden books she first pulled out. What messages are you taking issue with?

[NYCVeg]

Originally Posted by LaughingHyena

I
I'm also having second thoughts about the Mr Men books, I loved them as a child but I'm really not enjoying rereading them. Some I don't like the messages they are sending others I;m just fed up with before I even start.

anyone else not enjoying books from their childhood?

We bought a few of the Little Miss and Mr Men books for dd and I'm also surprised by how much I dislike them (I loved them as a kid). Mostly it's that they're just SO badly written--and some of the moralizing gets very heavy-handed. We're not "disappearing" them, but we definitely won't go out of our way to get any more.

[mrsdocmartin]

Originally Posted by newbymom05

Oh, and give me a break--Boynton is writing for little people--TODDLERS and younger, not adults. You aren't supposed to find deep meaning in them or be impressed by their literary merit if you're over the age of 5. Plus, if you don't read them, you're censoring what your child reads!!!! Horrors!!! Suck it up and read some Boynton right now!!!! May I suggest Hippos Go Berserk?

: I LOVE Snoozers. I suggest that one! We read it every night!

[spughy]

Originally Posted by Daffodil

Anyone else less than enthusiastic about Eric Carle?


The Very Boring Author

In 1969, Eric Carle wrote a book about a caterpillar. But it was very boring.

In 1977, Eric Carle wrote a book about a ladybug. But it was very boring.

In 1984, Eric Carle wrote a book about a spider. But it was very boring.

In 1987, Eric Carle wrote a book about a hermit crab. But it was very boring.

In 1990, Eric Carle wrote a book about a cricket. It had a page that made a cricket sound when you opened it, but it was still very boring.

But in 1970, Eric Carle wrote a book about making pancakes, and it was AWESOME!!! Talk about from-scratch... Jack wants pancakes for breakfast so his mom makes him harvest, thresh and grind some wheat, milk the cow, make butter, collect eggs from the hens, and fetch strawberry jam from the cellar. I LOVE that book, it's such a fantastic starting point to talk to kids about where food really comes from.

[karina5]

Originally Posted by roostery

We call those the "crack mama books", because we can't figure out why the parents go off and leave their small child in the care of the dog for long periods of time if they aren't off buying drugs. They go out for dinner! And leave the baby in the mall!

Um, b/c it's something called "pretend." This thread is cracking me up. Dogs can't do a lot of things in the Carl books. That's why it is a book and not real life.

[karina5]

Originally Posted by LynnS6

It's funny for KIDS. She's playing off the traditional, cows say "oink", dogs say "woof", cats say "meow" kind of books/routines that toddlers often hear. Cows say "moo", sheep say "baa", pigs say "la la la" - is FUNNY because it's unexpected. Kids know that pigs don't say la la la! And the expression on their faces are simple yet very evocative.

My favorite book of hers is "Green Hat Blue Hat". Simple, repetitive, and yet my kids ADORED it because they could interact with it.

At least her books are clever. It's a lot more than I could say for the Disney princess cr*p that's out there.

I agree that the Boynton books are clever for kids. Clever in their simplicity.

[hippymama]

The Crows of Pearblossom by Aldous Huxley.

[momileigh]

Originally Posted by karina5

I agree that the Boynton books are clever for kids. Clever in their simplicity.

Very clever and very simple, which unlike some people suppose, is not that easy to produce. I find it amazing that some people can be annoyed that others' creative ideas are so simple, and claim they could do it themselves, yet they never actually come up with anything creative themselves. Kind of like people who think "modern art" isn't art because it looks so simple... a rather uninformed and bitter attitude, if you ask me.

[gardenmommy]

We love the Carl books! My kids just laugh at the antics they see. They know it's not for real, I mean, come on, who would really leave their baby in the care of a dog while they went shopping? In fact, we joke about how we can't go somewhere without our DC, because our cat doesn't make a very good babysitter.

There are a couple of the Eric Carle books that we like: Brown bear Brown bear and the Hungry Caterpiller (callapitter if you live at our house). Toddlers love the repetition, and the fact that they can "read" the book all by themselves. Other than that, I am not really a huge Eric Carle fan.

I can't think of too many books we wouldn't let our children read. Books are a great way for children to explore a lot of difficult topics. They make a great jumping-off point for discussions. There are a few that have been limited, mostly because the content was too scary for our children.

There are books that I personally don't like or won't read, but that my DC enjoy (like Dora, Arthur, Strawberry Shortcake, etc.). For those, I make my DH read them, lol. I get so sick of those books, that I actually limit how many the DC can check out of the library.

[bigeyes]

Originally Posted by momileigh

Very clever and very simple, which unlike some people suppose, is not that easy to produce. I find it amazing that some people can be annoyed that others' creative ideas are so simple, and claim they could do it themselves, yet they never actually come up with anything creative themselves. Kind of like people who think "modern art" isn't art because it looks so simple... a rather uninformed and bitter attitude, if you ask me.

I dunno...think of the pet rock. A lot of it is just marketing and luck.

I don't begrudge Boynton any of her success. But it isn't rocket science, and it isn't fine art or literature.

I look at art that sells and art that doesn't all the time, and honestly, there is no rhyme or reason to it. If there was, Van Gogh and Vermeer would have been appreciated while they were alive, yk?

I don't think children's books are any different. Look how many of those crappy Disney books sell.

[Amys1st]

Originally Posted by goodheartedmama

The "Miss Nelson" books. They're more for preschoolers, I guess. I love how the teacher dresses up as a mean person to scare the kids into behaving :

I havent read thru the thread but that book is better for the school aged set. My dd1 loves it. But then again dd2, who is 2 listens in too. But her favorite it Chicka chicka boom boom.

the Miss Nelson one, my dd1 got but she would not have liked it before age 5 or so.

[Amys1st]

Originally Posted by Baby Makes 4

I really dislike The Giving Tree. The boy just takes and takes until the tree has nothing left. Not one single "Thank you" in the whole book.

My MIL says the EXACT same thing about this book. She despises this book and dosent get what its about. I agree 100% w/ her. But dont tell her!