littlebug42 Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 as to whether they are sad or happy books. My dd9, who is my sensitive child, just pulled The Velveteen Rabbit off the shelf and read it. Hysterical crying ensued. I have to check and double check books to make sure there are no sad parts. She will still read some books if I warn her ahead of time but I know enough to know that Old Yeller will never be possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in MD Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 DS 13 read "My Brother Sam is Dead" this week. His comment when he was finished... "Can we get something a little cheerier next week?" :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 DS 13 read "My Brother Sam is Dead" this week. His comment when he was finished... "Can we get something a little cheerier next week?" :lol: Did the title not give him a clue? :D (I haven't read the book) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 I cried at that one. Also The Giving Tree and The Rag Coat. My kids thought I was nuts. I have cried at numerous books but those are the first three that come to mind. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memmerrill Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 When I was about 8, I cried at this book called Beauty about a boy & his horse. They have to shoot the horse in the end. I was at ps & it was what they called a read-in day, so I was crying in front of classmates. Luckily I had a kind teacher who comforted me. I still loved the book despite the sad ending & still have the book today on the shelf if that means anything. I wasn't crying hysterically, though. Sorry about your dd's experience. The Velveteen Rabbit is definitely a gloomy book & is one I didn't appreciate until adulthood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HejKatt Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 I have a similar situation with DS and our read-alouds. When something tense is happening in the book, he sits there with a concerned look on his face. When the situation starts to escalate, he sometimes runs out of the room, saying, "I don't like this!"... Well, I keep reading out loud (to nobody in particular) until the situation is resolved, and he comes back. FWIW, I *am* already editing passages on-the-fly to make them less dramatic as I read. And the books aren't epic Greek tragedies, they are books like Beverly Cleary's "Henry and Ribsy" . Which makes me wonder.. how will I ever introduce the 'classic' fairytales to him. It's popular within CM/Classical to read them, but how am I going to explain that the witch snacked on kids and Hansel and Gretel shoved her into the oven ?! :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HejKatt Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 as to whether they are sad or happy books. My dd9, who is my sensitive child, just pulled The Velveteen Rabbit off the shelf and read it. Hysterical crying ensued. I have to check and double check books to make sure there are no sad parts. She will still read some books if I warn her ahead of time but I know enough to know that Old Yeller will never be possible. Yes, she may need to skip Old Yeller and The Yearling for awhile. How about Marguerite Henry's books? IIRC they usually end on a hopeful note even if there is death in the story (Justin Morgan had a horse). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 We can't read the "Colors" book anymore because DD doesn't like the pumpkin on the Orange page. We used to be able to just skip that page, but now the whole book is off limits. She's going to be just like me. I can't watch animal movies (that includes Disney), bawled through Old Yeller, My Friend Flicka, Where The Red Fern Grows, etc. I stopped reading them, even if they were good books. Too hard. I checked out The Biggest Bear from the Caldecott section at the library, knowing nothing of it. It went back the next day. Neither of us liked it, even though it was well written and had wonderful illustrations. The idea that the boy would go out and shoot his bear was too much for us (though I understand it based on the story and the times). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giraffe Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 I have a similar situation with DS and our read-alouds. When something tense is happening in the book, he sits there with a concerned look on his face. When the situation starts to escalate, he sometimes runs out of the room, saying, "I don't like this!"... Well, I keep reading out loud (to nobody in particular) until the situation is resolved, and he comes back. FWIW, I *am* already editing passages on-the-fly to make them less dramatic as I read. And the books aren't epic Greek tragedies, they are books like Beverly Cleary's "Henry and Ribsy" . Which makes me wonder.. how will I ever introduce the 'classic' fairytales to him. It's popular within CM/Classical to read them, but how am I going to explain that the witch snacked on kids and Hansel and Gretel shoved her into the oven ?! :glare: I'm wondering this too! How on earth are we going to get through those stories?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebug42 Posted March 10, 2011 Author Share Posted March 10, 2011 Yes, she may need to skip Old Yeller and The Yearling for awhile. How about Marguerite Henry's books? IIRC they usually end on a hopeful note even if there is death in the story (Justin Morgan had a horse). She has read all of the Misty of Chincoteague books. The thing is with her, you never know what is going to trigger her. Some things I might think were sad, she has no trouble with but others, look out. She cried at the end of "The Phantom Tollbooth" and forget about "Year with Miss Agnes". We just keep plugging along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HejKatt Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 She has read all of the Misty of Chincoteague books. The thing is with her, you never know what is going to trigger her. Some things I might think were sad, she has no trouble with but others, look out. She cried at the end of "The Phantom Tollbooth" and forget about "Year with Miss Agnes". We just keep plugging along. I see the difficulty.. I honestly don't recall anything sad in the Phantom Tollbooth, for example. :001_huh: It does sound like you have many lovely books though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 I remember doing a finger play with ds : Five little Ducks Five little ducks, went out to play (hold up five fingers) over the hills, and far away, (hold hand to eyebrows) When the mother duck went "Quack Quack Quack" (motion "quack" with your hand) Four little Ducks came waddling back. (make wings with arms and move elbows up and down) Continue to count down until there are no little ducks then sing: No little ducks went out to play, Over the hills and far away, When the father duck went "QUACK, QUACK, QUACK", Five little ducks came waddling back. By the time I got to the no little ducks, ds was crying hysterically. I was very alarmed and asked what was wrong?! He was so sad for mother duck with no ducklings left. I had to very quickly do the last verse and make all the ducklings come back and even then he was sad that they had left to begin with. He is 13 now and can handle fairy tales and sad books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HejKatt Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 By the time I got to the no little ducks, ds was crying hysterically. I was very alarmed and asked what was wrong?! He was so sad for mother duck with no ducklings left. I had to very quickly do the last verse and make all the ducklings come back and even then he was sad that they had left to begin with. He is 13 now and can handle fairy tales and sad books. He sounds like a sweet kid. :) I'm curious : at one point did you introduce him to fairy tales? Or did he pick those up himself when he was reading independently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebug42 Posted March 10, 2011 Author Share Posted March 10, 2011 I see the difficulty.. I honestly don't recall anything sad in the Phantom Tollbooth, for example. :001_huh: It does sound like you have many lovely books though! For Phantom Tollbooth, she cried because the child in the book had to go back to real life at the end and leave the fantasy life/friends behind. Thanks about the books. I try to remind myself of that when we are swimming in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 He sounds like a sweet kid. :) I'm curious : at one point did you introduce him to fairy tales? Or did he pick those up himself when he was reading independently? We've never actually read fairy tales! But he knows the stories because of being introduced to them in cartoons etc. over the years - most of them when he was 9 and up. And I think he has read some independently in book anthologies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2jjka Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Stay FAR away from "Stone Fox!" (My kids still haven't quite forgiven me for that one. :o) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldskool Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 My kids look immediately for gold or silver stickers on the front of books. They say any Newbery Medal winner is sure to be sad, as are most other books that are "award winning". Unfortunately, this is often true. Lesley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 I can't watch animal movies (that includes Disney), bawled through Old Yeller, My Friend Flicka, Where The Red Fern Grows, etc. I stopped reading them, even if they were good books. Too hard. Are you my twin??? Seriously, I can't handle those things. Most Disney movies upset me horribly when I was a kid -- Bambi & Dumbo being the most horrifying, imo. I've never watched them as an adult. I've never read the Redwall books (though dd loves them); can't make it through Black Beauty (another of dd's faves), etc.... My dh, dc, and friends know I can't handle books or movies like that (animal/sad or ultra sappy/heartbreaking). :tongue_smilie: I get a raging headache if I ever manage to tackle something like that (after crying buckets). I did make it through The Book Thief & loved it, though I bawled through the last 30 minutes of reading it. I guess I can generally handle people situations, but not the animal ones. Fwiw, I love mob movies. :tongue_smilie:;):lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Stay FAR away from "Stone Fox!" Thanks for the warning! My kids look immediately for gold or silver stickers on the front of books. They say any Newbery Medal winner is sure to be sad, as are most other books that are "award winning". Unfortunately, this is often true. I think your kids are on to something. I agree. I'm often not a fan of Newberry winners.... (I've often wondered if Newberry winners won because of friends in high places/politics of book awards vs. actual merit.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 (edited) I cried at that one. Also The Giving Tree and The Rag Coat. My kids thought I was nuts. I have cried at numerous books but those are the first three that come to mind. :) We read The Rag Coat this week for FIAR. I had a lump in my throat the whole time. It's not getting read five times this week. I was lucky to get through it once. ETA: When dd was 8, she was still running out of the room when we were watching Little Bear (!), and there was any possibility of upcoming conflict. She was supposed to read Stone Fox this year, but I pre-read it, and decided to sell it. I was traumatized by the ending. :glare: Edited March 11, 2011 by bonniebeth4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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