winnie the pooh -- just my kids...

[momma aimee]

or have other's have kids who just didn't 'get them' or like them?

 

we've been reading the collection aloud -- i want my kids to know Roo and Rabbit and all the rest. I think they are cute, as well as a common part of cutural knowledge and something people should know.

 

the boys kinda listen, but i can tell they are not getting joy of it, the next ask me to go on to the next chapter.

 

just my kids or others feel this way ...

[Gentlemommy]

We aren't fans here either. :001_huh: My older dd, now 7.5, is JUST starting to appreciate Beatrix Potter. Ill try Pooh stories again in a year or so, but to be honest *I* don't even like that style of writing so...might have to be audio CD's. :tongue_smilie:

[Dinsfamily]

They might be to young to appreciate it. I read it to ds8 last year and we loved it.

[MeaganS]

My girls LOVE Pooh, but I didn't care for it at all until I was an adult. I just thought they were boring and the charm was lost on me as a kid.

[hsmom10]

I think they are a little harder to read out loud than some other books (especially to the younger ones) but we absolutely love these books- and my kids loved them, too.

[Hunter]

I see in your signature that your boys are 2E. It's common for 2E children to have very specific tastes in literature. My 2E kid couldn't tolerate most fiction, as he couldn't identify with the characters. He mostly read the Bible, a lot of biographies of the childhoods of famous men, and a lot of encyclopedias. But he did like the Little House books and as a 1st grader stared at the pages of Jurrasic Park for hours, but I have no idea if he was reading it or not. At that point I was clueless about what was going on and just very very very confused.

[GoVanGogh]

I adore Winnie-the-Pooh.

 

Somehow I managed to have a child that despises him. :glare:

[*Jessica*]

If I read Pooh the boys barely listen. If my husband reads he does the voices and they are glued to the book. I think it's one of those books that require the skill of giving characters voices or it's just blah.

[Chelli]

They might be to young to appreciate it. I read it to ds8 last year and we loved it.

 

:iagree: It took until the beginning of second grade/end of first for my oldest to "get" it.

[Kathryn]

My older boy is the same age and yours and he loved Pooh when we read it this spring. I was glad when we were done, as much as I loved Pooh in my childhood.

[Susan Wise Bauer]

If I read Pooh the boys barely listen. If my husband reads he does the voices and they are glued to the book. I think it's one of those books that require the skill of giving characters voices or it's just blah.

 

I cannot recommend Peter Dennis's audio performances highly enough. They are BRILLIANT. We have listened over and over and over (and my teenagers STILL quote them).

 

Try this link: http://www.poohcorner.com/Recordings/vmchk.html

 

SWB

[*Jessica*]

I cannot recommend Peter Dennis's audio performances highly enough. They are BRILLIANT. We have listened over and over and over (and my teenagers STILL quote them).

 

Try this link: http://www.poohcorner.com/Recordings/vmchk.html

 

SWB

Thank you for the recommendation! I looked up a sample and he does a wonderful job! I would definitely purchase a copy if my husband wasn't also wonderful at reading it. lol He has already read the entire collection through twice, though, and the boys are only eight and seven. They sometimes make up new adventures together for Pooh and friends to embark on. My husband is awesome. :D

[Ruthie in MS]

I second the recommendation for the audiobook read by Peter Dennis. It is such a hard read aloud but it flows so beautifully when you hear him read it. My 6 y/o wanted the audiobook for her birthday and she listens to it nearly every day.

[Stef03]

We read the collection as a read aloud last year and the kids didn't really care for it much :( However last week we listened to The Collected Stories of Winnie-the-Pooh (read by Stephen Fry, Jane Horrocks, Geoffrey Palmer, Judi Dench, Sandi Toksvig, Finty Williams, Robert Daws, Michael Williams, Steven Webb - basically quite a few awesome British actors) during a long car journey and the kids were hooked! We listened to the 4CDs and the kids asked for us to start from the beginning again... I think the "play" on voices of the different characters makes a huge difference. We got our copy from the library, it looks like http://www.amazon.com/The-Collected-Stories-Winnie---Pooh/dp/0307706109/

[KristenR]

I can honestly say this is one read-aloud that I prefeered in movie form. {Well the original cartoon anyway.} I just can't do the voices correctly because when I read it it seems choppy and discombobulated.

 

I will look into attempting it again in audiobook form though. We preferred Beatrix Potter that way. Potter books just sound better in an accent.

[redsquirrel]

I cannot recommend Peter Dennis's audio performances highly enough. They are BRILLIANT. We have listened over and over and over (and my teenagers STILL quote them).

 

Try this link: http://www.poohcorner.com/Recordings/vmchk.html

 

SWB

:iagree: I was coming to post this very thing and see I've been beaten to the punch.

 

My kids fell in love with Pooh via these audio books. I get asked to read them out loud occasionally, but no one does it better than Peter Dennis.

 

They are available on itunes! My kids are 12 and 7 and they requested this for our long car ride this summer. It was this and The Hobbit.

 

Worth every penny.

[...................]

My kids loved them always but they REALlY fell in love with. Them around the age of 7. I think younger kids don't get all the Adorable Jokes and Imaginary Expotitions that Pooh and his friends experience.

[MyLittleBears]

My boys will not admit to loving them but I know they do because they listened to the audiobooks open-mouthed in the car. They are like little men who will not admit to liking anything remotely babyish. Argh, boys! :tongue_smilie:

[Ellie]

I just thnk that the originals have language that not all children will understand. I think it's easier to get it if you're reading it to yourself, because then you also see the words that are capitalized, which changes the meaning.

[happypamama]

My kids adore the Pooh books, but we also have the Jim Broadbent audio versions, which are excellent. I'm not really a natural at making up voices (but DH is), but after hearing Jim Broadbent, I tend to do the voices in his styles, so that makes it even better.

[Laura Corin]

Do you do the voices? My boys loved the books. I also recommend the Alan Bennet audio versions.

 

Laura

[Amy M]

They were a bit too hard for us. I read a little collection when my boy was 5 and a half. I'll try again later though!

[Laura Corin]

We all love Winnie the Pooh. We still listen to the CD in the car, and I sometimes read a chapter aloud to the children.

 

Laura

[PachiSusan]

We adore Winnie the Pooh here, but not the books. I cannot get her to read or listen to them for the life of me. The movies however? She will watch all day long if I let her and she's 10!

[blondeviolin]

We read the collection as a read aloud last year and the kids didn't really care for it much :( However last week we listened to The Collected Stories of Winnie-the-Pooh (read by Stephen Fry, Jane Horrocks, Geoffrey Palmer, Judi Dench, Sandi Toksvig, Finty Williams, Robert Daws, Michael Williams, Steven Webb - basically quite a few awesome British actors) during a long car journey and the kids were hooked! We listened to the 4CDs and the kids asked for us to start from the beginning again... I think the "play" on voices of the different characters makes a huge difference. We got our copy from the library, it looks like http://www.amazon.com/The-Collected-Stories-Winnie---Pooh/dp/0307706109/

 

This! This audio rendition is like listening to a play! My 3yo loves Pooh because of it.

[...................]

Well I would say maybe your kids are too young. My dc always liked them but they didn't "get" them until they were at least 7, maybe 8. Then they would sit by themselves laughing and laughing.

 

Also, you really really have to do different voices, personalities, and inflection, as well as have a special way of pronouncing the Important Capitalized Words. If you aren't good at that, then the stories don't shine. So for some, these might not be a good read aloud.

[momma aimee]

the boys are 5 and 7 now and i think we are going to try the audio books; we have a lot of car hours over the next year to fill :)

[SebastianCat]

My library has a free audio download available of The House at Pooh Corner which also granted permission for us to burn it to CD. My kids are about to turn 11 and 9, and they still listen to this one regularly. This audio book might not be the best version out there, but it was free(!), and just having one actor read it with different voices for each character makes a big difference.

 

My soon-to-be-11 year old can recite all of Pooh's "hums" from memory. He cracks himself up.

[twoxcell]

I tried reading WtP to my oldest when he was around 6 and he didn't really get into it. I just read The World of Pooh(which is all of the WtP books in one.) to my dd this past winter when she was 7 and she absolutely loved it. She was sad when it was done and asked if there were anymore books.

[MommaOfalotta]

We tried it at the start of K this year, dd was 5.. I think she will enjoy them much more when she's a little older. She giggled a few times and would ask questions but sometimes I think the writing style (and some dialogue]0 went over her head.

 

She liked the movies! Lol

 

(On my phone with my ds trying to steal/eat it.. sorry if post is a mess)

[Alice]

This feels sacrilegious to say as normally I have a strict book first policy but mine have liked the Pooh books at a young age but I think it’s because they knew the characters from the Disney movies first. The older Pooh Disney videos are pretty faithful to the books and the stories are familiar. So as we read the book, I’ll say “remember when Pooh gets stuck in Rabbit’s hole...this is that storyâ€. I’m reading it to my 3 1/2 year old now and she likes it.

 

I agree abou the audiobooks also, it’s great hearing all the voices. We liked the Peter Dennis one but his Piglet drove us all bonkers, me especially. Obviously many people don’t have the same issue though.

[CrunchyGirl]

I think they are a little harder to read out loud than some other books (especially to the younger ones) but we absolutely love these books- and my kids loved them, too.

 

 

I thought it was just me! Something about the cadence made it extremely difficult for me to read and I think the kids picked up on the fact that I was struggling. I ended up getting the audio book set and they listen to it at night and during rest time. They love it now and I laugh so hard.

[Julie Smith]

We read the book for the first time 2 years ago. So my boys were, (come one basic math) 5 and 7.

 

I didn't read it, we listened to it on audio. We listened to chapter 3 two times. The second time I covered the table with soap and mixed it up to make it appear like the table was covered with snow. We then left tracks in the 'snow'. (I also got a cleaner kitchen table.)

 

This year my youngest re-listened to it twice by himself at night, then convinced his brother to listen with him. He kept calling in myself and my husband to listen to the good parts - in other almost any part.

[kiwik]

My kids like them ok but seem to prefer the poem books. They are 3 and 6 but the younger one will be four next week and has older tastes.

[boscopup]

My 6 year old LOVES the books. I absolutely hate reading them out loud though. I've never been a Pooh fan. DH and I specifically avoided all the Pooh baby stuff because we hated Pooh. And now I have a child that loves Pooh. :lol:

 

I'll have to check out the audio versions!

[SarahW]

 

I agree abou the audiobooks also, it’s great hearing all the voices. We liked the Peter Dennis one but his Piglet drove us all bonkers, me especially. Obviously many people don’t have the same issue though.

 

Yes, can he please stop oinking all the time! I guess it is his "tell" of a nervous twitch, but it made my nasal passages hurt.

 

My kid loved the Denis readings. He thought they were very funny, and liked the songs. I appreciated having a British guy read them for me, and sing the songs. We listened to them in the car, and DH and I would laugh at all the social commentary. And I realized that as a kid I had totally missed how annoyingly passive aggressive Owl is. And it dawned on my husband that the characters are archetypes.

 

So, even though Piglet makes me shiver, we'll probably listen to all the CD's again.

 

But one problem with the CD's is the lack of illustrations. I still picture the original illustrations and a bit of Disney as I listen, but I've realized that my kid is really fuzzy about the physical details. I know building a picture in the mind is worthwhile, but I don't think his head is quite there yet, especially not when it comes to talking kangaroos.

[forty-two]

Also, you really really have to do different voices, personalities, and inflection, as well as have a special way of pronouncing the Important Capitalized Words. If you aren't good at that, then the stories don't shine. So for some, these might not be a good read aloud.

 

Yes, this. I notice that a lot of kids who don't like the Pooh books have parents who don't like the Pooh books ;) - doesn't surprise me in the least that people who don't feel the love themselves have problems conveying that (non-existent) love to others. My girls both like Pooh, but I think a lot of that is because *I* like them, too, and when I read I try to infuse all the meaning that resonates with me from the word choices and The Totally Awesome Capitalized Words and such, so that the girls can hear what I see (and love). I don't do voices precisely, but I do read each character with a slightly different inflection, trying to bring out the personality in their words.

 

(Getting on soap box now ;)) I see reading aloud as an act of interpretation, bringing out what I see as the key meaning (or, in some cases, deliberately reading so as to bring out an alternate meaning) to make it more accessible to my kids. To me, reading aloud above-level stuff is not just of matter of me bridging the gap between the book and my kid's decoding ability, but me bridging the gap between the book and my kid's ability to understand - a good reading makes hard texts more accessible - it's effectively me giving them *my* interpretation of a book, drawing out what *I* see in the book, instead of leaving them to do the hard work of interpreting with just their own (more limited) resources. (And why if *I* can't find anything in the book to make it seem worthwhile to *me*, the odds of me being able to read it engagingly, in a way that inspires appreciation for the work in others is quite low - a poor reading can hurt the best of texts. I do actively try to find something to like about most works, but if I just can't feel it, then that's what audio books were made for. Go outsourcing, right ;).).

 

Also, that's why there can be big differences in audio versions - different actors interpret the work differently, and some interpretations resonate more than others, because they match the text better and/or they match the listener better. (Interesting that liturgy often is recited in such a way as to *minimize* this effect - to keep all the possible meanings open and deliberately *not* privilege some interpretations over others, so each person can meditate on the particular aspect that occurs to them and see different aspects at different times.)

 

Right, so that was kind of soap-box-y, and undoubtedly totally obvious to lots of you, but irl many people I hear read aloud don't seem to get the *possibilities* of what a good reading can do. (Oh, elders reading Scripture in the divine service, I'm totally looking at you :sigh.) So I thought I'd throw it out them just in case it might be useful. If you find it obvious and unnecessary, feel free to ignore ;).

[momma aimee]

Yes, this. I notice that a lot of kids who don't like the Pooh books have parents who don't like the Pooh books ;) - doesn't surprise me in the least that people who don't feel the love themselves have problems conveying that (non-existent) love to others. My girls both like Pooh, but I think a lot of that is because *I* like them, too, and when I read I try to infuse all the meaning that resonates with me from the word choices and The Totally Awesome Capitalized Words and such, so that the girls can hear what I see (and love). I don't do voices precisely, but I do read each character with a slightly different inflection, trying to bring out the personality in their words.

 

(Getting on soap box now ;)) I see reading aloud as an act of interpretation, bringing out what I see as the key meaning (or, in some cases, deliberately reading so as to bring out an alternate meaning) to make it more accessible to my kids. To me, reading aloud above-level stuff is not just of matter of me bridging the gap between the book and my kid's decoding ability, but me bridging the gap between the book and my kid's ability to understand - a good reading makes hard texts more accessible - it's effectively me giving them *my* interpretation of a book, drawing out what *I* see in the book, instead of leaving them to do the hard work of interpreting with just their own (more limited) resources. (And why if *I* can't find anything in the book to make it seem worthwhile to *me*, the odds of me being able to read it engagingly, in a way that inspires appreciation for the work in others is quite low - a poor reading can hurt the best of texts. I do actively try to find something to like about most works, but if I just can't feel it, then that's what audio books were made for. Go outsourcing, right ;).).

 

Also, that's why there can be big differences in audio versions - different actors interpret the work differently, and some interpretations resonate more than others, because they match the text better and/or they match the listener better. (Interesting that liturgy often is recited in such a way as to *minimize* this effect - to keep all the possible meanings open and deliberately *not* privilege some interpretations over others, so each person can meditate on the particular aspect that occurs to them and see different aspects at different times.)

 

Right, so that was kind of soap-box-y, and undoubtedly totally obvious to lots of you, but irl many people I hear read aloud don't seem to get the *possibilities* of what a good reading can do. (Oh, elders reading Scripture in the divine service, I'm totally looking at you :sigh.) So I thought I'd throw it out them just in case it might be useful. If you find it obvious and unnecessary, feel free to ignore ;).

 

VERY INTRESTING