Twaddle vs. good stuff - which are these?

[Tranquility7]

My DH has these books on his shelf for DS. I've never read them. DH asked me to ask you, are they twaddle, or good lit, or somewhere in between?

 

1. Redwall series by Brian Jacques

2. Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer

3. The Borrowers series by Mary Norton

4. The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks

 

 

 

[PeterPan]

Read 'em!  

 

SpongeBob is twaddle, and even then to a mom with a budding reader it's a stepping stone. (ie. it's all perspective)  Twaddle is that line of Sweet Valley High books we read when we were kids.  Even then it didn't rot our brains, lol.  Twaddle has its place if someone is tired and just needs to relax.  

 

I haven't read the Artemis Fowl books.  Redwall is beautiful and dd enjoyed them.  I did the Borrowers as a read aloud and ADORED it.  The moving is also memorable and sweet.  Anything by Lynne Reid Banks is worth reading.

[kiana]

Different people have different definitions of twaddle -- it's sort of like a 'healthy diet' or anything else subjective.

 

That being said, I have not read 2. but I like 1 and 3 a lot. I would not consider them 'literature' per se, but I think they are excellent children's books. The plotlines in the later Redwall books get a little repetitive for adults, but I do not think this is a bad thing for children. I also enjoyed 4, but some have chosen not to read that because of issues with racial stereotypes.

[amazzie]

In between, but the kinds of books that ds is liable to treasure, so well worth reading. My ds recently read the entire Indian in the Cupboard Series and has Redwall on the shelf. I don't know if he'll read them because he kind of has the audiobooks memorized.

[Farrar]

Artemis Fowl is definitely on the lighter side of reading but well written and fun. The others I would consider all children's classics of the last 50 (or slightly more for the Borrowers) years.

 

Another vote not to overly categorize these things.

[HS Mom in NC]

We've read 3 and 4.  I wouldn't call it great, classic literature but I would call it quality, contemporary literature. So, no, it's not twaddle. They have good vocabulary, good sentence structure and interesting ideas. They teach kids to love reading for the pure joy and magic of it.  They're definitely worth your time. Not everything is Beowulf, Gilgamesh or They Odyssey and not everything has to be.

[Hunter's Moon]

As others have said, twaddle tends to be subjective.

 

The only thing I have come across that I would deem twaddle would be Captain Underpants and the like. Potty humor does not have value.

 

I wouldn't call the above listed books classic, but they have their value, especially if it leads your child towards a lifelong love of learning.

[Desert Strawberry]

I'm not opposed to a little twaddle at times, but I wouldn't call any of those twaddle. Maybe lit, maybe not. But decent quality.

 

Those Lego and Star Wars leveled readers that my kids insist on bringing home from the library are twaddle. I won't read them. It's too painful. Junie B. Jones is twaddle. I agree that the Sweet Valley High books are twaddle, Captain Underpants, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. 

[Farrar]

I'm surprised I'm the only person who seems to think that they're modern classics (not Artemis Fowl, but the others).  Redwall and The Borrowers both routinely appear on best children's books of the 20th century lists - not in the top ten or anything, but in the top 50 or 100.

[Coco_Clark]

I'd call The Borrowers, and the first few Redwall books modern children's classics. They are no more twaddle than Trumpet of the Swan or The Railway Children.

 

I've never read Artemis, and I loath the Indian for other reasons, but I will root for Redwall till I die :).

[Lucy the Valiant]

In our house there's a category between "Literary Classics" and "Twaddle" . . . we call them "Classic Children's Books." :)

 

These fit into THAT category, at our house.

 

ETA: I agree that Artemis Fowl books are the lightest of the list, but - they're still okay. I put them in the same category as Margaret Peterson Haddix's stuff (though not as high as Avi's stuff), if that helps.

[Tranquility7]

Great, thanks for all the input!

Also, I agree with the general idea of not minding some twaddle, not categorizing too much... The reason I was asking about these books is because while we do have some twaddle around here, we won't read it aloud or get audiobooks of it. IOW, the kids are welcome to read twaddle to themselves, but no one else is going to do it for them, LOL! So DH was wondering if those books should be on his "possible read alouds" book list, or just on the twaddle shelf for the kids to pick up on their own. (Also he is trying to purge our bookshelves lately simply because he says we have WAY too many books (I know, is that even possible?! According to him, it is!). But he also didn't want to get rid of too much good stuff, so I think he was trying to decide if these should be on the chopping block or not.)

 

Anyway, thanks for the helpful responses!

 

[stripe]

I'm surprised I'm the only person who seems to think that they're modern classics

You're not!