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Childrens books you can't stand 😉


busymama7
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I got stuck reading The Grouchy Ladybug again today and it got me wondering if anyone *likes* that book. 😂😂😂

 

I love reading picture books and don't even mind things like Dr Suess. I love other Eric Carle books so picked this one up thrifting and can't for the life of me figure out the appeal or the point. It's going back in the donations box.

 

In an effort to be more positive, we recently found the bear books, like Bear Snores On and Bear's New Friend as well as the Jan Brett book The Mitten. Lovely books I have no issue reading daily. But The Grouchy Ladybug has got to GO!

Edited by busymama7
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"I'll Love you Forever" for sure. 

 

Otherwise known as "I'll stalk you forever". Subtitled "you can be a brat as long as you're nice to me on my death bed", or "this is a weird book supposedly aimed at children but really meant to give adults the feels to the point that they don't realize it actually has nothing to offer young children except guilt trips and confusion". 

Edited by pinkmint
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Peep and Ducky!!!! Aaaaargh!  Diggity diggity diggity dig diggity dig lucky lucky lucky trucky *four letter word* *four letter word*

 

Poke-a-dot: What's your Favorite Color? "meandmeandmeandmeandmeandmeandmeandmeandme..."

 

Grandma sure knows how to pick em  :mad: 

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Love You Forever

and

The Giving Tree

 

 

for similar reasons -- normalizing and glorifying what IMNSHO are quite distorted and toxic forms of "love."

 

 

Also, for different reasons, all Richard Scary and all Thomas the Tank Engine books.  Because, they do not make one lick of sense, not a one of them.  My mother used to pay me a quarter to read Richard Scary to my much-younger brother who adored them well past her considerable patience; I used to skip whole handfuls of pages and he couldn't tell the difference.  Then I grew up and had kids of my own and lo! Thomas the Tank Engine, same dang thing.  Nope, they disappeared quickly from my house...

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I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't like I'll Love You Forever and The Giving Tree. They made me uncomfortable. Dh grew to abhor The Poky Little Puppy and (I think it's called something like?) The Happy Man and His Dump Truck. I really impressed myself with how good I got at reading Fox in Socks.  :D

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When my kids were little, I hated reading Mr. Brown Can Moo. I loved that book when I was a kid, but I HATED making the noises. There was a similar truck one that was DS17's favorite - he'll even say that to this very day, that book was his favorite - but I HATED reading it because I hate saying "Vroom!" again and again and again.

 

At older ages, I have tried repeatedly to like The Hobbit, with no success. Recently, we watched the hs co-op put on a play of The Hobbit and I, yet again, wanted to give The Hobbit (movie) a try. Nope. Still hate it. I read all the LOTR books several years ago as a sort of academic exercise, but honestly, I just hate it.

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I actually didn't mind the Rainbow Fish.  I guess I have issues.  :P

 

I never could force myself to read The Giving Tree.  I tried a couple times but I jut couldn't.  Someone gave it to my kid when she was 5.  The giver, after stating that it was one of his favorite books ever, offered to read it to her.  My kid said, "that's OK, I can read it," and proceeded to do so.  Yay, I was off the hook!  I don't think my kids liked it any more than I did ....

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Rainbow Fish - the book that teaches you that being different is wrong. You *need* to fit in. Or maybe it teaches you that you should always give in to peer pressure. I'm not sure which message it sends.

 

You should give up whatever makes you special or else people will be jealous and no one will be your friend.

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Love You Forever, The Giving Tree, Bridge to Terabithia, and Where the Red Fern Grows. Hate them all, and they've never found a place in our home library.

 

Thank you. Near the beginning of the book, the cat gets injured repeatedly until he finally leaves home. This is intended to be a chuckle-inducing, humorous story. And that's just the beginning.  :mad:

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Love You Forever, The Giving Tree, Bridge to Terabithia, and Where the Red Fern Grows. Hate them all, and they've never found a place in our home library.

 

I didn't read that or any of the other pet death books.  I just didn't see the point.  My husband told me that it's so that kids will have "experienced" (in a way) pet death before it happens for real.  Well... we have experienced a couple of pet deaths and they were horrible and traumatic... but I can't see how reading those books would have made them easier.  My kids always knew they would outlive the fish (for sure!) and the dog.   

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So glad I'm not the only one who hated Life of Fred. I have a bunch of those books. Can I please give them away now?

I completely agree. I just don't understand the appeal of Life of Fred. Hate the art, hate the stories..just no. Can I add mine to your stack? ;)

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It's interesting how so many people don't like Love You Forever!  I wonder how it became so popular??

 

I was going to say that Oprah must have recommended it. :D I googled it and found that it actually is her favorite children's book. Her magazine has also mentioned it:

 

"In 2001, Maria Shriver wrote in O, The Oprah Magazine: 'I have yet to read this book through without crying. It says so much about the circle of life, youth, parenting, and our responsibility for our parents as we grow older. The message is so simple yet so profound. Love You Forever is a great gift for anyone with a child, or even for your own parents.'"

 

I think pinkmint hit the nail on the head. It sells because it gives grownups the feels. 

 

Blech. 

Edited by MercyA
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On the topic of Love You Forever, I've discovered there are two types of picture book readers.

 

The first type LOVES Love You Forever, and really can't stand the rest of Munsch's works.

 

The other sort may like Munsch or love him, but thinks of Love You Forever as gross and creepy.

 

The man has a sort of over-the-top writing style, and one way or another, it didn't hit the right notes in that one book. But those who love it, wow!

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The Pokey Little Puppy. I can't pinpoint why but I despise it. 

 

All Disney books. The writing is horrible. They read more like a dry summary than a story. 

 

Those are the only ones I can think of that I truly can't stand, but there are others that I just don't care for. Dora, Fish Out of Water, SkippyJon Jones, and some of those listed here come to mind. 

 

Oh and Magic School Bus. The books themselves are fine, but they make for better independent reads than read alouds due to all the bubbles and sidebars. It feels scattered reading those aloud. 

Edited by Whovian10
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I dont think there is any I dont like really. Even the awful ones my kids love i love to read to them. What I hate is lift the flap or noise books at bedtime. They are supposed to be winding down and my 4 and 5 year old are fighting over who pushes or lifts what and the baby is trying to wreck the book.. Ugh. Or when they pick a "looking book" like richard scarry or i spy books at bedtime. Those are for waiting rooms and car rides not a night story.

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