LNC Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 I pre-read Sarah Bishop by Scott O'dell for my 9 1/2 yod. I'm glad I did! What a downer! My daughter Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell and loved it. I'm assuming it wasn't dark bc she said it wasn't? What are some other titles you have pre-read that were too dark for your children? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ria Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 (edited) Actually, I found Island of the Blue Dolphins to be deeply disturbing. The murder of the tribe and the death of the brother are pretty grim. I find the ending sad, too. ETA: That said, my children all read the book. I don't pre-read or make books off-limits. Ria Edited March 2, 2009 by Ria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surfside Academy Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 I found the Tales of Desperaux pretty dark. Desperaux basically sentenced to a violent death by his own family, physical abuse of the girl and the resulting disability. Ugh! I didn't see the movie but I wonder how they "fluffed" up this story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNC Posted March 2, 2009 Author Share Posted March 2, 2009 Yes, she told me the father and brother were killed etc. She said it was sad, but mostly about the girl's survival - so it was inspiring to her. That is basically the story of Sarah Bishop, which I thought was dark. I wasn't inspired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 We wish we'd pre-read this one - DH read a story out of a children's book treasury called "The Red Shoes." Ouch... completely dark and depressing. He read "The Three Little Pigs" afterwards and at the end Becca asked, "So they're all still alive?" :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 I don't pre-read here, but my oldest son stopped reading the first Lemony Snicket book because he found it too depressing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnetteB Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 (edited) DD, 14, just came in and told me that she finished reading "Sarah Bishop." She gives it a poor review, too. I don't care for "The Bridge to Terabithia." Dd says "The Red Shoes" was awful! Edited March 2, 2009 by AnnetteB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ria Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 I don't pre-read here, but my oldest son stopped reading the first Lemony Snicket book because he found it too depressing. I agree. We had gotten the book on tape for a long trip. After 10 minutes the kids and I had had enough. Icky. Ria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herding Cats in NC Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 I'm convinced that you can't win the Newberry Medal unless someone in the book dies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 Well, we like Lemony Snicket because my kids find it funny. I think they don't consider it to be at all real but just a joke story about things going wrong, wrong, wrong.... As far as a story that caught us offguard, The Velveteen Rabbit is horrible IMO. Hate it. Made my dd cry. Hans Christian Andersen's tales can be tough too but somehow I (& the kids) find them more acceptable. I hated Bridge to Terabitha; dd doesn't want to read it. DD says she steers away from anything which has the Newberry Medal on it as it tends to be depressing or have an ambivalent, unsatisfying ending. Otoh, tragedy, is a legitimate literary genre; but I prefer tragic things to be in context of adventure or overcoming adversity & too much of what I've seen in YA is just maudlin..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 I'm convinced that you can't win the Newberry Medal unless someone in the book dies. This is my impression too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabrett Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 Stone Fox My dd had to read it in 4th grade. We both hated the ending!!! Why have kids read books that have so much death? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AuntieM Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 I'm convinced that you can't win the Newberry Medal unless someone in the book dies. Actually, I find that Newbery list pretty much runs the gamut from wonderful to wonder-who-thought-THAT-was-appropriate for a 4th grader??? I always preread Newberys... One Newbery that comes to mind is The Egypt Game. I did not like Inkheart. I think the premise was great, but to me, none of the characters were purely heroic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 If a book wins a Newbery Medal, that is the kiss of death for it, as far as my kids are concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LilyK Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 My dd went into hysterics about 2/3 into Where the Red Fern Grows. That's when I started pre-reading. At the time, she was just way too young for that subject matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bee Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 I absolutely hated Inkheart.Dd loved it. Neither of us liked Bridge to Terabithia. The Red Shoes,if I'm thinking of the right version, is a Grimms' fairy tale. I've heard/read somewhere that those were written for adults originally, not children. The Red Shoes never gave me nightmares but that horrid poem, "Little Orphan Annie" sure did. It had nothing to do with the comic in the newspaper. And let's not even get into discussing the books being written for teens... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 As far as a story that caught us offguard, The Velveteen Rabbit is horrible IMO. Hate it. Made my dd cry. Hans Christian Andersen's tales can be tough too but somehow I (& the kids) find them more acceptable. Otoh, tragedy, is a legitimate literary genre; but I prefer tragic things to be in context of adventure or overcoming adversity & too much of what I've seen in YA is just maudlin..... Oh how I hate the Velveteen Rabbit!! I sob reading it! I love what you said about tragedy as a genre. I agree. Having said that, my younger one is an addict of Greek Myth, Hans Christian Andersen and The Brothers Grimm. No Disney Princess cr*p in our house. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Virginia Dawn Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 I don't trust anyone's assessment of a book but my own. I've pre-read almost everything my kids have read. It helps that I had a head start and I love to read. That being said, I don't forbid my kids to read books, I might ask them to wait a few years or guide them to something I know they will like better. Yes, so much of literature has themes of human, or animal, suffering and dying. Then at a certain level you have to deal with lust as well. I think a lot of literature was written for an older audience than the age at which we hand it to our children. The main thing is to know your child and what he/she can handle. I believe there comes a time when you have to let go of that control, but for me 9 is not it. My 9yo expressed a desire to read exclusively from the Young Adult section of the library and I nixed it. I knew that just because he could read his way through the Lord of the Rings that didn't mean he should skip all the wonderful literature written for kids his age. Even that is filled with enough characters with thoughts and experiences that he never would have encountered if he didn't read. He still doesn't understand that being physically able to read something doesn't mean that you should, even though I've tried to explain why. As for darkness, I guess it comes out of the author and his experience or understanding of the world. Sometimes a book is the only way a child comes to understand the pain of certain situations, like orphanhood (a recurring theme, lol). I think it makes them appreciate their humdrum white bread worlds a little more, or gives them courage to stand up for injustice, or sympathy for those whose lives are harder than theirs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen sn Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Oh how I hate the Velveteen Rabbit!! I sob reading it! I love what you said about tragedy as a genre. I agree. Having said that, my younger one is an addict of Greek Myth, Hans Christian Andersen and The Brothers Grimm. No Disney Princess cr*p in our house. :) I get a little teary eyed reading The Velveteen Rabbit - not because it is sad, but because it is so beautiful. Love made him real. I'm sappy. I still have Tigger (obviously a tiger) from when I was 3 years old. He's 33!!! And he slept in my bed until my daughter was born. (She slept in our bed). My voice always gets choked up when I am reading the end and dd says, "That's your crying voice." And I can't stand the Disney princess crap either! I never watched those stupid movies with dd. If anything I'm like, "You *do* realize that no prince charming is gonna swoop in and the save the day in real life, it's up to us to make our world the way we want it to be" when those cartoons are on at other peoples' houses. Which is why I LOVE Ever After when Drew Barrymore and the prince are surrounded by the thieves in the woods. And the ring leader says she can take one thing with her when she leaves *if* she can carry it out. So she goes over to the prince and lifts him up and starts to walk away. What an awesome movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Oh my word. Awful and depressing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Mine loved Snicket until the very last book, where they were very disappointed that there was no happy ending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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