Children's books that drive you crazy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate curious george, he never does as hes told, gets into a lot of trouble and then is a hero at the end....not a message I like

No way; it's all because the man in the yellow hat is ALWAYS leaving George unattended. Who in their right mind would tell their monkey to wait there for a minute, again and again and again, given his track record? It's like leaving your 3 year old unsupervised and expecting he won't get into any trouble!

I detest 10 Minutes Til Bedtime. I don't even know what those animals are and what is supposed to be going on. Stupidest book ever--and laziest author ever. I don't mind Goodnight Gorilla, though.

[Anonymous]

I hate Fancy Nancy. The one we have uses a somewhat advanced word every page or so and then defines it in a super annoying way, like "I was delighted, which is fancy for saying I was really happy." I just skip the "which is fancy" definition when reading it aloud. It sounds so condescending.

Also feel uncomfortable reading the Babar books.. I love the illustrations, but the stories are colonialist nightmares! Lots of mentions of "savages." I edit heavily.

More dislike for Mo Willems-- we have Knuffle Bunny Free, in which spoiler alert, his daughter, who seems to be only three or four years old, is told that she's getting too old for her stuffed bunny and it doesn't matter that she lost him on the airplane. She internalizes that and when she miraculously finds the bunny again, gives him away to a random baby. Then the baby becomes her pen pal and mails the bunny back to her after the daughter grows up and becomes a mother. WTF?!

I do love Dr. Seuss, despite how long they are. Horton Hears a Who is my favorite. The rhymes are just so clever and fun to read. Love that sour kangaroo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:THIS is a great thread.
(1) Love when Tallulah gets in the bathtub with Maisy.
She IS pushy but it is just so unexpected and too funny. We always had good laugh about that one.
(2) Don't like most Sandra Boyton. Why does she have to introduce the word "ugly" so often in cute toddler rhyming books. It's odd.
(3) Agree that Mo Willem's pigeon series is annyone. But love Piggie & Gerald.
(4)My MIL gave us "I Love You Forever," too. Creepy.
(5) Runaway Bunny is creepy. Many years ago, husband took to quoting the page "Become the wind and blow you." Never could read with a straight face again.

SO glad my husband isn't the only one who does this...I seriously cannot read that page now!

How about "I Love You, Goodnight" when the mom says "I love you like wind loves blowing?!?" DH and I giggle at that one.
Haven't read the whole thread but what about "Goodnight Gorilla," where the animals all sneak into the house and get in bed with the wife? Creepy.

[Anonymous]

What about "Let's Go Riding in our Strollers?" They go and pick up daddy's shirts - ugh, 1950 much? They there's a part about "would you like to eat my cookie? eat my fat and munchy cookie?" DH always giggles.

[Anonymous]

Spike Lee wrote a book for CHILDREN called "Please, Baby, Please"? Am I the only one here old enough to remember the movie (of his) in which this phrase originated? It was a great movie, but there is no way that, after seeing it, I could ever use the phrase with my children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I saw the title of this thread and immediately thought
I Love You Forever
The Giving Tree

It is so awesomely validating to click on it and find such universal hatred for these two books.
For those of you still reading books for your younger kids, just know the hits keep coming as they get older.
My kids came home the other day with their latest novel assignment from school.
Where the Red &%$#! Fern Grows
Aaack! My husband and I both tried (and failed) to put on our poker faces. Poor kids--they don't know what they're in for...

Must say I'm scratching my head over this. What is wrong with Where the Red Fern Grows? I thought it was absolutely terrific.

[Anonymous]

Knuffle Bunny Free makes little sense without the previous two books. In the first Trixie is a toddler and it is the end of the world that her bunny is missing. In the second she is in Kindergarten and it turns out okay when she takes the wrong bunny home. By the third book she's clearly somewhere mid-grade school. I can't read it without crying but I think it is lovely. (In full disclosure, I had a beloved stuffed animal that I lost in a hotel room in my late 20s that I am still crushed by that loss...)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Giving Tree.

Me too. I think it's wierd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Giving Tree.

Agree! What is the moral of the story? Give everything you have to some ungrateful lout and you are left... a stump?

You should watch Sassy Gay Friends version of The Giving Tree advice!
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XYQavD9mSIc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Richard Scarry -- the "Cars, Trucks, and Things That Go" book is I swear like 70 pages long. I think DS deliberately chooses it for bedtime because it takes forever to read it. And you have to find this super teeny tiny bug "Goldbug" on nearly every page. It drives me insane. But...DS loves the book and the pictures are cute and interesting, so what's a mom gonna do, right?!

Love this thread. Yes, Cars and Trucks can be long but I've found that DS knows where goldbug is now, and the book moves fairly quicly because all he wants to do is locate Goldbug and turn the page.

LOL! My DH loves this book. He had it when he was a boy. He read it to our kids nightly from age 1-6!! They all still love it. I find it a bit...tedious....but it is pretty cute.

[Anonymous]

Pat the bunny

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another vote for I Love You Forever. That mother has serious boundary issues.

That mother is my MIL! She gave us that book, a few days before the birth of our first child. It was wrapped in DH's old infant sleeping gown (the dangerous drawstring kind) and she included his dried up bellybutton in a little paper packet. It was pretty scary. After 15 years I still joke with my DH about waking up to a ladder outside our window and his mamma rocking him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pat the bunny

Aaww, for why?

[Anonymous]

Children's books always make me crazy. I recently bought a book Samuel and the Pirates for my kid. It is available on kindle as well. Here is the link

http://www.amazon.com/Samuel-and-the-Pirates-ebook/dp/B00AKCO8JC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355873677&sr=8-1&keywords=samuel+and+the+pirates

He really love this amazing book when we traveling in a car. I must say this will be a best gift for your kid on this Christmas.

[Anonymous]

The Velveteen Rabbit. I tear up just thinking about it, and have since I first read it as a child. It's evil.

So of course I received 3 copies of it between my baby shower and the time DS turned 1.