Books You Loved as a Child But Don't Want for Your Kids

[Anonymous]

When I was a kid, I loved the Mr. Men and Little Miss series. Absolutely loved them. I read them over and over and over. I was so excited when I had kids because I'd found a used box set that had all of them and I was going to read them to my kids.

Well. I started reading them to my kids and quickly stopped. Mr. Tickle -- one of my favorites as a child -- is totally, completely creepy. Mr. Nosey is physically punished for curiosity. Mr. Uppity is literally brown, the only brown character in the series (I read somewhere they've changed that in reprints), and is physically shrunk until he is less "uppity." Then there's Little Miss Plump, Little Miss Ditzy, Little Miss Bossy, and Little Miss Fickle.

Yeah, they didn't hold up so well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tikki tikki Tembo. Totally racist

OMG yes this one! It was totally acclaimed though when we were kids!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about Superfudge by Judy Blume? I won't give it to my daughter bc it has a Santa reveal (she's a rising 3rd grader).

I hadn't remembered this and was reading it ALOUD to my kids....and then suddenly stopped...skipped over it! PHEW!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I reread some of those Judy Blume books as an adult. I'm convinced they're why I became kind of a a mean girl in 6th and 7th grade. I always rooted for the underdogs in those books, but at the end time I think they normalized mean girl behavior enough in my young mind that I became one myself. I don't know. I was a dummy.

OMG Same! I was just telling me DS and DD about this like two days ago. BLUBBER was the worst and totally remember "experimenting" on the bus to see if I could BE that mean. (I could. And then I felt very sorry for it afterward and apologized to the crying girl before we got off the bus.) Just awful. I was in 5th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Little Black Sambo. As a kid I just loved the tigers wearing clothes and turning into butter, but OMG even the title is racist.

I had this one on a Disney read-along record and it was changed to "Little Brave Sambo" and the kid was red-headed. Like the no-defunct SAMBO's restaurant chain. (I think there's still one in Santa Barbara though)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tikki tikki Tembo. Totally racist

I haven’t read this since I was a kid- what is wrong with it?

Basically it's a story to "explain" why Chinese kids now have monosyllabic names like "Chang" because the kid who had the long name ("Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sa Rembo Pep Beri Puchi Peri Peri Pembo"--or something crazy long and nonsensical, but fun for kids to try to memorize b/c it repeats throughout the story,,,which is basically why kids liked it!) fell into a well and the brother who tried to go get help took too long because he kept having to get through saying his name to try to get someone to come and save him.

And at the end of the book it's like "so this is why Chinese kids have short names" as like the moral of the story. (Probably whoever wrote it wasn't trying to be racist. It just as easily could have been a stupid story that ended with "and that's why tigers have stripes"--but that wouldn't go along with the name thing and making it repetitive and all that.) In the end, it just comes off sounding super racist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The original Curious George- sister gave this to DS and I was shocked reading it after all these years. all about stealing a monkey from the jungle and putting him in a zoo!

OMG we took this out from the library and holy hell! George smokes a cigar!

Haha, my DC loves Curious George but so much in those stories would totally get side-eyed today. Like in one story, George knocks over some exhibits at the museum and gets in trouble, but the museum director says he "will be forgiven" if he goes on this dangerous, life-threatening mission to space. And George does, because he is being pressured by the adults in his life and because he doesn't want to be in trouble. What?

How about the one where he ends up in the hospital for eating a puzzle piece and causes an incredible amount of damage but everyone just laughs it off because he made the cancer girl laugh???

Haha! Or the one where he's high on ETHER and it makes him get dizzy and pass out! The Goes to the Hospital one I think?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I reread some of those Judy Blume books as an adult. I'm convinced they're why I became kind of a a mean girl in 6th and 7th grade. I always rooted for the underdogs in those books, but at the end time I think they normalized mean girl behavior enough in my young mind that I became one myself. I don't know. I was a dummy.

OMG Same! I was just telling me DS and DD about this like two days ago. BLUBBER was the worst and totally remember "experimenting" on the bus to see if I could BE that mean. (I could. And then I felt very sorry for it afterward and apologized to the crying girl before we got off the bus.) Just awful. I was in 5th grade.

Wow, this is really interesting, tell me more about this? I didn’t find it that way at all and still don’t. I may have to remov th books from my daughters room,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I reread some of those Judy Blume books as an adult. I'm convinced they're why I became kind of a a mean girl in 6th and 7th grade. I always rooted for the underdogs in those books, but at the end time I think they normalized mean girl behavior enough in my young mind that I became one myself. I don't know. I was a dummy.

OMG Same! I was just telling me DS and DD about this like two days ago. BLUBBER was the worst and totally remember "experimenting" on the bus to see if I could BE that mean. (I could. And then I felt very sorry for it afterward and apologized to the crying girl before we got off the bus.) Just awful. I was in 5th grade.

Wow, this is really interesting, tell me more about this? I didn’t find it that way at all and still don’t. I may have to remov th books from my daughters room,

I didn't find these books to influence me in a negative way, either (I have no recollection of Deenie beyond the back brace.) I don't buy that the books create mean girls, but might normalize the behavior although that's a parenting issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I reread some of those Judy Blume books as an adult. I'm convinced they're why I became kind of a a mean girl in 6th and 7th grade. I always rooted for the underdogs in those books, but at the end time I think they normalized mean girl behavior enough in my young mind that I became one myself. I don't know. I was a dummy.

OMG Same! I was just telling me DS and DD about this like two days ago. BLUBBER was the worst and totally remember "experimenting" on the bus to see if I could BE that mean. (I could. And then I felt very sorry for it afterward and apologized to the crying girl before we got off the bus.) Just awful. I was in 5th grade.

Wow, this is really interesting, tell me more about this? I didn’t find it that way at all and still don’t. I may have to remov th books from my daughters room,

I didn't find these books to influence me in a negative way, either (I have no recollection of Deenie beyond the back brace.) I don't buy that the books create mean girls, but might normalize the behavior although that's a parenting issue.

I don't agree with that.

Most mean girls are created by friends and hormones, or sometimes contensious divorces, not moms.

I went through an awful mean girl minnion phase in 5th-6th grade.

My mom had nothing to do with it.

She was the kindest, gentlest, strong yet meek, inclusive, fun, loving person I have ever met. She would have been horrified if she had even an inkling of any of the mean stuff I was part of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, I wouldn't say I LOVED it, but I truly hate the message in The Giving Tree.

Oh man, I've always thought this was a sweet message about a parent's love for their child. You have this beautiful baby and the next thing you know you're giving up sleep because they need feedings, you give up your free time because you have to care for them, you have to share your home, your food with them. No other person in this world are you going to make these kinds of sacrifices for, yet, as the years go by you love your child more than ever and you gladly give of yourself to them. When they grow up you have the satisfaction of having raised them and provided them roots to continue their own growth. Soon they will become parents to their own children and the cycle will continue.

Well at least that's the message that I get from it. I once picked this book up for a Secret Santa gift exchange at preschool. I hope the child's parent was o.k. with this book, I certainly didn't mean to offend!

DS7's take: the kid is a brat, the tree is lame, and the graphics are terrible

I was like, agreed! And take a look at the back cover!

[Anonymous]

How about Uncle Remus? I have wonderful childhood memories of my father reading those stories though I know they are considered racist now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, I wouldn't say I LOVED it, but I truly hate the message in The Giving Tree.

Oh man, I've always thought this was a sweet message about a parent's love for their child. You have this beautiful baby and the next thing you know you're giving up sleep because they need feedings, you give up your free time because you have to care for them, you have to share your home, your food with them. No other person in this world are you going to make these kinds of sacrifices for, yet, as the years go by you love your child more than ever and you gladly give of yourself to them. When they grow up you have the satisfaction of having raised them and provided them roots to continue their own growth. Soon they will become parents to their own children and the cycle will continue.

Well at least that's the message that I get from it. I once picked this book up for a Secret Santa gift exchange at preschool. I hope the child's parent was o.k. with this book, I certainly didn't mean to offend!

DS7's take: the kid is a brat, the tree is lame, and the graphics are terrible

I was like, agreed! And take a look at the back cover!

My daughter takes the cover off and hides it. Sweet dreams, kiddos!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Little Black Sambo. As a kid I just loved the tigers wearing clothes and turning into butter, but OMG even the title is racist.

I was just going to post this! I loved the book, OMG...

White person here who had Little Black Sambo as a child. Never thought anything negative about black people as a result. Thought they liked pancakes like me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about Superfudge by Judy Blume? I won't give it to my daughter bc it has a Santa reveal (she's a rising 3rd grader).

I think a rising 3rd grader is plenty old enough to figure out Santa isn't real... don't most kids figure it out by 6 or so?

No.

Yes, you're wrong. Sorry...