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Is is just me or are Children's Books terrible now? (1 Viewer)

Skoo

Skoo

Footballguy
As some of you may know from the thread I created, I became a dad on March 28th.

Of course we got tons of gifts, including a bunch of books which we just started reading to him. Now, I was an English major so of course I'm more critical of this stuff, but GOOD LORD is the writing terrible in most of these books. Some of them barely make sense.

Now I realize that Dr. Suess is the gold standard, but the difference between Suess and these new books is ridiculous. I just can't believe that these books are actually sold in stores (amazon), and that people are making a living off of them.

Yes, I have started thinking about writing my own. Any good artists out there?

 
Suggested titles:

No Daddy is not hurting Mommy when He does that Thing.

Forget that Word that you Heard when Daddy Tripped and Fell.

Don't Pull Uncle Tom's Finger

Yes, You were an Accident

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Skoo said:
As some of you may know from the thread I created, I became a dad on March 28th.

Of course we got tons of gifts, including a bunch of books which we just started reading to him. Now, I was an English major so of course I'm more critical of this stuff, but GOOD LORD is the writing terrible in most of these books. Some of them barely make sense.

Now I realize that Dr. Suess is the gold standard, but the difference between Suess and these new books is ridiculous. I just can't believe that these books are actually sold in stores (amazon), and that people are making a living off of them.

Yes, I have started thinking about writing my own. Any good artists out there?
Click to expand...
I find the opposite.  There are a lot of great children's books out there.  My parents kept some of the books I had as a kid and when I take my kids over there and read them I find those books are awful

 
Dickies said:
I find the opposite.  There are a lot of great children's books out there.  My parents kept some of the books I had as a kid and when I take my kids over there and read them I find those books are awful
Click to expand...
Yeah some of the old ones are totally racist and sexist too. 

 
Gashlycrumb Tinies is really great. Its for an older kid...5-ish if they get Dark Humor.

 
Green Eggs and Ham is the best.  I must have read that book over 500 times.  Every single night before bed.  "Dad read Hammy"  

 
yeah... childrens' books were just amazing when we were young. :mellow:  

honestly- it's no different... if anything, things have gotten better with more variety and ease of access. your kid is 2 months old and you're complaining about books? can the kid even see yet?

 
Skoo said:
As some of you may know from the thread I created, I became a dad on March 28th.

Now I realize that Dr. Suess is the gold standard, but the difference between Suess and these new books is ridiculous. I just can't believe that these books are actually sold in stores (amazon), and that people are making a living off of them.
Click to expand...
First off, congratulations and good luck with the new addition.  You're a good dude and that usually means you'll be a good dad.

While I don't think the books are any worse these days, there are MORE bad books out there than before.  Every celebrity thinks they can write a kids book, and most of them are horrific.  I enjoy Jimmy Fallon's show, but hay carumba what's with his kids book?  The worst.

My parents got suckered into buying those "include your kid in the story" books when I was a tot.  I think I still have one in the basement.  "The fireman asked, hey [your kids name here] do you know what color my truck is?"  Yikes.

 
Also old or new there will be some books you enjoy reading and sometimes you absolutely loathe.  These are usually the ones your kids requests you to read every night for a month

Even more fun is my 5 year old seems to enjoy fact based books instead of fun kids books, so I'm constantly reading the same T Rex or Shark facts to him

 
Dan Lambskin said:
Also old or new there will be some books you enjoy reading and sometimes you absolutely loathe.  These are usually the ones your kids requests you to read every night for a month

Even more fun is my 5 year old seems to enjoy fact based books instead of fun kids books, so I'm constantly reading the same T Rex or Shark facts to him
Click to expand...
I got my son one of those books that makes 10 or 12 animal sounds. It has a page for each animal with a some great pictures and a couple of facts and the child pushes the button on each animal on the side to play the sound on each page. Well, my wife made the mistake of pretending to be really scared by the tiger or alligator or both. I don't know. Now that's the only one he wants to read and only with mom. This has been going on for about 2 weeks now. She's getting tired of having to read him a story every single night while I sorta miss it. I figure he's got about 2 more weeks before he moves on to the next momentary obsession. 

 
EYLive said:
My personal favorite, "Shake shake shake - shake shake shake - shake your baby".
Click to expand...
The Little Sissy Who Snitched

Mr Fork and Mr Outlet Can be Friends

Strangers Have the Best Candy

Winnie the Pooh and the Mauled Camper

Curious George and the High Powered Electric Fence

Bi-Curious George

 
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TheFanatic said:
I got my son one of those books that makes 10 or 12 animal sounds. It has a page for each animal with a some great pictures and a couple of facts and the child pushes the button on each animal on the side to play the sound on each page. 
Click to expand...
Can't stand those ####### books. My mother-in-law has bought like seven of them for my son.

 
"Click Clack Moo" is a hoot. If you're looking for something you can either read on play a CD, I recommend Sandra Boynton's "Philadelphia Chickens" which is a musical about farm animals. 

Theres also my favorite from my toddler days back in the mid-60s, "Harry the Dirty Dog". 

 
fatguyinalittlecoat said:
Yeah some of the old ones are totally racist and sexist too. 
Click to expand...
Two that come to mind

we have a Bill Peete book about a broken old car which gets chased by a bunch of Indians. It's so wrong how badly they are depicted as complete savages 

the original Curious George where he gets kidnapped by the man with the yellow hat and brought to America on a huge boat in a cage is really odd.  In one scene he even smokes a pipe.     The entire series gets much lighter later when George gets caught letting the penguins escape the zoo 

 
Good Reads is a great app that can help you find better children's books....or any books for that matter.

 
Skoo said:
As some of you may know from the thread I created, I became a dad on March 28th.

Of course we got tons of gifts, including a bunch of books which we just started reading to him. Now, I was an English major so of course I'm more critical of this stuff, but GOOD LORD is the writing terrible in most of these books. Some of them barely make sense.

Now I realize that Dr. Suess is the gold standard, but the difference between Suess and these new books is ridiculous. I just can't believe that these books are actually sold in stores (amazon), and that people are making a living off of them.

Yes, I have started thinking about writing my own. Any good artists out there?
Click to expand...
Invest in a good version of Richard Scary's "plane's trains and things that go."

You'll thank me, at first.  Then you will curse me to hell.  We hid that  book more than any other in our house.  

 
Skoo said:
As some of you may know from the thread I created, I became a dad on March 28th.

Of course we got tons of gifts, including a bunch of books which we just started reading to him. Now, I was an English major so of course I'm more critical of this stuff, but GOOD LORD is the writing terrible in most of these books. Some of them barely make sense.

Now I realize that Dr. Suess is the gold standard, but the difference between Suess and these new books is ridiculous. I just can't believe that these books are actually sold in stores (amazon), and that people are making a living off of them.

Yes, I have started thinking about writing my own. Any good artists out there?
Click to expand...
What? Almost all of Dr. Suess's books "barely make sense." 

 
Tom Servo said:
"Click Clack Moo" is a hoot. If you're looking for something you can either read on play a CD, I recommend Sandra Boynton's "Philadelphia Chickens" which is a musical about farm animals. 

Theres also my favorite from my toddler days back in the mid-60s, "Harry the Dirty Dog". 
Click to expand...
Yeah, I ran across "Click Clack Moo" at the pediatrician office the other day. Highly recommend.

 
There! It took me almost 24 hours, but the book this thread gave me an idea to start, "Carolina Bathroom Tales" - complete with illustrations of talking peepees, weewees, woohoos and surgical incisions - is ready for the publisher. I want to thank Rok n Role for his consult and that Oxy10 giftbag is on its way

 
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