Books your kids like, but you don't [Archive] - Baby Bargains & Baby 411 Community

brittone2

10-24-2008, 01:30 PM

I have a bunch but they seem to be escaping me (But I know I groan when DS brings certain books out LOL).

I didn't like the Bear series when we first got them (Bear Snores on, etc.). I have no idea why. They grew on me and I like them now.

I hate any of the newer Thomas books. Blech!!! We only get them as gifts as we don't really do commercial characters (we have the trains, but DS has never focused in much on their names, etc.), but I really can't stand the storylines. They are probably my least favorite. Eta: they also end up moving into the donation box pretty quickly.

Bean606

10-24-2008, 02:08 PM

Three I can think of off the top of my head:

Goodnight Moon - I just can't STAND this book - I know I am probably in the minority, but it DRIVES me CRAZY! And the companion book "My World" is EVEN WORSE IMO.

Chicka Chicka 123 - Didn't hate it at first, but after 100+ retellings, I can't take it anymore!

Poky Little Puppy - Always hated it, even as a kid. Fortunately, DH likes it, so he reads it to DS -- A LOT.

Interesting that the PP mentioned Strega Nonna - I was thinking about getting it for DS for Christmas.

sidmand

10-24-2008, 02:15 PM

I've hidden a few books because I didn't want to read them again! Anything with a lot of text 'cause DS knows if I skip around. Although I've always skipped some of the text in Chicka Chicka 1-2-3 because it's so darn long.

I don't like The Napping House. I don't know why, but I really don't like that one. DS's new favorite is an Elmo one where Elmo is trying to find his way back to Sesame Street. It's not my favorite, but I can live with it.

Ceepa

10-24-2008, 02:16 PM

I hate any of the newer Thomas books. Blech!!! We only get them as gifts as we don't really do commercial characters (we have the trains, but DS has never focused in much on their names, etc.), but I really can't stand the storylines. They are probably my least favorite. Eta: they also end up moving into the donation box pretty quickly.

Oooh. I hate Thomas: the show, the storylines, the books. The engines are obnoxious, the faces on the engines are creepy, the toys overpriced. I'll stop now. :) DS has one Thomas book he asked for at a book fair. Every time he asked me to read it I found myself editing the mean language and being generally bored out of my mind.

wendibird22

10-24-2008, 02:40 PM

Glad to see I'm not the only one that dislikes Good Night Moon.

egoldber

10-24-2008, 02:40 PM

The only book I have ever hidden is Fox in Socks LOL!! I hate that book. it's a great book to read to yourself, but not out loud.

We do have some of those atrocious Disney princess books, but fortunately Sarah has abandoned those long ago. (I don't mind some of them, but some are really just awful.) I need to go through and cull them before Amy gets to the age of wanting them.

kerridean

10-24-2008, 02:43 PM

Walter the Farting Dog...crude and stupid

MaiseyDog

10-24-2008, 03:29 PM

Poky Little Puppy - Always hated it, even as a kid. Fortunately, DH likes it, so he reads it to DS -- A LOT.

Interesting that the PP mentioned Strega Nonna - I was thinking about getting it for DS for Christmas.

Poly Little Puppy was my husbands favorite book and my MIL, still to this day, refuses to read it. She did, however, give it to my daughter for her 2nd birthday and told her to have her daddy read it to her.

Strega Nonna is not bad, it's just long and I don't personally find the story all that interesting. My daughter likes it a lot though.

kijip

10-24-2008, 03:34 PM

My MIL gives us a lot of holiday books for kids. Which I don't have an issue with except how many holiday themed pop-up picture books does a child need? My son latched onto one that is huge, shaped like an Easter Basket and about a rabbit named Peter Cottontail. The whole awful thing rhymes the whole way through. And the rhymes are not well done. And he got it over 2 years ago. I would literally wince when I saw him picking it out for bedtime. I finally told him it was a book that he could read by himself. :wink2: When he was smaller, I really disliked any book about Corduroy. I really dislike Corduroy. Thankfully, he has moved on.

SASM

10-24-2008, 03:36 PM

Off the top of my head:

"I Love You Forever" ~ sweet idea but it creeps me out how the mom climbs in the window when he is older. I don't know...

Any of the "Curious George" ~ my kids love them and they are cute but he is misbehaving. The one that really bothers me is the one with the City and Train when the little boy goes beyond the gate towards the train track. EHHH!!

"Kapow!" ~ it's just annoying. I bought Superhero ABC instead.

I agree with Fox in Socks. Cute but LONG!

katerinasmom

10-24-2008, 04:06 PM

[QUOTE=SASM]Off the top of my head:

"I Love You Forever" ~ sweet idea but it creeps me out how the mom climbs in the window when he is older. I don't know..."

DITTO - That book is just creepy! But my daughter loves it.

brittone2

10-24-2008, 04:16 PM

LOL about Fox in Sox. It literally makes my mouth and lips tired :32:

catpagmo

10-24-2008, 05:13 PM

The Cat in the Hat....I hate it!

anamika

10-24-2008, 06:36 PM

Goodnight Moon - tahnkfully, I don't have to read anymore since DD has moved on.
Fox in socks. I hide it, she finds it :)

tylersmama

10-24-2008, 07:08 PM

Totally agree on I Love You Forever. Creepy.

I don't hate them, but I really dislike the Chicka Chicka books. We don't have them but MIL does and every time we visit (thankfully only a couple of times a year) I have to read them over and over. I don't know, they just seem kind of dumb, and the rhymes aren't even very good!

neeter

10-24-2008, 07:27 PM

Walter the Farting Dog.... uh.
And strangely, "Amelia Bedelia" books. We have a bunch as hand me downs, and after a while it starts to get tiring, Amelia not getting it. And her full name is always used, never just "she" did this or "she" did that (which I will sub in occasionally).

kijip

10-24-2008, 07:33 PM

And strangely, "Amelia Bedelia" books. We have a bunch as hand me downs, and after a while it starts to get tiring, Amelia not getting it. And her full name is always used, never just "she" did this or "she" did that (which I will sub in occasionally).

I agree with you. My son loves them and while I am likely over thinking it, it seems a tad sexist and classist. This rocks for brains maid that everyone loves because she can mix a little of this and a little of that and feed them. If they learned to cook for themselves, they would not need to put up with a person that otherwise has seemingly has a lobotomy. And if she is that challenged, it seems mean to threaten her or laugh at her as they do in the books.

I do tend to over think things...don't get me started on class, work ethic and other issues with Thomas the gosh darn train. :hysterical:

shawnandangel

10-24-2008, 08:30 PM

before dd was born I bought a few of my childhood favorites including puff the magic dragon As I read it to her last night I realized how sad it is. I wonder how she will take it when she is older.

DrSally

10-24-2008, 09:41 PM

I'm not a huge fan of this big Thomas book we got. I think DS likes the pictures and he seems fascinated with the trains getting muddy. I usually just make up a story, b/c they're too long for his age and some of them don't make sense.

purpleeyes

10-24-2008, 09:44 PM

Clifford...I know, kind of innocuous. I just don't get the appeal!

Cam&Clay

10-24-2008, 10:28 PM

I can't stand Curious George and The Cat in the Hat! Too stressful! Somebody needs to teach both of them how to behave properly!

Susan
DS1 1998
DS2 12/07

cvanbrunt

10-24-2008, 10:36 PM

"More, More, More, said the Baby". That is the creepiest picture book I have ever seen.

MamaMolly

10-24-2008, 11:09 PM

Off the top of my head:"I Love You Forever" ~ sweet idea but it creeps me out how the mom climbs in the window when he is older.

Yes!! Nothing like a little breaking and entering to say I love you. Ewwwww! So freakin' creepy. Can't stand that one! Will NOT have it in my house.

My SIL gave us the bathtub book version (abridged, I assume) of The Rainbow Fish and I had to throw it out. The message was to give away what makes you special and different so that people will like you. Buying friends, anyone? DH thought I was nuts until he read it himself, then he insisted it go, too!

JoyNChrist

10-25-2008, 01:14 AM

I really dislike "Doggies" by Sandra Boynton. I just don't like having to bark that much.

Unfortunately, we have it in English and Spanish and DS frequently requests both.

Fairy

10-25-2008, 02:06 AM

Oh, Stacy, you break my heart with "Doggies." DS knows each bark very well, and it's still in heavy rotation cuz *I* can't give it up. But I'll tell ya, her Personal Penguin I didn't get into. Had no rhythm, no metre. Wasn't impressed. DS was bored beyond belief. But 15 Animals is a hit.

Walter the Farting Wha? Ya know what, don't tell me, I don't want to know.

We love Captain Underpants around here. However, I see completely why it does not have totally wide appear among the parents that have to read the thing. I do skip some stuff . . .

I didn't used to like Goodnight Moon, but it's grown on me. It's out of heavy rotation now that DS is 4. My main beef with the thing was the use of color and how pukey they were. Did they not have pretty colors back in teh 20's or whenever the heck that book was written?

Cannot stand any book that has any kind of creature jumping on a piece of furniture, falling off, and bumping something. I don't care if it's monkeys, beds, couches, bouncing, or what. Hate hate hate those books.

I, personally, have a very hard time with some of the sad books. Like the Velveteen Rabbit, Puff the Magic Dragon, and The Giving Tree. I cannot get thru these books, myself, without sobbing. DS is already showing signs of having a very hard time with the goodbye forever concept. Not death, necessarily, but just parting with things when you're done with them, or the concept that you won't see a particular person again for whatever reason. So, to read something like Puff, or to get thru The Giving Tree when he's sitting there with that little stump and the tree is no more? I'm getting upset just writing about it, and I know DS will have a hard time. So, those books, while we have them (cuz MIL doesn't listen), stay on the shelf.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Please kill me.

kijip

10-25-2008, 02:09 AM

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Please kill me.
:yeahthat:

I thinned that book out of T's collection at the first opportunity.

elaineandmichaelsmommy

10-25-2008, 02:14 AM

We don't own I'll love you forever but from what you all have described it sounds creepy. I can stand a lot of books but right now our copy of dora the explorers halloween lift the flap book is getting VERY old.

Other than that I don't personally care much for the little critter books. I'm not a fan of the princess books but hey, as long as she's reading right?

tylersmama

10-25-2008, 02:14 AM

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Please kill me.
Seriously. My MIL the preschool teacher thinks that and Chicka Chicka 1 2 3 are the best books ever. Of course, DS won't let HER read them to him...no it's gotta be mommy! :6:

citymama

10-25-2008, 02:37 AM

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Please kill me.

Agreed! Fortunately DD can't stand it either.

ITA re Thomas - both the UK and US versions. Oh, and Runaway Bunny. Creeeepy mommy.

JTsMom

10-25-2008, 06:50 AM

ITA on the Thomas books, Love You Forever, and most character books. We don't have many, but DS loves them, and they make me want to gouge my eyes out (Clifford, Spot and Biscuit).

Fairy

10-25-2008, 08:27 AM

And I also have to agree for the most part with the Curious George books. The classics are ok. I don't adore them, but they're fine. But most of the new ones in the style of Margaret & HA Rey? They are positively awful. The Halloween Party one I actually kind of like, and the Takes a Train is tolerable. But on the opposite end of the spectrum, let me introduce you to my fireplace fodder: George and the Ice Cream Store. It teaches every bad concept there is. The man leaves George alone with a stranger, stranger is mean, and ice cream, and let's not even talk about eating habits. People, run from this book.

MamaMolly

10-25-2008, 09:42 AM

Oh, and Runaway Bunny. Creeeepy mommy.

If the Runaway Bunny = creepy mommy then you've GOT to check out I Love You Forever.

What do you call the Mommy that puts a ladder against her GROWN SON'S house so she can climb in the window and hold him at night?!?!? :eek:

hellokitty

10-25-2008, 09:45 AM

I can't stand the Thomas books or show. I'm sorry, but the trains are just plain bitchy to one another. My kids, esp my youngest though are just CRAZY about all things thomas. :rolleye0014:

I also don't like any of the Franklin books, I can't stand Franklin, and don't like the show either. He comes off as a selfish brat to me. We had a few Franklin books and I donated them. My kids seem to like it, but I don't.

Lol, my youngest is currently obsessed with spiders and trains and he likes me to read these really technical, and boring books. This is great, b/c he only three, BUT spiders creep me out and I am soooo sick of trains. My DH and I hid the train book, b/c it is tedious to read (like reading an encyclopedia, so it never ends) and I make my DH read the spider books, b/c I just don't like spiders.

Oh and my kids also like scooby doo books, which I thought were harmless, BUT now they sometimes have nightmares. So, no more scooby doo books (story reader), b/c it is freaking them out and no more halloween/spooky books for now, b/c I think that their imagination just runs wild. Maybe when they are older and can understand that it's just made up.

Melbel

10-25-2008, 11:44 AM

Rainbow Fish (socialist/communist principles - you have to give away what makes you special to be liked and accepted by others)

Junie B. Jones (improper grammar and adults who simply roll their eyes at very naughty behavior)

jerigirl

10-25-2008, 12:30 PM

If the Runaway Bunny = creepy mommy then you've GOT to check out I Love You Forever.

What do you call the Mommy that puts a ladder against her GROWN SON'S house so she can climb in the window and hold him at night?!?!? :eek:

Wow! I will have to check this book out to see what everyone is talking about! This does sound creepy!!!

egoldber

10-25-2008, 12:47 PM

pinkmomagain

10-25-2008, 01:11 PM

Funny, I enjoy reading the little critter, franklin, and junie b jones books. But I must be off, cause I don't like the richard scarry books that most people love.

JoyNChrist

10-25-2008, 01:35 PM

Wow! I LOVE the Chicka Chicka books!!! They are some of my absolute favs. What don't people like about them?

Now Doggies, OMG no. The only Boynton book I really, really dislike.

I like the Chicka Chicka books too. Of course, I also like Dr. Seuss's Fox in Sox, so maybe I'm just really into rhyming?

Glad somebody else hates Doggies. All the different barks! It seriously wears me out.

Although I do find it amusing that Avery always brings DH (who doesn't speak Spanish) the Spanish version and insists that he read it.

fivi2

10-25-2008, 02:10 PM

Wow! I LOVE the Chicka Chicka books!!! They are some of my absolute favs. What don't people like about them?

I can get the creepy factor in the Love You Forever type books, but I do think that kids find that kind of vision of unconditional and ongoing parental love comforting.

Now Doggies, OMG no. The only Boynton book I really, really dislike.

ITA - Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is one of my favorites!

I don't mind Runaway Bunny, but Love You Forever does kind of bug me. I agree with pp though that kids seem to find it comforting and not creepy.

Thatchermom

10-25-2008, 02:16 PM

elephantmeg

10-25-2008, 02:38 PM

John Deere fun at the County fair.
Any of the train books which just have a picture of a train and its name. So boring!
Personal Penguin disapeared recently, lol

brittone2

10-25-2008, 03:05 PM

:ROTFLMAO: at the Doggies book. That's another one I dislike...I'm in good company it seems :hysterical: I read Personal Penguin to the kids when we were at B&N recently. Yuck. Didn't care for that one either! (and I typically enjoy Boynton books).

JoyNChrist

10-25-2008, 03:09 PM

Doggies is currently stuffed under the couch. I didn't mind it for DS, but DD wants to read it 65 times a day. Do you know how much barking that is? It's a sad day when you're looking forward each time to the quiet dogs page...

Re: the quiet dogs page...DH started doing each dog's bark on that page anyway. Now Avery expects it every. single. time.

Remind me to kick Keith for that when he comes home from work...

:ROTFLMAO:

egoldber

10-25-2008, 03:51 PM

I wouldn't mind Fox in Socks if it wasn't soooooo long. But my tongue hurts by the end of it!!

brittone2

10-25-2008, 04:13 PM

I wouldn't mind Fox in Socks if it wasn't soooooo long. But my tongue hurts by the end of it!!

ITA. I feel like it is speech therapy. It definitely makes my mouth tired by the end ;)

tylersmama

10-25-2008, 05:01 PM

I don't mind reading Doggies *once* in a while. But my only problem with it is that DS goes through phases with his books where we have to read the same books every.single.night. It gets reeeeealllly old after two or three days!

As for the Chicka Chicka books...I don't know. The plot just seems really dumb to me and I don't like the rhymes. Some of them aren't very good and a lot of them are just stupid. JMHO. :p