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Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Primary education

DH not allowed to read Tintin books

38 replies

Madamecastafiore · 07/02/2014 19:54

At school as other children at be jealous.

FFS he hates reading (typical boy) and other than taking the sports section of the newspaper in only wants to read Tintin.

I know kids are supposed to do as they are told but forcing him turns him off even more and finally thought I had cracked it.

They are third hand after being tread by uncle and father so about 40 years old so not a sparkly new box set or anything.

Was going to try Asterix next but apparently that out of the question too!!

OP posts:

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Madamecastafiore · 07/02/2014 19:55

Sorry that DS not DH!

OP posts:

KatherinaMinola · 07/02/2014 19:57

Is this during free reading? Why aren't the other children allowed to read Tintin?

Beamur · 07/02/2014 19:57

Says who?

DaddyIsHome · 07/02/2014 19:59

What! If thats what he reada then that is what he reads. Jealousy is natural and schools should teach how not to be jealous. This is like their plans to stop school sports being competitive because some kids might get upset being called loosers. Thats shocking!

ErrolTheDragon · 07/02/2014 20:02

My DD didn't like reading either (its not a boy thing!) and was put off by her school reading challenges - theirs would only let them read a couple by the same author in the same year so that discouraged her from series such as Lemony snicket which she quite liked. So you have my sympathy. Once she started secondary and there was no prescription from school she started to read avidly!

I'm not sure what you can do other than to encourage him to read Tintin and Asterix to his hearts content at home and try to find something tolerable for school. Do you know what sort of books are allowed?

Madamecastafiore · 07/02/2014 20:02

Yes during free reading.

Was so bloody pleased that he wanted to read rather than having to nag him.

He upstairs now reading one rather than watching a DVD, he loves them so much.

OP posts:

Madamecastafiore · 07/02/2014 20:04

He can read anything else as long as not a 'cartoon' format apparently.

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lljkk · 07/02/2014 20:06

That's outrageous. Very daft school.
Around the start of yr2 the school was serially gushing about DD . How wonderful her writing & literacy skills. Blardeeblar. They couldn't tell me often enough.

She spent Oct-Jan of year 2 reading Nothing but Calvin & Hobbes books.

maillotjaune · 07/02/2014 20:07

That's just silly. The teacher my older two boys had in reception used Thunderbirds comics as a reward for effort (they got to take the comic home for a weekend) and Y1 & 2 teachers encouraged DS1's love of Asterix and Tin Tin which he still reads in Y6.

When he was 6/7 he didn't read the whole thing but he read and that's surely the bit that matters.

KatherinaMinola · 07/02/2014 20:07

Why not a 'cartoon' (or graphic novel...) format, though? Seriously, what is the problem?

I'd question that policy (but that's me).

KatherinaMinola · 07/02/2014 20:07

Asterix is excellent (with a pinch of salt) for teaching Ancient World stuff.

Ubik1 · 07/02/2014 20:08

That is ridiculous

ErrolTheDragon · 07/02/2014 20:10

Well, if he's reading happily at home (sh, heresy coming up) it probably doesn't matter too much if he takes a book in and doesn't really read it.

But would be nice if he could find something else... do you have any other of his dad's and uncles old books? Maybe they could find something else they loved at that age and see if he likes it too ... obviously the way to go about this is 'oh, I'm so glad you like Tintin too, I liked this as well' with no mention at all of the school reading!

ErrolTheDragon · 07/02/2014 20:12

She spent Oct-Jan of year 2 reading Nothing but Calvin & Hobbes books.

Wow...brave to let a kid of Calvin's age read those!

frugalfuzzpig · 07/02/2014 20:20

Oh so it's a "comic books aren't proper books" thing then?

FWIW my severely dyslexic DSD got to age 15 without ever truly wanting to read. Then she discovered manga and never looked back - she's always got her nose in a book now!

frugalfuzzpig · 07/02/2014 20:24

And if it's free reading time surely the others can take in tintin/asterix etc if they want

Or is it that DS is one of a minority who are at a higher level and allowed to bring their own, in which case surely a privilege of being able to choose your own is to, you know, choose your own

This has rankled me. I work in a library BTW... and if anyone here likes graphic novels I can really recommend the Wizard of Oz adaptations by Eric Shanower, they are GORGEOUS.

(End hijack - sorry )

nobutreally · 07/02/2014 20:26

What year is he in? From y3, both schools my kids went to had the very sensible policy that reading anything at all was to be encouraged - in fact I know the literacy spokesman talked how much kids can learn from reading the instructions on computer games .
I would ask them to explain exactly why the feel graphic novels are inappropriate. And maybe point them to a few contemporary classics like Persepolis (ranked #5 in the best books of the decade by Newsweek) or the gorgeous The Arrival by Shaun Tan ( that one doesn't even have any word). There's a historical snobbery about the comic format that is very unhelpful. And I write as an English literature graduate

ErrolTheDragon · 07/02/2014 20:28

Oh so it's a "comic books aren't proper books" thing then?

gah. Are the other kids are allowed to read Rainbow fairies or whatever the boy equivalent is nowadays? Tintin and Asterix are surely way better than a lot of the books churned out for kids now.

TheWomanTheyCallJayne · 07/02/2014 20:31

The English translations of asterix are very clever. In the original books the dog is called idéfix which means a fixed idea or obsessive which makes the translation to Dogmatix just inspired and clever on so many levels.
I don't get the problem with comics. Would picture books with the pictures and the words separated be ok?

iseenodust · 07/02/2014 20:32

I would ask the teacher to reconsider if that is the only reason.
Some Tintin books do have old-fashioned mores. There is racism and Captain Haddock is an old soak.

nobutreally · 07/02/2014 20:33

Oh god yes, if they accept the formulaic Rainbow Fairy shit and won't allow Asterix (ds's vocab and phonic skills were hugely enlarged by character names in Asterix...) then there is no hope for them.

TheWomanTheyCallJayne · 07/02/2014 20:34

And what would they say to something like this

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nobutreally · 07/02/2014 20:35

X post with Jayne

frugalfuzzpig · 07/02/2014 20:36

Ha. Yes Errol good point. (And I would say the 'boy equivalent' is beast quest btw although apparently they are slightly less lame than rainbow fairies)

There's a lot of dodgy issues in old books - I was horrified when I read Peter Pan to DD recently - but we just talk about it. Eg we have started famous five (my old favourite!) and talked about how it's silly that they thought boys were better than girls etc

TheWomanTheyCallJayne · 07/02/2014 20:37

If we're talking dodgy issues then look to Biggles. I bet they would be allowed

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