What books did you love as a child that really DON'T stand up to re-visiting?

[Takver]

Mine is "Children on the Oregon Trail" - our teacher read it to us at primary school in the top class and I loved it, we made maps of the children travelling across America etc etc. I tracked down a copy for dd and was sadly disappointed, partly because I had thought it was a true life story (it isn't) and partly because it just wasn't as good as I'd remembered.

Any others?

[lljkk]

Phantom Tollbooth and A Wrinkle in Time: both fell flat when I reread as an adult. And I completely don't care about Where the Wild Things Are although it was my absolute childhood fave.

Dogsbody, on the other hand, is still wonderful, even better than I remembered.

DD just got Are you there God It's Me Margaret from library, will have to see what I think of that.

[comeonbishbosh]

Heidi. Sadly, on re-reading, I realise it's a thinly disguised religious tract!

[TheElfOnThePanopticon]

I saw the header and immediately thought of Children of the Oregon Trail, too. I loved it in primary school, but found the racism shocking when I reread it aged 18.

[comeonbishbosh]

And Mr Men!

So eye catching when I was small, so tedious to read to DD now. Makes you realise how far picture books have come in the last few decades.

[SledYuleCated]

One called The Rainbow Garden or something similar. Spent a couple of years tracking it down because it was the first book that made me cry andninwas desperate to reread it. Got it and realised it's swivels evangelical and overly religious and a bit crap

[IrrelevantElephant]

Sweet Valley Kids/Teen/High. They seemed so grown up and got up to so much fun stuff, now re-reading it I'm like "you are 13 FFS, like that could happen!"

[WorkingtoohardMama]

Flat Stanley - loved it when I was about the age ds is now, bought it for him and what a load of crap!

[defineme]

The Narnia books-the tedious religious stuff/uptight kids went totally over my head as a child!

[joanofarchitrave]

Green Smoke and Dragon in Danger. I loved them. They are very, very dull and unimaginative.

[GreatCongas]

I've got boxes and boxes of biggles books. When I read them I knew they were dated and could overlook some stuff but tried retreading recently and I can't get passed the racism and sexism at all

[TheWombat]

Oh no! I adored Green Smoke :(

[TenPercenter]

I hate Mr Men books, so right, they are tedious in the extreme. I want to get dd famous five books as I adored them, I fear they will not stand up well.

Although I read "The Death of Grass" recently which features a lot of sexism/racism but still loved it (obviously not a children's book though).

[Takver]

GreatCongas, I've got quite a few Biggles books, I have to say I found the first one amusing on re-reading recently just because of the amazing slang. I think even in memory that one was less horrendously sexist/racist though as there just aren't really any women in it and they have quite a respect for the German pilots.

[MoaningMingeWhimpersAgain]

Mrs Pepperpot stories. I loved them, bought them for DD. Ever so dull in hindsight.

[SummerRainIsADistantMemory]

The Narnia books, specifically the later ones. Christian propaganda when you read as an adult

[CurlyhairedAssassin]

Oh yes, mrs pepper pot. Got one from the library - was shocked at how dull it is. In contrast Vlad the Drac which everyone was obsessed with in the last year of juniors had my kids in stitches - they loved it!

[CurlyhairedAssassin]

I reckon the moomins would have the same effect as mrs pepperpot. They were both quite subtle and calming books to read when I was a girl but wouldn't be exciting or funny enough for today's audience.

[TunipTheVegedude]

Oh I love Flat Stanley, never read it as a child.

When I first re-read Jennings and Just William I was struck by the difference - Jennings is quite flat whereas William is hugely witty and elegantly written. Not surprisingly, William was originally written for grown-ups and she only shifted towards writing it for children after she got feedback that the readers' children were loving it.

[TheElfOnThePanopticon]

But Worrals of the WAAF is one of my top fictional heroines! She can fly a plane, defeat the enemy, come out with a cracking one-liner and still find time to ditch a dull date for a trip to the cinema with her best mate Frecks. 0

[Takver]

I wonder if the Moomins just appeal to some people not others? I never liked them much as a child, nor did DH, but DD was given one of the books and really liked it.

Overall I've been really very impressed by the quality of children's books now especially those for older children and actually I think quite a lot of books from the past don't really stand up in comparison. Maybe there's just more money in childrens books post Harry Potter!

[TunipTheVegedude]

Elf - never heard of her, she sounds FAB!

[PseudoBadger]

Point Horror. God I loved them! But they are shite.

[41notTrendy]

I adored Famous Five books as a child. I re-read one recently and the most pleasure I got was the childhood nostalgia. It wasn't as exciting as I remember. I daren't read anymore. However my neice is reading them at the moment and loves them.

[TheElfOnThePanopticon]

Worrals was a female pilot in a series of novels written by WE Johns, who also wrote the Biggles books.

www.worrals.com/

[StellaNova]

The Famous Five. I adored them and had battered copies of all the books.

I was aware of the sexism and just used to handwave it by thinking "this was written in the past".

But what shocked me on reading some to DS last week was the violence! We had to abandon Five Go Off in a Caravan because the boy who lived in the circus was getting more and more beaten up by his uncle. I remember a bit of "cuffing" but nothing so graphic!