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Original poster

Books you hate reading aloud to your children

116 replies

RosaTransylvania · 22/10/2007 22:39

Was thinking tonight, as I trudged through a book I particularly dislike, how often my children reject my carefully chosen good books in favour of utter tripe. We're talking the Rainbow fairy books obviously, or history-obsessed DD2's current favourites, the turgidly written My Story series (though I suppose they are educational).
DD3 hits me with Topsy and Tim, Little Grey Rabbit and the unutterably tedious Animals of Farthing Wood.
What do you hate reading aloud?

OP posts:
Pruners · 23/10/2007 19:41

Message withdrawn

Mamamoor · 23/10/2007 19:35

Thomas the Tank Engine
Beatrix Potter - I personally love PB but the language is so incomprehensive for kids - have to keep stopping - 'what does this word or that word mean mummy'?)
Winnie the Pooh - for same reason
Mr Men
Flower Fairies - have given up for the moment.

carries · 23/10/2007 19:26

Depending on my mood "trotter street" by shirley hughes. And some of the Alfie books. Some of them I love but others are too long and too paragraphy!

UnquietDad · 23/10/2007 17:23

aaaargh not Rainbow Fairies
They are mind-numbing!!

DS's Noddy Annual is shite.

ravenAK · 23/10/2007 17:19

I hate Thomas too. Dull & rambling.

Dh is spectacularly allergic to Dr Seuss (which ds & I both love) - never mind not reading them, he can't even remain in the room whilst I do!

ThreadyKrueger · 23/10/2007 17:12

This is a good question. Some books seem to flow beautifully when read aloud. Others are like wading through treacle. When my children were little the books I hated reading aloud most were the Thomas the Tank Engine ones. I'd honestly rather have read out a computer manual or something.

The book that flowed most beautifully was Owl Babies 'Once there were three baby owls Sarah, and Percy, and Bill...'

empen · 23/10/2007 17:02

Mr Men - I hate reading them. I have bought a load of Disney story books and I like reading these although they are a bit far fetched and hard to explain sometimes

doggiesayswoof · 23/10/2007 14:47

Katie Morag. Good concept - little island community etc - but the stories are a bit obtuse, and the characters keep saying things like 'Gee whillickers' and 'fandabidoolidoozi' (I miss those bits out tbh).

MrsWeasley · 23/10/2007 14:37

I couldnt believe it when they killed off MOG, it was bad enough when he did his business in the wrong place.
"Mog and the V E T" was our favourite and "Mog the remarkable cat" My dd1 when she was about 4 used to have my DH in stitches (he actually fell off the sofa laughing so much once Men eh?!?!?)
DD1: "I want the mog story with the word I cant say in it!!"
ME:"which word it that darling?"
DD1 "Remarkable, I cant say that word"

she would say it perfectly but was convinced she couldnt and so DH used to get her to ask for this story all the time. LOL

witchandchips · 23/10/2007 13:34

Fidget and Quilly

pigletmaker · 23/10/2007 13:26

I don't know who wrote it, sorry - it went in the bin too quickly, as soon as I spotted that Mog had popped his clogs.

CarGirl · 23/10/2007 13:26

I do read out loud to them but I rarely enjoy it, fortunately dh usually does it - he hates Angelina Ballerina and a far few more that have gone to the charity shop!

Othersideofthechannel · 23/10/2007 13:25

Oh that's sad cargirl

Is Goodbye Mog by Judith Kerr. I love the other Mog stories.

CarGirl · 23/10/2007 13:19
pigletmaker · 23/10/2007 13:18

Oh yes, the Snail and the Whale takes some spontaneous editing to get through, if he hasn't turned to the end himself already!

pigletmaker · 23/10/2007 13:17

Elmer's Weather - er, why do we have to make fun of the multicoloured elephant in his sunglasses?

Ouch - because its so boring to read about a hedghog that gets stuff stuck in its pines, including some stuff that doesn't appear to be part of the story...

Goodbye Mog - a book about death which my MIL bought for our DS on his 1st birthday. Sorry, that's our call. Binned it.

Othersideofthechannel · 23/10/2007 09:43

Some Mr Men books.

But I love doing Mr Noisy and booming and whispering. I think the moral story is quite good too.

madamez · 23/10/2007 09:32

Some horrors my mum bought for DS: The Little Helicopter, The Little Fire Engine... Make no sense at all, atrociously written. I've managed to hide most of them. I was going to make DS dad read them, but he, er adapts the text (THe little police car saw Teddy on the street corner. Teddy's a pimp and a crack dealer...)

notnowbernard · 23/10/2007 09:32

Thomas

Winne-the-Pooh (the originals)

Can't you sleep Little Bear?

Sleeping Beauty

mrsmerton · 23/10/2007 09:29

Oh, I forgot, We're going on a sodding Bearhunt.

mrsmerton · 23/10/2007 09:29

Anything Thomas The Tank. Don't understand all that talk of sidings, uncoupling Zzzzzz

Also hate Mr Men books, refuse to buy them.

Also hate Snail and The Whale, love The Gruffalo and Room on The Broom, but the whale one leaves me cold.

I do read to my kids, despite sounding like an old grump!

boo64 · 23/10/2007 09:26

War and Peace - tis a bit long....

MorticiasMother · 23/10/2007 00:05

Financial Times, it's lost it's edge

lennygirl · 23/10/2007 00:04

Message withdrawn

TellusMater · 22/10/2007 23:57

I love Mr Men books.

I think they are extraordinarily entertaining

Only the old ones though. And not the Little Misses.