Which book makes you sigh when your child picks it up?

[KindergartenKop]

There are a few books I hate reading, usually the overly long ones. My DS loves a massive octonauts book but it goes on forever! He also loves Babar which is cute but the stories are weird, a bit racist and written in really tricky french handwriting.

Which books do you dread your DC choosing?

Oh and I also hate princess mirabelle. It’s like Julia Donaldson has a monent where she got fed up of rhyming and branched out but I just don’t enjoy it. My daughter does though.

Have to defend funnybones! We love it here. You have to do the voices and sing the song.

But totally and utterly in agreement about Thomas and pals. Xenophobic judgemental pieces of scrap metal. They are “Daddy books” in our house.

Anything by She knows I won’t read them anymore though!

I can’t remember hating any of her story books when she was little. There was one called Rosie’s hat. Bloody miss that book!

But we loved Barbar. I had a Barbar voice and we used to laugh at the mushroom death 😂 and Uncle Cornelius's (think it was him) dancing at the wedding.

Paw Patrol books - soooo long and make no sense, and I always have to read not one but TWO

We had some terrible Disneyfied Winnie the Pooh book that drove me utterly bonkers. I used to drop it down the side of DS1’s bed. Once every 6 months or so he’d find it there and force me to read it. Eventually I just dropped it in the outside bin on the way to work one day. Oh the joy.

DS2 and 3 are twins. If you think Biff, Chip and Kipper are annoying when you have to read them once. The sheer teeth-gritting tedium of reading two of those books with a pair of reluctant 5 year olds, and then to open the book bags to find the same books but just swapped over the following week. Aargh! It’s like the worst ever remake of Groundhog Day.

The Snail And The Whale. I had to give it away.

**That should have been anything by

Surprised at the hate for Mr Men. I loved reading them and the little misses.

Also loved cat in the hat. Would still do the gruffalo if she’d let me.

@Gulsink Tabby McTat has gone missing from this house too.

My Big Shouting Day

Enough said

The singing mermaid. It's just soo bloody long I want to cry every time she picks it out 😩

There’s a monster in your book- we’re on our 3 millionth reading of this and I will blow my brains out if he discovers I’ve hidden it behind the sofa.

Any Charlie and Lola book- DCs got a box set of them for Christmas, the family member in question has been disowned.

Room on the broom- same reason as monster in my book. Just. No. More.

An octonauts Christmas one.
At the moment, Alfie and the big boys, only because ds3 wants it every other night and makes me substitute his name for Alfie's and his best friend's for Bernard's. It's been going on for weeks. I used to love Alfie. :(

Rainbow Magic. Dh picked up a stack of 20 at the charity shop. Feels like we've been reading the same book forever.

Also Charlie and Lola. So hard to read aloud, no flow, very unnatural, and often written in quirky patterns.

Agree about Babar!

Jolly Postman, too long and too much of a faff.

MIL finds these awful books with collections of stories for girls (fairytales or ones with do-good fairies) plots are terrible, misogynistic and the characters are so wet. And books with any bloody princess who gets married to a man she just met and lives happily ever after.

Anything with sexist stereotypes (traditional fairytales etc) or tediously old-fashioned (Beatrix Potter etc).

But mostly anything that we've done to death - Bing/Gruffalo/Noddy. I never say no to these ones though. As long as DS enjoys them!

Those project X reading books. Fortunately the dc hated them too so they rarely came home.

Rainbow fairies

We did often find hiding places for any we both didn't like the first time so we were left with mummy books, daddy books and ones we reread a million times!

It was We're going on a Bear Hunt . Thank God they're a bit too old for it now, cannot stand that book.

DS got given a book called "father Christmas needs a wee". He loved it. I hated it, it didn't flow nicely or rhyme or even make much sense!

Also Charlie and Lola. Love the tv show but yes, bloody impossible to read - though the books do look nice.

Also Bear Hunt

One I do seem to be able to read over and over is my own childhood favourite, The Giant Jam Sandwich - love it, doesn't get old to me!

Oh god, and especially Rhyming Rabbit, awful!! Dreadful rhymes, and sooo long!

Oh God yes Beast Quest and Rainbow Magic books.

The Elephant and the Bad Baby.

Any of the God awful long winded Peppa Pig books

Also to add: The Gruffalo. Actually most Julia Donaldson books.

Hated the Mr Men books (so dull and repetitive) but loved Click Clack Moo - Cows that type.

I love all the rhyming Julia Donaldson books as they flow and are easy to read with emphasis. She was on a roll when she produced all of those. My kids loved them and I never minded reading them...even repeatedly.
I’m not so fond of her other books it must be said...over long and boring. The Princess and the Wizard etc...that one about the hairdresser and the prince who likes gardening...the singing mermaid...all absolute bollocks. Sorry Julia. X