...to be cross that DD (6) brought home a Barbie book from school library?

[redrobin]

AIBU to expect that school libraries not to contain trashy books geared towards seeling stuff? To add insult to my injury the book is called "Barbie - Wedding Planner'. I utterly despair if the librarian actually chose this. so...aibu to expect higher literary standards within an educational environment?

YANBU. I can't believe someone chose that for the library ahead of something else more suitable.

DD1 reads her Barbie book to herself sometimes and I've read it to her. I don't think it's very well written but it's about having an adventure with her female archaeologist friend, it isn't about sitting at home painting their toenails and dreaming about Prince Charming. Basically it isn't the worse thing I've ever seen for a six year old to read...

DD1 is currently reading Romeo and Juliet as her school reading book by the way (Usborne through not the original Shakespeare :)).

You come across quite pompously OP. I've no idea why Katie Price is a popular author, not my choice but not my way to sneer either.

Why don't you get off your backside and take your daughter to the library YOURSELF, to find something more enriching/non-commercial instead of finding something so very trivial to quibble about. A school isn't responsible for taking care of all a child's educational needs.

"A six year old is better better reading anything than nothing" since when????

Bit of a sad attitude is it not.

I have 3 extremely able and fluent readers,I'm an ex literacy co-ordinator and primary teacher.One of my dc was a reluctant reader albeit a good one.

Sorry with any of the above hats on not once have I ever come across the above comment being helpful. Trash can turn kids off,all kids deserve quality and if I'd just had the above attitude to my said reluctant reader there is no way that he'd be reading as much as he does today.

Just because a book has Barbie or Ben 10 on it and the kid likes the pretty cover, choosing it because of marketing, it in no way follows that he/she will read the damn thing or go on to read more.It takes an awful lot more than a brand name to get kids reading.If only it was that easy.

Oh for goodness sake. It is a book. One book. Out of how many that she will read over her school life. And presumably it is a book that she chose herself from the library from a selection of many. And she is 6 years old.

TBH I can't imagine a Barbie book is any worse than those dreadful Rainbow Magic or Animal Ark loads of little girls feast themselves upon at this age anyway.

Children should be given free reign over some of their reading material so they can learn what they like and don't like, and to see what is out there. It doesn't matter if their reading material is a comic, newspaper, book, the back of the cereal box - so long as they get chance to cread and explore reading for themselves.

Yes, guide them into more suitable material for learning purposes, and also every so often elsewhere to to encourage them to try new genres, or new authors. But not all the time!

Is everything you read high brow intellectual stuff too?

Also bear in mind that some of the books in school libraries may well have been donated from parents. Certainly in our class book browser we have a big selection and many are donated books. i know, I have taken some in myself - and yes, there are some branded ones in there. Sometimes the children like to read them, shock horror!

yes I know you dont object to her owning a Barbie, hence my question.

"A six year old is better better reading anything than nothing" since when

Reading is a skill, the more you read,the better you get at it, and the more you are likely to be able to read.

Ergo, reading something is better than reading nothing.

But it's an excellent start, MilaMae, and usually the first step.
We have a Barbie book in our library - we often get books donated and I accepted it. I bought some Ben 10 books at the end of last year, along with some Clone Wars and some Spongebob books. They are very popular, and children are very enthusiastic about coming to the library and borrowing them. This usually, ime, leads to the borrowing of more 'worthy' texts afterwards, of which we have plenty.

I've never seen a Barbie book. If she is supposed to be reading it to you and it is meant as an educational thing, do what you can with it (wedding planner Barbie book - really cannot imagine it - tell her about your own wedding, especially anything funny that went wrong etc just use it as a stepping stone for a chat if it is a crap book, that's what I used to try to do) but don't maybe deride her choice of book to her face IYSWIM.

Just be glad she is taking pleasure in choosing a book for herself.The school library will cater for many types of reader and it may be possible that some less keen readers [not your dd of course] would be attracted by a Barbie book.Look at it with her-enjoy and send it back-show her pics of your wedding[if you had one] and suggest she tries a different book next time.

lyingwitchinwardrobe....i take my daughter to the library once a week, and our house is stuffed with books. She reads lots and i read to her just about every night. However, some children aren't as lucky as she is, and i feel the school should be providing quality books rather than junk for those who don't have the choice at home.

southmum, its gone right over your head, hasnt it?

zzzehagain...great tips, thanks!

But what's junk about it? My 6 year old brought home The Little Mermaid home this week from the school library. She also brought home her home read book as part of her homework - the words and sentences in the Little Mermaid are much more challenging than bloody Bobbys bad day at the Museum. Of course the Little Mermaid is Hans Christian Anderson, but this is most definitely the Disney version.

However, some children aren't as lucky as she is

Exactly - your daughter gets taken to the library every week and is surrounded by books. Other children need more tempting.

what's junk about it? It wasn't written by an author who had a story to tell, it was written by a marketing team with a product to sell!

One could argue that some of the mass produced books (like Rainbow Magic, Beast Quest....) are not really written by an author with a story to tell and only being written to sell the product - in this case the books.

But we can't go banning all these too surely?
And are they really any different to a barbie book?

hulababy i'm not so familiar with those books so i cant really comment. although if the product they are selling is books, it has to be better than selling dolls/clothes/pjs/other branded tat?

I understand that, but to be honest most 6 year olds already have Barbie, Disney shite coming out of their ears. What are the sentences saying, what new words is she learning from the text?.

wiggle i think i am just so sick of all the disney/barbie bollocks they are subjected to that it would be good if the school could be a shite free zone!

Why bother asking if you are so convinced YANBU?

Am thinking this is a windup :o

YABU.

At 6yo it's all about fostering an interest in reading and therefore about books that children are interested in.

My DS bought home the Bible Wouldn't be my choice (and it's not necessarily my belief) but the point is he wanted to read it and therefore learnt.

Look, you've already said your dd is very lucky, since she is surrounded by books and is taken to the library every week. Since you and your family are so privileged, why be so sniffy about what other, unluckier children ought to be borrowing from their own and only trip to a library?

I can tell you from experience that the minute you start telling children who have no reading back-up at home what they should and shouldn't be reading, you lose them.