Would you be irked if a friend's child deliberately cut up one of the letters in your DC's copy of the Jolly Postman?

[DowagersHump]

I am a bit. I should get over myself shouldn't I?

Pag - that would be good, thank you.
My shoes are currently in big need of replacement (okay, they might be different shoes than those which you damaged, but still )

HipHop - stop swearing with your onlinebookseller ruiner of indies e-reading device

there's always room to shelve things - I would sooner move without a settee than without my books!

No, it's the fact that DS doesn't do that with books. Probably because of my influence, but he is very careful with them. I expect if I had a ripper, I'd be a bit more chilled out.

I will just tape the letter back together :)

It is cheaper from Amazon than from the Hive-I bought it recently.

I agree, nickel. I am seriously considering making one of the dses sleep in the shed, so I can have his bedroom to keep more books in. Dh wants a kindle, but I like my books papery - and I love indie booksellers.

To misquote one of my favourite books "All books are precious but some books are more precious than others."

There is a bookcase in our house where the special books get to live. DH is under strict orders than in case of a fire, I'll rescue DS and the dog while he drags that bookcase to safety. I'm only halfway joking about this.

You can love a book and want to keep it perfect but still read it and enjoy it. I've got a book of poetry by Shel Silverstein called A Light in the Attic that I have had since I was about five or six. It is still almost perfect because I loved it from the moment I got it, even though I was a child, and was very careful with it even though I did read it a lot. It's only almost perfect because my mum once gave it to my niece to read and she, not caring for books the same way, blobbed a big chocolate finger print on one of the best pages in the book (Little Abigail and the beautiful pony) I was a bit gutted about that, because I'd kept it fingerprint free for about 25 years at that point. My niece wanted to keep the book but I refused and bought her her own copy instead. Mine, damaged but still loved, is still precious even with the fingerprint. I'd have been less upset about fingerprints in other books but that one is special.

Glad to say, my DS (3:1) seems to be taking the 'Books are Precious' line too, which is a big relief to me.

If it'll still matter in twenty years time then make a fuss now, if not, don't.

thegreylady - that's not the point - the point is that Hive helps and supports independent booksellers. Amazon closes them down and jumps on their corpses.

I would be quite cross ] but understand that even nice children do odd things out of their home environment. However, I would expect an offer to replace, which actually I'd then turn down and say not to worry. If my dc damaged something like that, which would be very unexpected, I'd replace it even if host said not to worry.

Yes, I would be annoyed too, but I don't think it's a situation that calls for fury.

I would have apologised and offered to replace it, if my DS did this, and I would have been cross with him, but unfortunately not everyone values other peoples' property.

I am not remotely furious :)

I didn't know about the Hive, thanks Nickelbabe. I will start ordering from them in future - we're a bit lacking in bookshops round here so tend to use Amazon

I have boxes and boxes and boxes of books somewhere (attics, garages, etc of friends and family). I've forgotten about them now.
Now I just buy children's books!

:)

shame you're not furious.....

I am enjoying the oh dear God...a book was damaged gasps of outrage.

Me too! It's just paper and glue....

Books are meant to be enjoyed, especially by children. Wilful destruction of someone else's property is not on, obviously, but it's no worse because it's a book.

The Jolly Postman is rubbish anyway

it's not just paper and glue!

OK then, paper, glue and ink!

Oh dear god.

Run, BornToFolk, run for your life.........

I couldn't agree more, Pag. The "my child would never run into the road" is a particular bugbear of mine. On the other hand, there are some children who are less respectful of belongings (theirs and other people's) than others.

There are very, very few children who are can be relied on entirely not to do something barking.

personally, we have lots of books and most DD has easy access to which she likes to share with friends. The "special books" only come out when it's just us and are treated carefully.

other kids can be very careless for lots of reasons but how the parent handles the situation makes all the difference.

I'd be upset the parent hadn't apologised and i would certainly have accepted the replacement. But then i also think the child should have been made to bring it and give it up too i'm that mean.

I would never say she wouldn't do it, but I would say that she would get a bollocking of her life if she did it deliberately.

"you are risking the wrath of the The God of Oh You Fucking Think So."

DD2 the 'ripper' got a lovely pop up book for recent birthday. We have to keep her at arms length from it or it will be destroyed in seconds. But all normal for a 12 month old! Or should I be worried ......?

Loving all the people whose kiddies would never ever never hurt a book!

I am teasing....mostly! I love books. Really, really love them. I love libraries and second hand bookshops.
But I love people using books. I don't mind if a paperback gets a bit dog-eared because I've been carrying it about in my handbag. Or if it gets covered in sun cream on holiday. I didn't mind when DS chewed or ripped books when he was a toddler (though I did of course teach him to be as gentle as he could be...) because I wanted him to learn that books are fun and are meant to be enjoyed, and not stuck on a high shelf for fear of getting damaged!
I don't really want him to think that books are special and precious, I suppose.

I once wrote 'I love Paul M' on the grouting on our bathroom wall (rented house). I have no idea what possessed me