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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be completely hing up on wanting a series of books.

36 replies

Kafri · 08/05/2013 10:34

I know I should just move on but I can't get them out of my head.

I had a set of books as a child which I absolutely loce and really want the same set for when my ds is old enough but I know my chances of finding them are slim

it was a set of kids versions of classics like tom sawyer and huck finn in hardback.

it will be at least 15 years ago now - more like 20 id guess but I just can't shift the idea that i want the same set. Silly i know....

OP posts:
SirBoobAlot · 08/05/2013 10:40

Have you tried second hand book shops? There's a lovely one near me that has a wonderful children's section, with books just like that.

ConferencePear · 08/05/2013 10:42

A search on abebooks.com might find them

Original poster
Kafri · 09/05/2013 19:46

I'm going to have a look on that website, thanks for that.

I don't fancy my chances out of all the books out there on the market and with it being so old but it's defo worth a shot.

OP posts:
thegreylady · 09/05/2013 20:52

May I just say [as a retired teacher and an avid reader/buyer of books for children aged 4-16] that there is little more likely to kill off a child's love of books than outdated abridged versions of so called 'classics' many of which weren't all that good to start with.Just try Coral Island or Children of the New Forest now.Even Treasure Island is hard going for most children and as for Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver....
Yes when you are an adult but there is such a wealth of wonderful stuff available for children that you don't need those tired old tales.I understand wanting to share things you loved as a child but maybe buy them for yourself and introduce them as read-aloud bedtime stories first.

StanleyLambchop · 09/05/2013 21:18

My DD loved Children of the New Forest!!! And Treasure Island! I think that the old books still have a lot to give to modern readers. , If you enjoyed it as a child, then why not try tour DC on it. YANBU. [Tired old tales indeed]

Rollmops · 09/05/2013 21:53

thegraylady, I disagree.
My DC love all the ones you discard as 'old stories' as did I when their age.
Problem with vast majority of the 'current' books, a la Horrid Henry et al, is that they are badly written, with no literary merit whatsoever and more often than not use grossly simplistic vocabulary.

EmpressOfThe7OceansLovesMN · 09/05/2013 21:56

This site's pretty good...

Original poster
Kafri · 09/05/2013 22:29

I work in a school and adore some of the kids books we have - story time is my baby!
but this set of books has stayed wuth me for the last 20 years so clearly hasn't kilked my love of books.
if only it stayed with me in tge literal sense tooGrin
I remember giving it away to my next door neighbour in one of my 'im too grown up for these now' phases. I nust have been about 12ish. im 29 now but I just cant seem to leave it behind.
my gm bought it for me and i would guess it came from either one of those book clubs (were they going then) or a bargain book store of some description.
my nan passed away so can't ask her and tge neighbour moved long ago so cant ask her. its so frustrating.Sad

OP posts:
thegreylady · 09/05/2013 22:31

I hate Horrid Henry and the like. I love E Nesbit and Wind intheWillows, Winnie the Pooh and The Secret Garden, Bevis and Heidi and Tom's Midnight Garden Children of Green Knowe and The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. I read avidly as a child and have a huge collection of books which have been enjoyed by my dc and dgc and I am amazed that CotNF and Coral Island are enjoyed by children who have access to a wide range of books.

BegoniaBampot · 09/05/2013 22:36

agree with The Greylady. i had hopes of my boys reading all the old classics I enjoyed and have tried to encourage them. They just don't want to. as soon as they realise it was written ... ago they turn off. They read a lot but love all the more modern authors and series.

Have resigned myself that Anne Of Green Gables, Little Women, Little house on The Prairie etc are especially no shows.

BegoniaBampot · 09/05/2013 22:38

But Horrid Henry is for really young children so will be simplistic.

RhondaJean · 09/05/2013 22:45

Kafri, was it by any chance the fake leather bound ones in blue, red and green?

Original poster
Kafri · 09/05/2013 22:50

yeah that sounds like them.

OP posts:
Original poster
Kafri · 09/05/2013 22:52

begonia - anne of green gables is one of my favourites Grin along with carries war and goodnight mr tom
oh the memories Smile

OP posts:
RhondaJean · 09/05/2013 23:41

I have them upstairs. And the magazines that went with them.

If its any help, I can look tomorrow and see who the publisher was, it might help you look for them? They were a series type thing from the newsagent, you got one every two weeks.

cory · 10/05/2013 06:35

Children are different: some can't bear the old tales, others adore them.

Dd loved the classics.

Ds wasn't very keen on books at all- didn't take to the modern ones either, but Treasure Island (read aloud) made a deep impression.

I don't think the old/new thing mattered so much to them, more the fact that some books are simply a whole load better than others.

claraschu · 10/05/2013 06:47

Another vote for lots of older books. Many of them are wonderful, some are not. Lots of modern books are crap, and some are great.

Don't assume all kids reject anything old- completely untrue.

TidyDancer · 10/05/2013 06:52

Oh I know which ones you mean, I had them too. I probably do still have them somewhere.

They were lovely, but yes, very hard going for young children.

BellsaRinging · 10/05/2013 06:59

I love the old kids books. Ds is currently reading stig of the dump and loving it, and at bedtime we're working our way though the swallows and amazons series which he adores, although i have had to edit as i've read as i unexpectedly encountered the n-word the other night, which was a shock.

StanleyLambchop · 10/05/2013 07:27

The N-word in swallows and Amazons?Shock I read that to my DD, we did not encounter it! Maybe we had an edited version! S & A is brilliant. Ditto Stig of the Dump. I know the N-word is in Tom Sawyer, that is also a fantastic book. Glad to see that lots of children are still reading the old books.

Dawndonna · 10/05/2013 07:32

Those tired old tales have been much loved by my dcs. Just William, Tom Sawyer, Half Magic, Five children and it. One's off to do Lit at uni this year, another will be off to do Lit at uni next year!

Original poster
Kafri · 10/05/2013 08:09

5 children and it and Stig ofbtue dump - id forgotten about those.

ne interesting to see if ds os into reading. I love it (and do read to him) while dh would never pick up a book. (unless its his football stats one)

OP posts:
Hobbes8 · 10/05/2013 08:16

When I was about that age they used to do cheap fake leather bound classics in wh smiths. They were red with gold embossed letters. I remember having Jane eyre. Does that sound like them? I'm 35 now, so about the right era.

Floggingmolly · 10/05/2013 09:26

What thegreylady said. From bitter experience.

DoubleMum · 10/05/2013 09:48

You are much more likely to get children to read the classics if they have a modern cover - there's a very good reason publishers update covers of constant sellers fairly regularly and at considerable expense.

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