Hating modern life

[ellieding]

I'm only posting to get this off my chest really, so not really asking to be told to 'lighten up', if responses from people who feel similarly.

I just went to dd's school book fair and was pretty aghast at what seems to be peddled to them as decent storytelling. Corporate junk written by morons marketing their brands; Lego, hello kitty, spongebob...vacuous princess fairy tripe about nothing or paired up with animals covered in sparkles. Utter 'non-stories', anachronistic, poorly written. All the fact books were presented in a vulgar 'look-at-this-hideous-dinosaur/shark/crazy snotty science/everything is gross' way. Jacqueline Wilson (the woman should be locked up to prevent her writing) with her dysfunctional nasty characters and soapy stories. 'troo-ta-life-innit-tho' - ugh.

I don't want to hear 'at least it gets them reading'. In all honesty I'd rather they weren't given this commercially saturated drivel. Also, if i have to see another soulless, vulgar cartoon...

I appreciate this may sound ott, but i honestly find it all genuinely jarring and horrid.

Cannotchange, that's horrendous. I'd be livid! From school?

Did it annoy you Cannot?

YANBU I hate all this shite too!

Ach look...I agree with you...BUT it's a treat to let them choose some item of shite for a good report after parent's evening.
I buy my kids good books as well.

There are choices and we may make them.

Can I ask for some examples of good books? When I was younger I'd read Goosebumps, Famous 5/Secret 7, Nancy Drew...er probably more but I've got a bad memory lol. Dd1 is 10 and used to read all the time, but she started reading J Wilson books and hasn't read one in months now at home. Think she gotbored but not sure how to light the spark again.

apologies for the repeat of post - computer crashed after posting - feel strongly about it but obviously don't need to emphasise it that much !

Yanbu!!!

I despair when my four year old wants to read a LEGO stor . But I'm heartened when he revels in roald Dahl and the lik .

I calmed down by reading her Alice in Wonderland, which I don't rate particularly, but at least it is well-written and gives her some culture and education. I also read her the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, Enid Blyton (with a little editing) and Astrid Lindgren, E.Nesbit, E.B. White, some Dick King Smith, some Roald Dahl, 101 dalmations is good...we have hundreds of wonderful old books but I just can't modernise, I find current stuff so vulgar.

YABU - there are loads of wonderful books by great writers out there. You don't have to buy the branded crap.

YANBU.
I'd like to limit Beast Quest but my DS is addicted. It is like literary junk food.

Just look at what children dress up as for 'World Book Day'... We had at least three Batmen, a ninja turtle and two Mario Brothers last year. Not to mention all the effing jeffing 'Disney princesses'

I think it pervades just about everything these days. I went to buy my parents a board game last Christmas and was stunned at how hard it was to find one that wasn't Disney/Spongebob/TV programme etc. Pink Lego and pink chess sets .... toy shops really aren't what they were in my day.

Have you seem those awful rainbow fairy books? I'm not sure of the actual name of the series but we had half a book free with some shite comic. Something about a magic chocolate bar in a fancy dress shop. It was so tedious that DD didn't ask for the second half and I will be making sure we never buy them. Marketing backfired there!

Oh, and a 'Steve' from Minecraft won the prize for best costume, ffs!

Oh and why is it that Usborne can't publish a fairy tale without bringing it 'up to date'? How can kids be expected to appreciate subversions of the genre if they don't know the traditional versions?

You can go the other way.....I got my 4 year old a beautiful hardback collection of Brothers Grimm stories, with Arthur Rackham illustrations, for his birthday. Obviously, they were the original version of the stories- who knew that Snow White's evil stepmother was punished by having red hot horseshoes nailed on her feet, and being forced to run around until she died?

Funnily enough, he preferred the lego

Agree with you apart from the Jacqueline Wilson bit, I quite like some of hers (especially the Hetty Feather books)

TondelayoSchwarzkopf. Examples? Current stuff? That isn't vile, harrowing, inappropriate and anachronistic? I'd love to know.

There are some brilliant modern books around (though they may not be at book fairs)
We loved Andy Stantons Mr Gum books, all of David Walliams books, the Percy Jackson series, The Roman Mysteries, and lots of others.
I tried reading Enid Blyton, but found them really dull. I'll agree with you on Dick king smith, Roald Dahl and Astrid Lindgren though, they great fun.

The Grimms were sadists.

He-man and the masters of the universe
My little pony
The charmkins of charmworld
Battle of the planets
Ulysses 31
The little green man and zoom zoom
The Care Bear movie
5 star
Agadoo
Anything by Black Lace
Anything by Chaz and Dave
Why Don't You?

My childhood was full of absolute crap. Remember which song kept Vienna by Ultravox at number 2?

It is very easy to have a selective memory and only remember the classics and the good bits.

We inherited my great uncle's childhood book collection from the 1930s. Among the 'classics' was plenty of shite, believe me.

I let my kids read any children books they want - just as my mum did with me and I am an avid reader. My youngest son LOVES Diary of a Wimpy Kid and he has told us since the age of 4 that he wants to be a "storywriter" when he grows up until he discovered the word author. He made a sign for his bedroom door recently "Authors are Cool!". He writes for pleasure every day at 8. I suppose we are vulgar; the kids also love Harry Potter, Ronald Dahl, Warrior Cats, Encyclopedia Brown, The Penderwicks, The Mysterious Benedict Society, Nancy Drew, The Boxcar Children, Beezus and Ramona, From The Mixed-up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler, Just William, E.E.Nesbit, Jacqueline Wilson, TinTin, Asterix, Archie Comics, All of a Kind Family, Lemony Snicket, Henry Huggins, Mallory Towers, Horrible Histories, The Secret Garden, The Little House on the Prairie, The Saturdays and The Four Story Mistake, Harriet the Spy - Ok enough! They are all reeling them off as we watch a movie.

My particular gripe is with 'The Lovely Bones', heavily promoted as a text for KS3 / GCSE ... sensationalist, American English, written for commercial gain, frightening & depressing reading for impressionable young people. I've yet to meet a student who felt they learned anything from this 'work of literature'. They would gain more by reading Agatha Christie.

Sweet Valley High

Now that was literature...

Ha. AryaUnderfoot, I was not allowed to read Sweet Valley High. Maybe that is telling...