Really weird kids’ books from the past

[aweebitlost]

I was reading the DC The Elephant & the Bad Baby tonight and it struck me how very odd it is.

An elephant takes a baby for a joyride to nick a load of food and then everyone is cross with the baby for not saying please?!

Then there’s the Long Slide with the 3 stuffed animals that climb a giant slide, vomit, meet some witches etc and don’t seem to get any pleasure out of the experience.

AIBU or were some kids’ books from the past plain bizarre?! Any other good ones people can think of?

We also loved the elephant and the bad baby, but yes it's definitely strange!

I'll put forward Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. So many people find it moving and very emotional but it just gives me the creeps. I had a copy as a child and found it weird then. The very controlling mother of someone I know gave them a copy as an adult and that was the final nail in the coffin of me loathing it!! The mother crawling in the bedroom window to rock her adult son to sleep

Oh Marianne dreams is wonderful. But all the time slip ones are a bit odd(in a good way) I think. (When Marnie was there; the Saracen lamp; a traveller in time, Charlotte sometimes...) For picture books what about where the wild things are? Or The story of Horace?

Strewlpeter - I found a copy a while back for my own children.

@PixieDreams

Omg *@GoodnightGrandma* I remember Conrad! It was very strange.

I remember Conrad too. They made a movie out of it which I loved as a kid, can’t find it anywhere now.

Where the wild things are
Outside over there
The Hobyahs

Ohhh, I loved tE&tBB! S2 would join in "rur rur rur, a' dow' roa'"

Where the Wild Things Are is quite odd, when you think about it. Mind you, so is the Very Hungry Caterpillar.

I have a book called "Here Comes a Candle" by Norman Pugh, written in 1943. It plays around with words and pictures and segues seamlessly from reality to dream, all written in a very matter-of-fact way.

Little B Sambo. V v racist and pointless and weird

@nonevernotever

Oh Marianne dreams is wonderful. But all the time slip ones are a bit odd(in a good way) I think. (When Marnie was there; the Saracen lamp; a traveller in time, Charlotte sometimes...) For picture books what about where the wild things are? Or The story of Horace?

I still remember the nightmares I had after I read Marianne Dreams. And that would have been over 50 years ago. I think it actually scarred me. I'd never let a child read it.

I remember reading Plague 99 when I was young and it really upset me!

Some of these sound superbly bizarre!

Yes Love You Forever is EXTREMELY creepy.

All the Ant and Bee books. They’re bonkers.

Aww yes! I loved the ant and bee books :)

@iwanttobeonleave

Strewlpeter - I found a copy a while back for my own children.

I still have a copy, in German, that our family friends in Germany sent for my birthday when I was about seven.(in the early 1960s) They translated each page on to loose sheets of paper that they inserted between the pages.

Lovely people. Strange book. Any my third nostalgia post on this thread!

The story behind Love You Forever is so sad though.

@borntobequiet

All the Ant and Bee books. They’re bonkers.

I’ve recently been send a couple of these books but put them away because my twins are only 2. Perhaps I’ll get them out of the toy box and have a read!!

@Lonelydaisy

Each peach pear plum

I loved reading this to my kids! Never once thought it was weird

It’s not just old ones. I recently found one called the Ticklemonster that was a blatant inneuendo on every page.

Also, in Fox’s Socks why is nobody questioning why Fox is semi naked, looking very worse for wear, with a very smug looking mouse. Something has definitely gone on there.

I remember the Ant and Bee books! Why are they bonkers? I’m thinking back to them and can’t think why!

I have a nice one in Italian, called A Paradise for Baby Bear. Basically Baby Bear's grandfather dies and he doesn't aant to live without him, so goes out into the world looking for an animal to kill him. They all say no for one practical reason or another. Despondent, he heads home eventually to his mum and dad and is comforted by them, but also realised rhat his snug cave/home is actually the paradise for bears on earth. It's surprisingly lovely, despite the unpromising start!

I LOVE "where the wild things are" we start each school year with it as our key text when we're doing input into feelings and mental/emotional well-being. The book is such a simple and effective way to illustrate it.

And it is definitely aimed at little kids

I've just been looking at our bookcase and come to the conclusion that many of the best children's books are a little weird. Dianna Wynne Jones? Joan Aiken? Green eggs and ham? Maybe that's why I still like reading children's books so much.

I have always had a weird hatred for The Owl Babies. A (single?) Mum leaves her 3 children home alone at night while she goes to work. The children are scared and the little one cries. But it's all ok because the mum comes back in the morning. Phew.....
Love The Giant Jam Sandwich. I always think the plot is like one you would find on a episode of The Simpsons.

@Lonelydaisy

Each peach pear plum

What was weird about that? I just remember it being about lots of characters from various fairy tales.

I still have my copy of not now Bernard from 20 years ago! My kids love it. It is super weird though.

I came to say green eggs and ham, but any Dr Seuss book really! Love them

One of the weirdest and best books ever written (and illustrated) for kids is Captain Najork and his Team of Hired Sportsmen by Russell Hoban. The creativity and the use of language is absolutely spectacular.

@Legoisthebest

I have always had a weird hatred for The Owl Babies. A (single?) Mum leaves her 3 children home alone at night while she goes to work. The children are scared and the little one cries. But it's all ok because the mum comes back in the morning. Phew..... Love The Giant Jam Sandwich. I always think the plot is like one you would find on a episode of The Simpsons.

Well, they are owls.