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Children's books

Join in for children's book recommendations.

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Original poster

Are the children's books from my childhood too old fashioned now?

21 replies

rainyandwindy · 04/03/2015 22:15

Just been sorting through my bookcase and wondering whether to get rid of some of my favourite childhood books, or to keep them for my children when they get a bit older (baby currently only 6 months).

Do kids still read these kinds of things or have they been superseded? - Little Women, Railway Children, What Katy Did, Anne of Green Gables, Carrie's War, Charlotte's Web, Colin Dann series? I presume Roald Dahl and C.S. Lewis are still read widely, but I wasn't sure if the others are too old fashioned (given that they were set decades earlier even when I read them!)

OP posts:

tunnocksteacake · 04/03/2015 22:17

Keep them!

beatricequimby · 04/03/2015 22:23

My dd aged 8 has read all of your list except Anne and Carrie's War. Both are waiting for her in our bookcase. Her favourite books are all old fashioned E Nesbit etc. So definitely keep them.

Sgtmajormummy · 04/03/2015 22:24

Keep them all! Reading to your daughter will be even more special if you use your old books. They're classics too.

wakesandquakes · 04/03/2015 22:25

Keep them!

If they were your favourites you will get an extra level of enjoyment - from reading them again and then also sharing them with DCs.

Having said that there are some which will have stood the test of time better than others, but I'd still say keep them. At the moment the DCs are too young for you to know if they will follow your bookworm tendencies, but you'll kick yourself if you pass them on and then are looking for them in years to come (assuming you still have space of course...).

Sgtmajormummy · 04/03/2015 22:28

OR son for that matter! Sorry, projecting...

pasbeaucoupdegendarme · 04/03/2015 22:28

Keep them! They're classics and it's good for children to have a range of literature

Theas18 · 04/03/2015 22:29

Keep them! They are all great books. Yep you need a but more stick ability to get into done of thrm than newer books but when kids realise it's worth getting into a good book even if it is a bit " wordy" they devour them and the vocabulary they understand and use blossoms far more than if they live on aliens in underpants etc ( not knocking this genre - instanc gratification type books have a role too for kids and adults !)

DramaAlpaca · 04/03/2015 22:31

My sons really enjoyed reading books that were mine & DH's as children. They weren't interested in the more obviously girls' books, but they loved others. We used to paraphrase some of the more old fashioned bits when reading to them. I'd definitely recommend keeping them, they will be lovely to share with your DC.

LizzieMint · 04/03/2015 22:33

Definitely keep them. My children really love Enid blyton books. Even though I cringe now at some of the language, I read hundreds of them when I was young. Also love E Nesbit too, and we've got an audiobook of the Railway Children which is fab. Classics are classic for a reason.

Original poster

rainyandwindy · 05/03/2015 07:56

Ok thanks, I'll hang onto them then!

OP posts:

BikeRunSki · 05/03/2015 07:59

Keep them, but I have found some of my childhood books very dated upon rereading with the dc, especially the Beatrix Potters and Wind in the Willows.

MaCosta · 05/03/2015 08:02

Definitely keep them but I agree that some don't stand the test of time very well. I have recommended a few to the DSs and they have not been great upon second reading as an adult. Others though have still been a massive hit.

TheFirstOfHerName · 05/03/2015 08:04

Chalotte's Web and Carrie's War went down well with my pre-teen children.

Less popular with three of them, but DS2 loved them: Tarka the Otter, Swallows and Amazons.

Books written a generation (or more) ago can be more descriptive and slow-moving than today's children are used to, but they are worth persisting with as they have a much wider vocabulary.

I have also noticed that the paperbacks produced in the 1970s are of a very cheap quality, and the type is small and squashed together compared to modern versions.

DeeWe · 05/03/2015 11:49

Dd2 has read all of those (she's 11yo) Dd1 has read some of those.

And ds (who's 7yo) is currently working through my collection of Lone Pine books

Lonz · 05/03/2015 23:26

My mum had loads of children's books when I was a kid, mostly from the 80s. I'm the youngest of five kids, eldest born in '81, so I played with a bit of old stuff when I was younger. I find that the way books are written these days aren't as good as they used to be.

I just bought a second-hand Manners book for my son to read. My mum had a massive set of them, you can't find them now. I liked them ones because they taught you about being polite and obviously having manners in different situations. They went into detail about the other person's feelings and had a list of "Dos and Don't"s at the back which is useful to talk about.

I would never get rid of your books. Even if you don't use or want them, you can make something out of them or even decorate a wall with the images and certain words of the book? Frame the covers..?
(I don't know, I'm a "mild" hoarder anyway, ha!)

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 06/03/2015 13:53

I find it's very hard to predict what dd will want to read and she won't listen to me no matter how hard I recommend things, but equally, she'll get obsessed with certain older authors (Noel Streatfeild for example) just as much as she is obsessed with contemporary ones.

Sometimes she objects to my yellowed old paperbacks and only reads things on Kindle, where a lot of the classics are free anyway.

Takver · 07/03/2015 13:42

Another voice saying keep them. I'd say on the whole books that were 'classics' in my childhood still read well now - they'd already stood the test of time.

I think though that quite a few 70s/80s books don't read as well as the best contemporary childrens/YA literature.

It seems to me that the current trend is for longer, more complex stories, with more in the way of characterisation and moral ambiguity. Quite a few of my old books (fantasy in particular) feel very black and white and lightly drawn in comparison.

ragged · 13/03/2015 20:18

You need to wait & see what your kids are like. Mine have loved some & couldn't muster any interest in others.

MollieCoddler · 13/03/2015 20:21

These are widely read still but if you don't have the space to keep them you can pick up books of this type very cheaply in charity shops. At least you can round here anywY

MsQueenie22 · 13/03/2015 22:40

Keep them! My DD aged ten has read them all. Carries War is even a set text at her school!
There is an amazing children's vintage/antique book shop in Edinburgh that has fantastic books that have long gone from print. The Chalet series is a gem of a find.

Clockingoff · 16/03/2015 11:42

Some of those books have already passed through several generations of children. I would definitely keep them. Some children do tend to mainly read contemporary books. But others still love the books you mention, plus Enid Blyton, Noel Streatfeild, the William books and other old favourites. It would be a shame to get rid of them.

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