the most overrated childrens books

[swottybetty]

two thomas tank books have somehow made their way into our house. pre-kids i really had no idea just how shite they are. even the bloody drawings are awful. why does my otherwise discerning dd love them so much?

and that feckin beatrix potter? were there no other kids books published at the time thus they achieved popularity simply by existing? seeing as there are loads and loads of kids books now, surely publishers can just write BP off as a unseemly blot on the otherwise wonderful world of childrens books

I'm going to come out in defence of We're going on a Bear Hunt, although I do admit to skipping some of the obstacles occasionally The Youtube clip of Michael Rosen performing it is a bit offputting though - his eyes are a bit poppy - so we now stick to reading it.

I'm not keen on reading Thomas books - find them soooooooo boring.

The bit where the burglar shares a cup of tea with Mog's family is surely supposed to be funny? I like those books very much. I think they're rather dry.

Can't bear Mr Men though. So badly written they make me want to scream.

And I won't hear a word said against Beatrix Potter or AA Milne. What kind of people are you?? Good grief.

That's not my [insert random boring thing here].

HATE them with a passion.

O I love Mog. Except for one, 'Mog in the nighttime' or somehting that is essentially one big trip as you see Mog's dreams...

I must confess to loving bear hunt. Mr men and Little Miss drive me crazy. Also Dr Zeuss.

Harry Potter - I cant bear them
ditto Mr Men

Please come and join me on this thread.......

I don't know why but I like Harry Potter . I don't think I can justify it.

Love the idea of Olympian Dr Zeus. Cat in the Hat with a Thunderbolt?

Yep to Mr Men and Thomas.

Dr Suess - YEUCH! Just awful. Ugly illustrations too.

Bloody Bear Hunt - every bloody night! And, I hate the picture at the end with the poor, lonely bear going home on his own.

I also agree with Dr Seuss and Mr Men - although surprisingly loads of kids love Dr`Seuss, judging by the number of books which get taken out of ds's school library (at which I help).

Original Thomas books are ok, but modern retellings are very boring. I have no problem with language etc in Beatrix Potter, but just have an irrational hatred of little animals dressed in clothes .

I love reading Dr Seuss but sometimes think dd gets a bit bored by it. I think you have to read the stories yourself...not so great for listening to (as a bedtime story).

I have put dd's set of Mr Men books at the back of the cupboard - they are sooooo boring! Sentences are so repetitive and the illustrations are dull.

Never read a Thomas book...yet....

We read The Enormous Crocoldile this evening - this is the way toy go,good balance of bedtime story that is both enjoyable to listen to and read, also great illustrations by Quentin Blake

I think Dr Seuss is meant for them to read when they're learning, isn't it? Dd1 is reading One Fish, Two Fish to me at the moment and she is so pleased with herself. It's very well done I think for beginning readers. I mean, god, compared with bloody Biff and Kipper...

I really don't enjoy reading The Gruffalo, but I love The Tiger Who Came To Tea.

I like Going on a Bear Hunt, and The Tiger Who Came to Tea.

We used to have the boxed sets of Thomas and Beatrix Potter but they have emigrated to the attic!

I enjoyed reading Roald Dahl as a child but hated reading his books to my ds1 (especially the BfG). I'm rather relieved that he is now old enough to read them to himself.

Guess How Much I Love You has great illustrations but I am dubious about the message.

The Gruffalo grew on me.

I also prefer Dr Seuss to ORT.

My favourite bedtime story is The Night Pirates, but the boys don't ask for that so often any more.

Where the Wild Things ARe = most overrated book ever!!
Tiger who came to tea = sublime, love it!

Love Bear Hunt.

I must confess that I went gooey over 'Guess How Much I Love You' and other books of that ilk when dd1 was a tiny pfb, but now I see how sickly it is.

IMO one of the most overrated books is 'Peace at Last' - depressing plodding story that ends with no resolution, with boring illustrations and no rhythm to the text. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be funny, but it isn't.

I loathe sanctimonious, dullard Noddy especially the originals.I also can't stand Thomas, so impossibly dreary. But I do like Bear Hunt.

oh how could I forget how much I detest Biff, Kipper and sodding Floppy.

I love most of the books mentioned so far!!

I like 'Peace at Last' is great to read out loud if you go to town with all the noises.

Really love 'Bear Hunt' too. Often when I'm out walking with DD she'll chant bits from it while pretending to swishy swash through grass or squelch squerch in the mud.

The only books I agree with here are the Mr Men and Thomas books, which I thought I'd really love reading to DD but was dismayed to find were tedious in the extreme!

If we are talking rated by critics then Harry Potter by a mile. Books over loved by my own children, I'm not sure. Perhaps I've forgotten them! I must admit I didn't tend to give the children that much choice when they were small, as I only bought books that I liked after much bookshop browsing, and if they got over read they tended to accidentally "disappear" for a while

My main hate is for badly made, badly illustrated, uninteresting stories that scan poorly and especially pink books. Sparkles are an additional bane IMO. But luckily there are many many lovely well written and illustrated books, so it's not really a problem.

Nowadays I get to read them all my favorite books, and they can choose to read rubbish on their own if they really must. They seem to understand this (Although dd did try and make me buy/read Rainbow cutie crap, and got quite affronted when I refused).

Hairy bleedin Maclary! (My DDs are 13 and 11 and I still know them off by heart!)

DH has just rounded up and given away all our Mr Men books claiming he'd rather chew his own arm off than read another one. Fair play, they are awful. Would happily do the same to Thomas and his 5000 tedious friends but ds would never recover.

Dr Seuss is amazing, though. Surprised he's getting such a pasting - they are comic masterpieces. But perhaps it's what you're used to - I grew up with every Dr Seuss ever written whereas dh doesn't really get them because they never had them as children. Similarly I don't mind Beartrix Potter but would never seek them out whereas dh and his siblings all think they are wonderful.

Both my kds and I LOVE The Gruffalo and the Gruffalo's Child.

I think Thomas books are soooooooooo boring!!!

Actually I have also read the Laura Ingalls Wilder books recently and they were not quite as I remembered them (loved them as a child). The first one is a real yawn- most of it reads like a carpentry lesson!

Can't stand those fairy books either or anything with Disney's name on the front!