What book do you most hope your baby will love when they're older?

[HeatherDav]

Is there a book you really love and that you can't wait to share with your baby when they're growing up?

I don't really believe in children's fiction, so I'm going to have to be careful not to spoil my favourite - "Pride and prejudice" by giving it to Lucy too early. Still, as long as I get in there before her dad gets her hooked on "Lord of the Rings", we'll be OK!

Don't believe in children's fiction? What do you read to your child then? Dictionaries, encyclopaedias, Roget's Thesaurus???

I don't understand, you don't like children's fiction?
Why not?

As a school librarian I find the statement "I don't really believe in children's fiction" to be absolutely astonishing! There are the most fabulous children's and young adult books out there - don't let your child miss out on these. They are the building blocks of creating a life-long love of reading!

Talk to any children's librarian in the country and they will show you!

If you don't believe in children's fiction your DCs chance of liking Lord of the Rings and Pride and Prejudice is practically nil!!!
To get them hooked on reading you need to excite them over stories-take them to the library and let them have a free choice-read their favourites even if it means reading the same story over and over again.
How can anyone not like children's fiction, with wealth of wonderful books out there-the mind boggles!! Are you serious?!!!!

Also, OP, what is wrong with her reading both of those books you and your DH love, when she is ready? I have certainly read both of those and 10000s more!

You don't believe in children's fiction? What the heck?!!!

I was desperate for my girls to love Ballet Shoes - but sadly they didn't so I have to just keep re-reading it myself instead. I, unlike you, firmly believe in children's fiction! :)

I have to say I'm really enjoying re-reading all the children's books I loved as a child with my girls- plus a few that weren't around then!

Happily for me, they have obliged by liking (or pretending to like!) books I have forced on them suggested

Although have to say my mum tried to push Pride and Prejudice on me, and I hated it (still do). Dad definitely won out with his LOTR!!

You don't believe in children's ficiton?

It definietly exists, I'm sure of it.

I hope you realise that there is nothing to say that your DC will follow your taste in books? You are doomed to disappointment if you think you have any say over what they like or dislike!

Perhaps your dd won't believe in elves - or Jane Austen? :)

Sorry but the more I think about this the dafter it sounds imho.

Woah, that's set things off there - no offence intended, was just trying to spark a conversation about cool books that you love and want to share!

When I look back on my post, I realise I wrote "children's fiction" when I was actually thinking specifically about the teenage-targeted fiction I remember finding awful when I was that age.

Obviously I enjoyed plenty of children's books before that, but then found the stuff written for "older children" really dull - I just wanted to get on to the grown up stuff by that point. But maybe I was just recommended the wrong books for teenagers.

And my point was purely about not giving children books too early and spoiling it for them (then again, when I've shown this to my husband he just laughed and said his dad gave him Norman Mailer's "Fire on the Moon" when he was 6 years old because he thought it was a book about landing on the moon - he re-read it later and found some, shall we say, fairly graphic content in it that he enjoyed more the second time around!)

But anyway, having unintentionally stirred up controversy (that'll teach me to think before I type), any suggestions now I've clarified my intention?

Hello OP, did you not have any favourites when you were small that you'd enjoy sharing with your daughter?

I was introduced to Pride & Prejudice a little too young and resisted it until well into my 20s - glad to say I finally got over that!

I got your gist OP. And I think if you get enthusiatic about books it will feed off into your kids. I just bought a translated original of Pinnochio and I cannot wait! Bring on the Philip Pullman series too!

Woops cross posted!

You can hope, but it doesn't necessarily happen.
My kids have enjoyed a lot of the same fiction I enjoyed in my youth but some of the books I love most, to some of those they shrug and say "meh".

Notable favourites that did succeed for me (with a variety of children) - Jane Austen (esp Mansfield Park), Wuthering Heights, Little Women etc, Willard Price, a couple of Anne Rice books, Narnia and Diana Wynne Jones.

Ones that failed (so far)- any JD Salinger, Aidan Chambers, Jan Mark, and Willard Price.

Basically, don't build your hopes up - it could be dreadfully upsetting to you to then find your child loathes Austen, in book or TV format, or will not be putting up with with any elven hi-jinks in Middle-Earth.

(The same goes for your favourite films.)

Well I think that giving Lucy Pride and Prejudice to read would be a sure fire way of putting her off reading. Its a lovely book for an older teen/young adult - but she's not going to pick it up at that age unless she already has a love for reading.

I love books and am passionate about reading. As a kid I read some probably quite bad childrens' fiction - Enid Blyton, Chalet School books, etc. But it doesn't matter as I enjoyed it and as I got older my tastes developed.

DD is 9 and I've read some beautiful children's books to her such as Gobbilino The Witch's Cat, Little Rocking Horse - stuff that I rememeber from my childhood. However she preferred Rainbow Fairy books for ages. Has just growqn out of them and moved onto Clarice Bean now.

I don't care what she reads as long as she's getting enjoyment from the books.

Ah, just read your other post. How old is your DD?

'The Hobbit' and 'Lord of the Rings'. DD has already read 'The Hobbit' - hopping to start DS on it soon.

A book called "The Phoenix and the Carpet" by E Nesbit.

My mum read it to me and I loved it.

VivaLeBeaver - DD is 11 weeks old, so no intention of introducing P&P just yet, and dad's been warned off LOTR! I was just thinking about books in general and thinking what she might like when she's older, that's why I posted the original (flawed) question. Guess I'm just in random "hopes and dreams" mode at the moment!

I hope DD likes Swallows and Amazons when she's a bit older. I think its quite an inspiring book about standing on your two feet/being independent. All the others in the series as well.

I think they're great teenage books and still love reading them now.

Quite honestly I was just grateful that mine read anything! They just don't get the pleasure from reading that I got when a DC.

Sorry OP, I was being annoyingly literal. I was incredibly chuffed that my DD loves Milly Molly Mandy in all her old fashioned glory - she even dressed up as her for a school book character day. There is some amazing teen fiction about now btw, far more than we had (although there were some great ones then, too). A lot of the time it gets mistaken for adult fiction though....

Lots of teen fiction now really is v good indeed, you know!

Thanks for clarifying your post - I must admit that from your original comments I thought you were a wee bit loopy.

I really wanted my girls to like:
Ballet Shoes
Milly Molly Mandy
Daddy Long Legs
Charlotte Sometimes
Tom's Midnight Garden
Goodnight Mr Tom
What Katy Did
Jane Austen (dd1 loves her, thank goodness!)
Stephen King (both have refused thus far)
The Little Prince

Loads more but that'll do for now!

I can't wait to read Roald Dahl with my DD. When she is ready then I hope that she will read Wuthering Heights, Mill on the Floss and Jamaica Inn.