Shortie

Tracy wanted to see a picture of Caroline when she is really mad as opposed to Cecil B DeMille mad and as it so happens I have a nice anger shot from Sunday.

Feel free to enlarge it to get the full effect of her set jaw, puffed out lip and lowered brow but I think the annoyance is evident even from here. I took this seconds after she said, "That is IT, Ed-wad!" and hopped off the swing like she was about to go over and clean his clock for him. I have no idea what he had done to enrage her but even with no knees Edward can run like a cake frosted warm when he must; so she never got a chance to clarify things.

Generally when he is being a total total she ignores him, which is good because between the hitting and the hair pulling and the Genghis Khanian need to have all of the toys and Asia and chunks of Europe he can be... trying. Oh and they have completely different taste in books right now so that two year old thing when they want you to read the same book a million times? Involves Edward putting Kitten's First Full Moon on top of Seuss as Caroline puts Seuss on top of Kitten over and over and over while they both say, "READ IT AGAIN?"  

Twins. Twins are good.

The picture also captures the last day of her pigtails (for a while) since I took her to get a haircut yesterday and had them give her a summery bob. I think the new cut makes her look months younger. 

One of the millions of nice things about Caroline is that she takes direction beautifully so that when I fail to have a camera ready she can usually be talked into performing a re-enactment.

So I asked: What did Mommy do when she turned the corner and found Caroline on the bookshelf?

Right! She screamed.

And then what did Caroline do?

Yeah. She thought it was very funny.

+

I actually have nothing whatsoever against Winne the Pooh. My childish problem (in that it is entirely emotional and also it started during my childhood) is with Pooh's creator, AA Milne, who behaved like a complete cad to my beloved Wodehouse. When I was 8 years old I read my first collection of Wodehouse short stories (Mulliners) and I promptly became a devoted - one might say rabid and irrational - lifelong fan. After a complicated... oh let's call it a misunderstanding... involving Wodehouse and the Nazis, AA Milne took it upon himself to be a dick about it as publicly as possible. Afterward kindly PG said, "Nobody could be more anxious than myself . . . that Alan Alexander Milne should trip over a loose bootlace and break his bloody neck" and that was enough for me.

Robyn pointed out that Pooh and company live in Hundred Acre Wood not Giant Woods or Enormous Forest or whatever I called it and I have no doubt she is right. I wouldn't know. So that is the deal with me and Poopy the bear. If it weren't for my sworn blood feud I would probably find him charming.

+

We inherited nice landscaping from the people who built our house. They obviously knew what they were doing - from the twelve foot tall fence around the vegetable garden to the well-planned flower beds - so for the past seven years we have been content to ride their coattails. Unfortunately we began to realize last year that you cannot just leave a garden to its own devices indefinitely. Bushes get bushier and lawn and beds start turf (hmmm) wars and fewer and fewer irises show up each year and the whole place starts to take on a neglected air. I was not sure what to do about this. I do not garden. I do not know why plants grow or do not grow or anything. Last Fall I took an optimistic pair of hedge clippers to some of the more aggressive shrubs in hopes they would be cowed in the Spring but it just looks like a botanist went homicidal.

So I had one of those epiphanies you get when you hit the bottom of things. Namely: I had been so worried about screwing things up that I have not wanted to touch anything the original owners put it but now it looks so terrible I figured nothing we could do would make it worse. So we just took out the scary overgrown bushes and it looks a thousand times better. Less is more and mulch covers a multitude of sins. Or will cover a multitude if I can find any. Am I crazy or didn't there used to be free piles of mulch everywhere around this time of year? You know when a municipality does tree work and then mulches the wood and leaves it for people? I called our county and talked to a woman who thought I was insane when I asked about this. She did tell me that she had seen bags of the stuff at Home Depot, which is true but also not free. I was sort of looking forward to free.

Right now I am going to take advantage of the brief "nap" period and go back out and tackle the vegetable plot. I think Steve and I must've been mutually depressed last autumn because we clearly did nothing outside before winter. The leaf piles in the garden are three feet high.

So this is more of a postcard than a post but there it is .

As long as I am offending you by bitch-slapping beloved childhood icons I might as well tell you that I hate the book Guess How Much I Love You because I think big nutbrown hare is a complete jerk and that his need to not only compete with little nutbrown hare but one-up him at all times is pathological.

I heartily dislike the drawings in Dr Seuss.

Curious George disturbs me: from the monkey-napping to the pipe to the zoo. But I like the art.

Madeline loses its rhythm halfway through and I have never figured out if Miss Clavell is supposed to be a nun. If yes, why the mademoiselle? If no, why the weird headgear?

And you? Any classics you wish to defend or pummel?

PS I love everything by Sandra Boynton (who ALWAYS scans properly) and the Hobans whose books were both clever and lovely. 

PPS OH! I forgot until I saw Alanna's comment about Boynton and the word "ugly" (I concur by the way) that I do not care for But Not The Hippopotamus. I think it is mean. 

PPPS So you think that the hippopotamus is just shy? And that the other animals - busy as they are drinking juice and trying on hats - are not being deliberately unkind? OK. I accept this. Now is there innocent explanation for why the elephant is not allowed to use the swings and the bunny cannot play basketball? Because those two couplets are even meaner. And both Caroline and Edward automatically say Ewwwwww whenever they hear the word broccoli. Caroline then looks at it with her hands folded and Edward eats a metric ton.

Comments

[DrSuz]

I hate the book "Love You Forever." I know it is intended to be sweet and touching, but I find it incredibly creepy. Can we say boundaries, any one? If one of my three sons tries to rock me when I am old and decrepit I will clock him but good.

Oh- wow- I just took time to read other posts before I hit "post" and realized that I am not the only one. Glad to know.

[NGS]

I gave "Llama Llama Red Pajama" as a present recently and the mother of the child to whom I gifted the book basically ripped me a new one for the fact that her kid interpreted the book to mean that she could scream in the middle of the night if she wanted attention. So I'm kind of bitter at Anna Dewdney right now.

And the creepy grandmother/rabbit thing in Goodnight Moon is too much for me.

[Jan]

I hate the book Guess How Much I Love You because I think big nutbrown hare is a complete jerk and that his need to not only compete with little nutbrown hare but one-up him at all times is pathological. Yes, yes, yes. Thank you. I hate this one.

I agree that Madeline's rhythm is troubling, but worse is Hop on Pop where there's one page about 3/4 through that I just cannot find the meter for. Even though I've tried it like a hundred different ways. And it irks me.

I miss the Berenstain Bears of my childhood (wherein Papa Bear was forever screwing things up while the children looked on doubtfully and ignoring them when they made well-reasoned suggestions).

[snickollet]

No one has given James Marshall a shout-out yet?! Maddie, Riley, and I love him, especially the books about Fox.

[Betty M]

If you have masses of leaves make your own mulch for next year for free: http://apps.rhs.org.uk/AdviceSearch/Profile.aspx?pid=478

Sandra Boynton is not really known here in the UK. I will check her out now given the rave reviews.I hate Dr Seuss - too too creepy.

[Lesley]

I second the comment about calling a tree removal service and asking them if they have any mulch. Also, sometimes utility companies cut down trees around power lines, and then sell the mulch at a minimal cost.

But also-- did you say you had piles of leaves three feet high? Hello, mulch! I'd be all over that stuff if I were you.

(I had no idea how many people dislike Seuss. I love him, mostly!)

[Loth]

I feel obliged to throw Roald Dahl into the mix. Loved all of his books as a child.

[LMM]

I love Mo Willems books which I picked up from posters here the last time we talked about kids books. I am truly thankful to all of you who recommended them - they're fun to read (find the hidden pigeon!) and smart and varied.

Lucy does have a few books that have "disappeared" over the last year because mommy just didn't want to read them anymore or couldn't stand the insipid rhymes.

Finally, about Disney. I recently purchased Snow White and Sleeping Beauty (quick, before they go "back into the vault"!) and was horrified by both of them. Snow White is so helpless and sniveling...I hate her. Loved it as a kid. Hate it for my kid and I'm sorry I ever bought them. Maybe they'll "disappear" too.

[Sarah]

I can't stand Syd Hoff's art or stories. On the love side, I collect everything Sendak. Zlateh the Goat has a place of honor on my shelf.

[Mara]

Agreed with most of the above book comments... love Boynton, hate Love you Forever, Guess How Much I Love You.

My baby is only 10 months but we already do a lot of Boynton-- Snuggle Puppy, Going to Bed Book, etc.

I prefer Wodehouse to Milne.

[Gina]

I love the book Chrysanthemum and I hate a book by the same author (dang it, i forgot the name of the book and the author) where a baby brother is born and the sister whispers, "I hate you" through the entire book. WTH?? Is it Owen? I don't know, but even though the sister realizes at the end that she loves her brother, I don't approve of all that "hating" of a baby brother throughout the entire thing.
Frances books are wonderful and I laugh out loud when there is a reference to getting a "spanking" and it makes me look to see what year it was written. ha ha. Harry the Dirty Dog is good too, but I don't like the other "Harry's".
I love the way Brown Bear Brown Bear rolls off my tongue when I read it and I generally hate Dr. Seuss (what the crap is up with the made up rhyming words??) but I love Horton Hatches an Egg.

[plunkie]

We love Elsa Beskow over here!

[redfox]

I absolutely agree about the big nutbrown hare but that is precisely why I like it!

[Lisa]

I can take or leave most of Dr. Suess, except for "What Was I Scared Of?" which is a short story in, I think, the Yertle the Turtle collection.

It is made of so much win. The rhyming is brilliant.

http://sanctuaryandserenity.wordpress.com/2010/04/08/dr-seuss-the-pale-green-pants/

[FlippyO]

My partner always seems a bit shocked that I don't know lyrics to certain classic (or, well, ANY) songs, but I've always been kind of lazy about the details, which is why I still love Curious George, even though I think it's awful that he was taken from the jungle. Heck, we run a cat (plus various dogs & parrots) rescue, so I'm obviously sensitive to those issues. However, as a kid, like now, I didn't pay attention to the details. Ha ha, funny monkey gets into scrapes. The end.

I like Winnie the Pooh, have never read Wodehouse, love Suess, Roald Dahl (for most of my life, I thought it was Ronald, because what the heck was "Roald" to me, a Californian?), but one of my favorites is "Harold and the Purple Crayon". I had one Scarry book as a kid and liked it because it was long. Whenever I ordered books from school, I would always look and see how many pages they had first, because I didn't want my reading time shortened. I've always felt cheated by short books, especially if I really liked the story.

I checked out of the library the book that you and many of your readers LOVED (and I can't even remember the name of it right now, but that has nothing to do with book, but more to do with my Fibro and memory problems - someday, I'll probably have to have my name tattooed on my wrist, so I don't forget it, but so it looks cooler than a nametag), and I sadly didn't like it. I thought it was slow, until the end, when the mystery got wrapped up. So, we're not perfect book pals, but nevertheless, your blog is still my favorite. I like your writing, but not all of your reading, I guess.

Oh, and my favorite slightly older kids book is "Harriet the Spy". It's my very favorite. Maybe it was the beginning of me liking blogs about other people's lives.

[CeeCee]

Love you forever...I read it to my 5 year old the other day and he said, "Just one thing mom...when I am older and live in a house across town...Can you just use the front door like normal people? I don't like all that crazy sneaking around. You can still hug me and kiss me and tell me you love me, just ring the doorbell." I asked him if the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, and Santa Claus should stop sneaking around our house and just go on to the next house and he thought for a second or two and said, "MO-OM!!! They can still sneak, but YOU, (with a pointed look) use the front door."

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1628923591]

I don't know if there is zoo in your area, but in my town, the zoo sells what they call ZOO POO, by the truck load. It is great for your flower beds, shrubs, whatever you want to grow

[Sarah R]

(Whoa...so many comments on this that I sort of feel that you'll have gotten bored and wandered off somewhere...)

Glad to know you have a reason for not liking poor Pooh. Though that could get us into a whole discussion of "can you/should you like the art if you hate the artist?" sort of stuff.

But I disagree that Christopher Robin forgets Pooh. He grows up, as we all must (so I'm told...I'm trying hard not to). But he tells Pooh not to forget him and the book ends by saying that somewhere a boy and his bear are playing...by which time I have dissolved into a large saline puddle of tears.

I am so gratified to see how many others hate Seuss...I always have and have always felt so alone. Never liked Madeleine or Babar either.

Love Boynton and I would argue that Not The Hippopotamus can teach a valuable lesson that might help on that day that one's entire first grade class decides that everyone can play a game but Not The Rachel!

My husband hated reading the Posy Simmon's books to our daughter so of course those were always the ones she asked him to read.

We loved James Marshall (George and Martha, Two Good Friends), Boynton, Rathman (well, they are post my daughter but I still buy children's books and love hers). Patricia Polacco (SP?) writes some beautiful books but boy, they can be tear-jerkers.

Man, I could go on about this for pages...but I won't.

I covet Caroline's beautiful shiny hair.

[Stephanie]

Growing up we had a lot of Little Golden books, and ones published by Parent's Magazine. So, not a consistant author at all. Bembelman's Bakery. But No Elephants. The Magic String. Rabbit's New Rug. Frog & Toad (which someone mentioned earlier). Runaway Road. Yum Yum (a book about cakes).
Little Golden Books - Baby Dear. The Bravest of All. Pokey Little Puppy.
I never really thought about the different implications of the books, as I only occassionally read to my niece and newphew. They do like more Disney stuff, as well as books about favorite shows on TV. They luckily love the educational stuff on PBS. Also, kids don't seem to think in the same way adults do. They like Curious George, and sometimes my sister uses that and other shows as situational examples when talking to her kids. Example, "remember when George was scared?" and goes on to talk about some episode. I find it funny, but she finds these example useful.
My mom does like Love you Forever, but I don't think we ever really considered what is literally written. And The Polar Express.
Growing up near Boston, Make Way for Ducklings is mandatory on the bookshelf. The Little Engine that Could. "I think I can, I think I can..."
I use to like to get Where the Wild Things Are from the school library, though truth be told I cannot remember the story line. And Nana Upstairs Nana Downstairs, which is about a boy's grandmother and great grandmother, the later of whom dies in the book. Odd choice, but then again I would watch Brighton Beach Memoirs over and over again when I was 5.
As far as Disney goes (mostly their movies, I never really read any books) I think some children don't especially view things as such. I loved Beauty and the Beast, I was probably 8 when it came out and never considered it to be 'real'. The Lion King is a favorite of mine. Though I have not read Hans Christian Andersen - so I do not know how well Disney stuck to the story - several are now "Disney" The Little Mermaid, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Ugly Duckling.
Perhaps Disney should not recycle old stories, but that is all people do today. So many movies are modernized Shakespeare plays. So, Disney is modernizing 'fairy tales' from a time when mothers died more frequently in childbirth (assumption, no facts to back in up). Therefore a children's auidence at the time a fairy tale may have been originally written, may have related more to a senario of one or both parents being absent.
I think many books are just fine if the children are enjoying themselves. It depends on the children though.

[Rosie]

Personal Penguin is by far, hands down the best book and song ever written. It is followed closely by the Belly Button song & story.

Boynton is genius.

[meera]

in the minority - but i just dont get all the craze abt the boynton books. my kid enjoyed them for when he was less than 2 - but is there anything for older kids (3+) which is more like a story?

[victoria]

I echo the dislike for Shel Silverstein. Too gloomy. Also I never got The Phantom Tollbooth, and the real Wizard of Oz series is super creepy. But I loved loved loved The Wolves of Willoughby Chase despite its inaccurate anti-wolf propaganda) and a collection of Joan Aiken's short stories called All But A Few that is magical, oh, what I wouldn't give to get my hands ona copy of that book. It was available only in England when I was ten (I hadn't seen it on any bookshelves in the US and I read everythign by Aiken I could find), and I spent our whole England trip with my nose the that book, my mother prodding me, Look, Loo! It's the changing of the guard! Or, Look, that's Big Ben! Look up! But what is tragic is that the changing of the guard and Big Ben are still there, but that magical book has vanished; it's been out of print forever. God, I miss losing myself in a book like that. You don't realize how lucky you are, when you're ten, to suspend disbelief completely like that.

[Arwen]

I did not know that about Milne and Wodehouse and I am (irrationally) heartbroken. I adore Wodehouse and have since about the age of ten but Milne's early stuff (especially his poetry - I can recite "Disobedience" in my sleep) was a vital part of my childhood, and... well, this information has thrown me into a frenzy of existential angst.

We adore Sandra Boynton here too. (Like you, Julia, I feel sorry for the hippopotamus AND the armadillo. But I cannot resist that book's delightful rhyme scheme.)

[Bianca]

I like the Maisie books... or rather my baby Arlo seems to like the illustrations as much as I do. I also like the Ahlberg "Postman" books. My daughter loved looking and reading the letters/mail in the stories.

I like Boynton books and I like those books about the Pigeon (Pigeon wants a Puppy and the like). I like Shel Silverstein poetry of course, "Where the Sidewalk Ends" being my favorite.

Eric Carle's illustrations are finally getting on my nerves after two children. I am just not into them (the books, not the kids).

[Victoria]

We love Todd Barr "the family book" and the OK book.

Also a New Zealand Writer - Slinky Malinki, Scarface Claw and Hairy Mclairy.... Author is Lynley Dodd.... Characters are all very cool......

[Lisa]

I truly dislike the "Thomas the Tank Engine" books. I thought the original stories might be better than the ones based on the TV series but I was wrong. The language is awful, the trains treat each other poorly and the plots are often very uninspired. Both Dr Seuss and Eric Carle get a little too repetitive for my taste. I know little kids like repetition but there is a limit.
Favorite authors around here are Rosemary Wells (of Max and Ruby fame), Jez Alborough (especially Fix-It Duck, which still makes me laugh out loud) and Ted Dewan who writes an obscure series about Bing Bunny that is irresistible to toddlers. Also, the book "Yummy!" by Lucy Cousins is an amazing introduction to fairy tales for very young kids - although not for those who like their fairy tales sanitized. Hmmm ... I guess we are anglophiles at heart.

[Noelle]

Oh my, Melissa K. said she HATES "Blueberries for Sal" so much that she had to get rid of it. I'm in shock! That's one of my all-time favorites! We have a lovely recorded version with a male and a female reader (and a bit of music) and it still makes me smile to think of it. Kerplink, kerplank, kerplunk.

Boynton's "The Going to Bed Book" is another all-time favorite. We rock and rock and rock to sleep. *sniff*

[Casey]

I love "Goodnight, Gorilla," mostly because it has few words, but a great story, which means you do a lot of pointing out and elaborating on the illustrations. Plus, a sweet ending. What more could you want?

[cat, galloping]

Are the Madeline children orphans or students?

Agree Not the Hippopotamus is mean, and there's her Good Morning book or whatever where big guys can only do big guy things and little guys should not try to do little guy things, etc.

Hate Curious George because WTH with kidnapping him from the jungle? And what about the part where he gets out of jail only because he agrees to go on an experimental trip into space? And I thought his painting of that lady's room was way better than the boring original plans.

My absolute favorites are Mo Willems' elephant and piggies series. Love love love! If you don't have them, get thee to a bookstore ASAP!

[Emily]

LOVE the Boynton books. Snuggle Puppy, The Going to Bed Book, and Barnyard Dance are among the favorites - but there are a raft more of "really popular here" - even though she's now 6, and they aren't in frequent rotation.

Don't like "Love you Forever" because of the 'ick' factor. Good seeing so many others who don't like "Guess How Much I Love You" - there's just something 'off' about it. Loved The Giving Tree as a teenager, think it's a bit of a bad message as an adult woman. Don't like most Seuss, but can tolerate it...but LOVE Suess' My Many Colored Days. Love "You are My I Love You" - gorgeous illustrations, and while it's a little forced, nice message.

[Lise]

I still do not understand how you can get anything done with Caroline around. I would spend all day kissing those chubby cheeks.

[Lise]

Oh! And about Robert Munsch. I adore him and can't finish "Love You Forever" without tearing up. It doesn't creep me out, perhaps because my mother-in-law had ten kids so there was no way she was going to come to my house and rock my husband as he was the youngest in the family and got almost no attention even when he was a young child and was basically raised by an older sister. (Do I win the prize for the longest run-on sentence?)

Anyway, Munsch's books tend to be good read-alouds because many of them started as stories told to children in the daycares he worked in. He says that he knew the story was good enough to write down and try to publish when the kids asked for it day after day.

[Pam L]

I never had a bad reaction to the Runaway Bunny or I'll Love you Forever, but my younger son LOVED them and I had to sing the "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be" part every night for a long time. This kid is my huggy sensitive one and I think it really made him feel good. So there's that.

The Runaway bunny he liked for his playful side, and he did hide from me, a lot when he was little.

Transplanting iris is pretty easy and they are hard to kill. If you're not sure come next fall just Google it and there will be directions and diagrams and everything.

[Darlene]

I hate Fox in Socks. It's really irritating to read. I love It's Not Easy Being a Bunny because it's the first book my oldest son would let me read to him and it has a good message.

[Sam]

My baby (15mo) just saw the pic of Caroline and signed "baby" for the first time. It was very cute. I don't think he minded the scowl at all.

[Sam]

The Berenstain bears creep me out, and have since childhood.

[alianora]

Oh man, Rainbow Fish. I hate that book. What kind of lessons are we teaching our kids? BUY YOUR FRIENDS! BE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE! Gah!

I'm with the haters of Love You Forever, too, and yes, I am well aware of the backstory, but it's STILL creepy.

[Ruth]

And here I was flinching in anticipation of the bashing I was going get for admitting that I can't stand Love You Forever. Glad to see so many kindred spirits. With you on Rainbow Fish, too. "Give away everything that makes you special and people will like you" ... what kind of message is THAT?!?

We are big fans of Shirley Hughes' books. My children can listen to her stories about Alfie and Annie Rose over and over again ("Dogger" is also a favorite).

[D]

I have to say that my all time favorite book growing up was Bedtime for Frances by Hoban. Now I have it, waiting for my kids to stop chewing up books before we take it's precious and thin papers out and touch them. :)

[Noelle]

Me again..... I love the "Maple Hill Farm" books and their sweet illustrations. Other faves are almost anything by Virginia Lee Burton (especially "The Little House" and "Katy and the Big Snow") and "Pelle's New Suit" by Elsa Beskow. "I Am A Bunny" still makes me sniff.

We all loved the Max & Ruby board books by Rosemary Wells (funny!), but the McDuff series of hers (about a West Highland terrier and his adoptive family) is equally delightful. Illustrations are charming, by Susan Jeffers.

I think the original "Thomas the Tank Engine" stories are sometimes hilarious and decidedly NOT PC. Max used to howl with laughter at those (and still does now and again, at age 12).

Oh, I almost forgot "The Great Gracie Chase" by Mark Teague and Cynthia Rylant - awesome!!

Julia, you know I have sort of teased you about your disdain for Big Nutbrown Hare, but I have to say I'm surprised there's so much BNH hatred out there! Who knew!?

[Holly]

Favorites: William Steig, who clearly believes that children are smart and don't need dumbed-down language or simplistic stories, Leo Lionni, the Hobans & Arnold Lobel. I like Richard Scarry, but dread reading him out loud. I always read "Green Eggs and Ham" with a southern accent for Sam and a haughty British accent for the other guy.

Least favorites: Eric Carle (for reasons unknown, I have it in mind that he is an egotistical jerk) and Rainbow Fish, which should be titled, "Friends Must Be Bought."

[jenn]

Hate George! Would someone please put him in his goddamn crate already? I hate how he is always being bad but it turns out fine. At least once he needs to have a consequence!

Agree about the I love you book too, it always seemed silly to me!

Most Dr. Seuss isn't even on our shelves because the drawings are so disturbing. I liked cat in the hat but that is the only one that is OK!

[Kira]

My ex gave our eldest son a copy of The Giving Tree for Christmas right after he moved out. I'd always liked that book in a vague "I read it in third grade and recognize the cover" sort of way, but when I read it to my boy? It made me want to puke. Because my ex was the boy and I was the sad pitiful stump of a tree...
Well.
It was a fine opportunity for me to grow up and stop offering assholes my apples.
I hate that book.
The Francis books rock. Also Frog and Toad. Very witty.

[Fatemeh Khatibloo]

OK, you have to watch this video now. It's Werner Herzog reading Curious George, and it's one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T8y5EPv6Y8

[Lauren]

I have stopped reading The Rainbow Fish to my son. What is the lesson here? It's certainly not about sharing. I think it's about buying your friends. Puh-lease!

[beth s]

Ooh, my favorite has got to be Mo Willems. Most of his stories are great and I LOVE the drawings. The Pigeon is so adorable. And the Pig and Elephant Early readers are too cute. We have them all even though Bugman had long outgrown them when they came out. I'm saving them for my grandkids. :-)

[amy]

Seriously? I love Curious George. How can any book that has a monkey smoking a pipe after dinner be bad?

I never paid particular attention to the illustrations of Dr. Seuss until lately, when I've been reading "Green Eggs and Ham" ad nauseam. The expressions on everyone's faces are priceless. And when the goat pops up from a hidden compartment in the car? Classic.

[Beth]

See I always thought that But Not the Hippopotamus was about a super shy hippo who was left out because she didn't know how to include herself and the other animals finally saw that she was really lonely and shy and made a point to come back and really invite her. Life lessons... you need to find ways to overcome shyness because the people around you want to include you in their community and that there is always someone to look for (see the armadillo...!)

The one I hate... Hug by Jed Alborough. Made my kid SOB when she was 1.5. How terrifying to a kid - the thought that you can't find your Mom! Evil book. We had to hide it because our kid would tear up to see the cover!

[cheyenne]

I checked out the original (first) Curious George book from the library thinking I was introducing The Classics to my kid and was pretty much horrified by every page. Just the first page makes you want to cry: "This is George. He used to live in Africa. He was a happy little monkey." You just know it's going to end badly. It gets worse w/the monkey-napping you mentioned, to being thrown in PRISON?? OMG. To the creepiest drawing of all when the MITYH pays off the balloon guy for all the balloons George 'ripped off' or whatever. The greedy look on the face of the balloon guy and the do-gooder look on the MITYH's face gives me the heebiejeebies.

'Runaway Bunny' used to be read out loud with slightly edited script. "And now, cowed by his mother's tight rein, the little bunny accepted that he was doomed to an existence under the domineering blah blah blah..."

(I do enjoy the poopy bear though.)

[Heather g]

I hate the "Thomas the tank engine" books. So boring to read, I glaze over. Plus they have a really mean tone, teasing each other for being proud, or being new to town. And the worst thing you can do in Thomas world is not follow orders or do someone else's work.
I think "The Little Mermaid" is the worst message for girls. Try to get a man to love you and don't talk at all. Don't let him know you;re smart.