# Books You're Too Old to Read **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 12, 2001, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-too-old-to-read/87039 "2001-10-12T14:10:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sylkyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@Sylkyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylkyn)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-too-old-to-read/87039/21 "2001-10-13T04:03:28Z")
Oh yes, and I forgot to mention, although to this day I don’t really know if this qualifies for a “children’s book”, or what, but I could re-read _A Tree Grows In Brooklyn_ until I was over one hundred. And never get bored. Great, great book. ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-too-old-to-read/87039/22 "2001-10-13T12:51:50Z")
I caught myself reading many of Eric Carle’s books in the library the other day, like **The Hungry Catapiller** , or **The Angry Ladybug**. A little boy came up to me wanting to read it and I gave it to him. For older children, one of my favorite books has always been **Jermey Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher** by Bruce Corville (I also love **Jennifer Murdley’s Toad** ). Sometimes I also take a look back on many Beverly Cleary books. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-too-old-to-read/87039/23 "2001-10-13T14:25:12Z")
Er, the Happy Little Whale? ---
**Author:** ![BGo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/848f3c/32.png) [@BGo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BGo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-too-old-to-read/87039/24 "2001-10-13T14:36:02Z")
Along with Little Women, there’s also Eight Cousins and An Old-Fashioned Girl by Lousia Alcott that I still read. The Sue Barton nurse books Of course Harry Potter (can’t wait for the movie!) Various books by Beverly Cleary and Mary Stolz (Fifteen, The Luckiest Girl, Jean and Johnny, The Seagulls Woke Me, The Noonday Friends, etc) ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-too-old-to-read/87039/25 "2001-10-13T14:37:57Z")
If you haven’t discovered them yet, some newer books deserve your attention: “Ella Enchanted,” about girl ‘blessed’ with the gift of obedience at her birth by a fairy “Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes,” in which the fat kid and the one with burns on her face are best friends… so good that when the fat kid joins the swim team and finds himself starting to lose weight, he feels obligated to eat three times as much so she won’t feel abandoned… and that’s just the beginning. “Holes,” with the coolest plot construction I’ve seen in a long time, about a boy sentenced to a desert reform camp where the boys have to dig a five-foot hole every day. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-too-old-to-read/87039/26 "2001-10-13T20:09:28Z")
My mom’s a second-grade teacher, so her basement and attic are filled to the brim with kids’ books (admittedly 30 copies of each, but that’s still a lot of books). I’ve read all of them, and whenever I’m home on vacation, I read any new ones she’s gotten in the meanwhile. I particularly enjoy the _Magic Schoolbus_ stories, and a series whose name I don’t remember, but where all the adults are (or at least, seem to be) magical creatures: Titles like “Dracula doesn’t play tennis”, or “Santa Claus doesn’t mop floors” ---
**Author:** ![aleksia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@aleksia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aleksia)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-too-old-to-read/87039/27 "2001-10-13T21:38:29Z")
To Kill A Mockingbird. ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-too-old-to-read/87039/28 "2001-10-13T21:42:37Z")
You’re _never_ too old to read _any_ book. Good books work on many different levels (and they are written by adults, after all). For example, re-reading _Ferdinand_ is a delight for me, partly because of the beauty and simplicity of the language, partly because of the sweet, gentle nature of the bull and the dual philosophies of non-violent protest and being pleased to please yourself, and partly because of the marvelous pen-and-ink illustrations. I know I didn’t catch or appreciate this stuff when I read it some 35 years ago. If a book is good, it will resonate with an open-minded reader forever. That’s why certain books have become classics and will never go out of print. Ferdinand, Oz, Laura Ingalls and many others simply transcend age barriers, which I think are bogus anyway, FWIW. You’re _never_ too old to read _any_ book. ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-too-old-to-read/87039/29 "2001-10-13T21:49:00Z")
You’re _never_ too old to read _any_ book. Good books work on many different levels (and they are written by adults, after all). For example, re-reading _Ferdinand_ is a delight for me, partly because of the beauty and simplicity of the language, partly because of the sweet, gentle nature of the bull and the dual philosophies of non-violent protest and being pleased to please yourself, and partly because of the marvelous pen-and-ink illustrations. I know I didn’t catch or appreciate this stuff when I read it some 35 years ago. If a book is good, it will resonate with an open-minded reader forever. That’s why certain books have become classics and will never go out of print. Ferdinand, Oz, Laura Ingalls and many others simply transcend age barriers, which I think are bogus anyway, FWIW. You’re _never_ too old to read _any_ book. ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-too-old-to-read/87039/30 "2001-10-13T21:56:02Z")
You’re _never_ too old to read _any_ book. Good books work on many different levels (and they are written by adults, after all). For example, re-reading _Ferdinand_ is a delight for me, partly because of the beauty and simplicity of the language, partly because of the sweet, gentle nature of the bull and the dual philosophies of non-violent protest and being pleased to please yourself, and partly because of the marvelous pen-and-ink illustrations. I know I didn’t catch or appreciate this stuff when I read it some 35 years ago. If a book is good, it will resonate with an open-minded reader forever. That’s why certain books have become classics and will never go out of print. Ferdinand, Oz, Laura Ingalls and many others simply transcend age barriers, which I think are bogus anyway, FWIW. You’re _never_ too old to read _any_ book. ---
**Author:** ![Theobroma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@Theobroma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theobroma)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-too-old-to-read/87039/31 "2001-10-13T22:43:00Z")
Am I too old for this stuff? My husband can’t understand how I flip from 700-page novels (Harry Potter book 4 qualifies) to kiddie books. I love William Joyce, and we’re going to picture books now. My favorite is “A Visit with Wilbur Robinson.” Also “George Shrinks” and the Rolie Polie Olie books. Too funny! By the way, I did just reread “The Phantom Tollbooth” last week or so, and it is even funnier than I remember. I think I’m getting more of the jokes now than I did in third grade. I loved “Gulliver’s Travels” when I was a kid, and then read an unexpurgated version in college. Whoo! That whole book becomes completely different when you read it as a grown-up! I’ll think of more later. Sorry, never could get into the Laura Ingalls Wilder canon. At that age, I was reading all those Heinlein books from [Fenris’s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=92099) thread. Maybe I spent my youth reading sci-fi and fantasy, so I had to spend the middle years catching up on the kiddie books I missed out on! 🙂 Oh- that’s another one, I didn’t read “Peter Pan” until I was in college, and I enjoyed it immensely. I’m sure there are more. How old is too old, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Myrnalene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@Myrnalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myrnalene)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-too-old-to-read/87039/32 "2001-10-13T22:48:46Z")
Louis Sachar’s wickedly absurd _Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Wayside School is Falling Down,_ and _Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger_. I have the box set! **Kat** , _The Westing Game_ is a great one, too! I must warn you of the horrible movie that it spawned. Stay away at all costs. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2001, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-too-old-to-read/87039/33 "2001-10-14T06:14:59Z")
HOP ON POP GREEN EGGS AND HAM A WRINKLE IN TIME And my very favorite book of all time: “SEE SPOT RUN”😃 ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2001, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-too-old-to-read/87039/34 "2001-10-14T13:15:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Myrnalene \* > **Louis Sachar’s wickedly absurd _Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Wayside School is Falling Down,_ and _Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger_. I have the box set!** AHHHH! He made a _third_ book in the Wayside School series?! What’s the gist of it? In the second book, all the kids are forced to go to different schools because of the cows. Do they go back or something? Does it still have the kids from the previous two books? ---
**Author:** ![Myrnalene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@Myrnalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myrnalene)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2001, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-too-old-to-read/87039/35 "2001-10-16T23:48:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bean\_shadow \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Myrnalene \* > > **Louis Sachar’s wickedly absurd _Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Wayside School is Falling Down,_ and _Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger_. I have the box set!** > > AHHHH! He made a _third_ book in the Wayside School series?! What’s the gist of it? In the second book, all the kids are forced to go to different schools because of the cows. Do they go back or something? Does it still have the kids from the previous two books? \*\* Yes, all the cows are evicted and the kids go back. Then Mrs. Jewels goes off to have a baby so the kids have a series of substitute teachers. Wackiness ensues, etc. It’s not as good as the first two, but there is a happy ending. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-too-old-to-read/87039/36 "2001-10-17T01:16:55Z")
As my kids grew I got to revist many old favorites. Books that I had not thought of for decades appeared in my home and I read all of them. _Half Magic_ was a favorite of mine when I was young as was _Are You There God? It’s Me, Margarete_. The Stupids and Amelia Bedilia cracked me up. Beverly Cleary reminded me of the awfulness and fun of being very young. How many times can you read _Where The Wild Things Are_ before you get tired of it? I dunno. I’m also reading the Harry Potter books right along with my kids. And if I can pry them away from my daughter, I’d love to start _The Love Trilogy_ (Three seperate books: Ready is the first, Sex the second and Go the third.) ---
**Author:** ![Demise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@Demise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demise)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2001, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-too-old-to-read/87039/37 "2001-10-17T03:38:32Z")
Anything by Lloyd Alexander. His books were the first classic fantasy that I ever read, back when I was 7 or 8. _The Book of Three_, _The Black Cauldron_…sigh, now I’m all nostalgic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-youre-too-old-to-read/87039.md?page=1)