# Which highly praised children’s books leave you cold? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396 "2011-03-29T17:08:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396/21 "2011-03-29T19:44:16Z")
Among works with long standing and wide acclaim, the Babar series. Somehow I think the idea of Babar bringing the benefits of French civilization to his backward African cousins turned me off, long before I’d heard the word “colonialism.” Among newer stuff that’s sold heaps, I find the art of Graeme Base to have a kind of shallow technicality that is not appealing at all. > [@Anaamika](#): > > The Op didn’t ask what books were bad. Not even what books we thought of as “bad”, but what books left us cold. And DrFidelius told us his. Maybe I misunderstood, but I took **DrF** ’s tone to mean that, like **WhyNot** , he was really bothered by _The Giving Tree_–not left cold. **Lemur** ’s point is thus a good one: a lot of people who are bothered by that book think that their discomfort _wasn’t_ the author’s intent. But it was. By contrast, the message of something like _The Rainbow Fish_ is meant to be exactly what you think it is, and is partly carried by a gimmick print job rather than the actual story, and is thus pretty uninspiring. Also, not that I’m _trying_ to be contrarian, but I am compelled to say [_Watership Down_ isn’t a children’s book. And it is brilliant.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12988879&postcount=109) ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396/22 "2011-03-29T19:45:42Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Interesting–I think **Where the Wild Things Are** captures a certain weird, savage element of childhood better than anything else I’ve ever encountered. It’s a damn near perfect prose poem, with pictures. I read it to my students a couple of times during the year (for example, during our unit on the Hero’s Journey as a mythic structure), and it’s hard not to get choked up at the power of his writing As an adult, I don’t entirely disagree with you. (I don’t entirely agree, either, but that’s neither here nor there.) As a kid? Snooooooooooore. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396/23 "2011-03-29T19:48:40Z")
**Lynn** & **Porpentine** : Well, if y’all started the Narnia series with TLTW&TW, you gave it its best chance. I’m sorry you didn’t like it. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396/24 "2011-03-29T19:57:46Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > As an adult, I don’t entirely disagree with you. (I don’t entirely agree, either, but that’s neither here nor there.) As a kid? Snooooooooooore. Heh–it’s definitely in the category of books I like a lot more as an adult than I did as a kid. Hopefully, by helping kids see some of the cool patterns in it (and comparing it to other books like **Skippyjon Jones** ), I help make it more interesting for my students than it was for me as a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396/25 "2011-03-29T20:48:02Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > By contrast, the message of something like _The Rainbow Fish_ is meant to be exactly what you think it is, and is partly carried by a gimmick print job rather than the actual story, and is thus pretty uninspiring. I was going to add to this comment on Rainbow Fish, which has the broken Aesop of “never be different than your friends even if it means literally tearing yourself to pieces”, but then I realized that Rainbow Fish isn’t a highly praised children’s book. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396/26 "2011-03-29T20:51:25Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > Maybe I misunderstood, but I took **DrF** ’s tone to mean that, like **WhyNot** , he was really bothered by _The Giving Tree_–not left cold. **Lemur** ’s point is thus a good one: a lot of people who are bothered by that book think that their discomfort _wasn’t_ the author’s intent. But it was. Fair 'nuff. My apologies. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396/27 "2011-03-29T20:56:08Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > …Rainbow Fish isn’t a highly praised children’s book. True. But it’s had enough sales and press to have received direct-to-video and TV-series adaptations, and toy merchandising, and to have been displayed under a “Children’s Classics” sign at Barnes & Noble. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396/28 "2011-03-29T21:27:50Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > True. But it’s had enough sales and press to have received direct-to-video and TV-series adaptations, and toy merchandising, and to have been displayed under a “Children’s Classics” sign at Barnes & Noble. Damn I wish we still had the barfy smilie. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396/29 "2011-03-29T21:45:39Z")
I think **Where The Wild Things Are** is one of those books that adults love and think is a great children’s book but in reality children don’t really care for. (Sometimes I wonder if Pixar and Disney are the same way. Parents love it way more than the kids but the kids end up liking it because the parents shove it down their throats. But that’s another thread.) I remember as a kid checking it out of the library dozens of times because the illustrations were so neat but the story never lived up to them. No real adventure to be found where I (as a kid) really wished there was one. ---
**Author:** ![Sakuma\_Drops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sakuma\_Drops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sakuma_Drops)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396/30 "2011-03-29T21:52:42Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Lion Witch and Wardrobe for me too. I keep reading people praising this series…but I think that it’s just one more thing where my tastes and everyone else’s are going to diverge. > > The odd thing is, as an adult, I LIKE a lot of fiction that’s written for kids. But there are some stories that have left me cold, both as a kid and as an adult. Approaching the Narnia series as an adult, I couldn’t shake the comparisons I was constantly making to Tolkien’s works, and I always found myself wishing to just re-read _The Lord of the Rings_ instead. Probably because C.S. Lewis was a contemporary of Tolkien, and used some of the same symbology in his works, but Lewis’ metaphors were a little too blunt for me (especially WRT the “Aslan = Jesus” angle). ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396/31 "2011-03-29T21:53:21Z")
When I was a kid, Maurice Sendak illustrations scared the shit out of me. They were just so weird and creepy. For me, pretty much any animal-based stories left me completely cold. _Black Beauty_: Meh. _Old Yeller_: Meh. The only animal story I can think of that I actually enjoyed was _Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH_, which only barely qualifies, because in it the rats are basically people. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396/32 "2011-03-29T21:56:29Z")
I want to try reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe again as an adult, because I just couldn’t get into it as a kid. I had to read it for Grade 4 and never felt like continuing the series. I think it was just too early for me, I didn’t hit my fantasy stride until Grade 8 and Lord of the Rings. My teacher read us a book like Watership Down but it was badgers. Totally hated it, but I always hated the ‘let’s use animals to get children to feel empathy’ thing. Don’t read me a story about farmers committing badger genocide, if I’m old enough for that, I’m old enough for a story with human genocide. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396/33 "2011-03-29T22:10:46Z")
> [@raspberry\_hunter](#): > > Also, along the same lines, Goodnight Moon is pretty creepy. I think _Goodnight Moon_ has enduring appeal because it allows very small children to use their nascent ability to identify the inventory of enumerated objects in the illustrations and anticipate the next in the series, and this is fun for both children and parents. (When my two-year-old actually “clicked” on “Goodnight, Nobody” this was a real joy and something I’ll never forget.) I get what you mean about it being very vaguely creepy, though. Part of it is the 1940s graphic style, and part of it is the uncanny valley anthropomorphism. Pretty sure [David Lynch](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxRzWv9TeTc) gets it too. (He may as well have titled it _The Other Great Green Room_.) _“Hush…”_ ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396/34 "2011-03-30T00:00:39Z")
> [@Sakuma\_Drops](#): > > Approaching the Narnia series as an adult, I couldn’t shake the comparisons I was constantly making to Tolkien’s works, and I always found myself wishing to just re-read _The Lord of the Rings_ instead. Probably because C.S. Lewis was a contemporary of Tolkien, and used some of the same symbology in his works, but Lewis’ metaphors were a little too blunt for me (especially WRT the “Aslan = Jesus” angle). I tried reading _The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe_ in fifth grade. The whole Christian allegory idea was totally lost on me; as a result, I was so disturbed by the killing of Aslan that I stopped reading the book. _The Wind in the Willows_ didn’t click with me either, but that may be due to the fact that I was reading it as part of an “accelerated reader” program – after reading a book, you took a multiple choice test on the computer. The test for this particular book was 20 questions long instead of the usual 10. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396/35 "2011-03-30T00:18:54Z")
Another vote for _The Giving Tree_. It was depressing, and I realize that was the idea, but I don’t LIKE being depressed. Didn’t like it as a kid, still don’t like it now. Which isn’t to say I didn’t like stories with any kind of negativity, ever. I loved horror, even as a kid, and there were a few tear-jerkers I liked (like _Where the Red Fern Grows_), but there’s a difference between stories that are tear-jerking and stories that just leave you feeling hopeless and empty. _The Giving Tree_ is among the latter, and it sucks. And I love, love, love _Watership Down_. I reread it every year. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396/36 "2011-03-30T00:29:51Z")
I have a newborn that I hope will one day become a voracious reader. To get her started on the right foot I went to Barnes & Noble a few months ago to start her collection. What the hell is the appeal of **The Very Hungry Caterpillar** and their ilk? Worst. Illustrations. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396/37 "2011-03-30T00:49:19Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > I have a newborn that I hope will one day become a voracious reader. To get her started on the right foot I went to Barnes & Noble a few months ago to start her collection. > > What the hell is the appeal of **The Very Hungry Caterpillar** and their ilk? > > Worst. Illustrations. Ever. Interactivity. There aren’t a lot of books after board books that allow for touch as well. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396/38 "2011-03-30T00:56:13Z")
Alice in Wonderland. I finished it; and even went back and reread it once or twice trying to like it as much as I thought I should… But, meh. I liked the poetry (especially The Walrus & The Carpenter, which I loved so much I knew it by heart), but the story just left me cold and bored. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396/39 "2011-03-30T01:32:40Z")
The Dark is Rising series. I didn’t care how she made it happen, but I wanted something, _anything_, to crush and destroy Will. I despised that character. Hmm. That really isn’t coldness, is it? Bah. Okay, _Alice in Wonderland_, _Artemis Fowl_, _The Secret Seven_, _Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator_, and _The Magician’s Nephew_. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396/40 "2011-03-30T01:49:19Z")
Ooh, **Artemis Fowl**. I really wanted to like it, but it was mediocre. Which reminds me–I don’t think **Harry Potter** has been mentioned yet. I’ve read the whole series, so it’s not that I despise them; they’re reasonably diverting. But I really don’t get the love for them. I’ve read so much children’s fantasy that I think is shit-tons better (including, incidentally, The Dark is Rising 🙂 ). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-highly-praised-children-s-books-leave-you-cold/576396.md?page=3)