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Fave children’s books you read your sprog

Started by Twit 2, October 23, 2017, 11:51:47 AM

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Twit 2

What are your favourite children's books to read to your kids?

Mr Gum - I did a thread about these. Incredibly funny stuff, laugh out loud silly.
Julia Donaldson - overexposure aside, she really is great. Charlie Cook's favourite book is If On a Winter's Night A Traveller for tots. Snail and the Whale is just beautiful. I love The Scarecrow's Wedding and Rosie's Hat.
Funny Bones - used to like this when I were a nipper, it's quite weird but still fun.
Slinky Malinky - great rhymes

Most of the books I loved when I was a kid are still around and my daughter loves. Judith Kerr, Hungry Caterpillar, Roald Dahl, Mr Men.

Kids' books are such a joyous and wholesome thing. It's really pleasing that children have such variety and quality, and they're often far more formally interesting and creative than books for adults. I mean, you'd have to go to Apollinaire's calligrams/Mallarme's late work to see word on page placement to match what is standard fare in a lot of kids' stuff. It's kinda strange they have this kaleidoscopic array of textual presentation then you get to age 8 or whatever and it's 'from now on all yer fiction will have no pictures and be every page uniform text left to right, ok?' The books for olders that do stick at presentation (Diary of a Wimpy Kid etc) are not great IMHO because kids tend to read only those series, giving a pretty meagre diet, discouraging wide reading and generally being not challenging enough for the age of the kids reading them. Generally not a fan of slebs crowding the market, and David Williams can fuck off really. The one guy I don't mind still dominating children's sections is Michael Morpurgo, because he's ace.

No one seems to read Colin Dann anymore, do they? I loved Animals of Farthing Wood, but also stuff like King of the Vagabonds and A Legacy of Ghosts.

So yeah, kids books then.


Jerzy Bondov

Good idea for a thread. I've got a five month old son. I read to him a lot but frankly it's mainly for my own enjoyment as he just makes weird noises and looks around the room to see where the cat is.

Not Now Bernard is a solid gold classic, better than I remembered it. I think my favourite Julia Donaldson so far is The Troll, which is a very funny book. When he chucks all the gold in the sea, TOP LAFFS. Most children's books seem to have a bear in them, so I really enjoyed No Bears by Meg McKinlay and Leila Rudge, which is about a girl writing a story without any bears in it, and a bear.

We got a few Alfie books, having fond memories of them from when we were little, but I've now taken against him. He's a berk.

I fully agree with you about slebs. My wife went to the library and got some absolute piece of shit storybook that somehow took two members of McFly to write. They just write kids' books because they think it's easy, well 'The Dinosaur That Pooped' is proof that it is not.

But overall there is a lot of beautiful stuff out there by genuinely gifted writers and illustrators and I'm enjoying going back to old favourites and finding new ones.

ASFTSN

#2
I don't and never will have kids but would just like to put in a mention for Raymond Briggs' fantastic Fungus The Bogeyman, coz it's my favourite kids book and probably just one of my favourite comics. 

An immensely detailed world, with all kinds of delightfully scabrous and hilarious details, the every day life of the Bogey is fascinatingly rendered in a million different shades of drab.  It's probably preposterously old-fashioned for kids nowadays but it's an incredible work of art.  Fungus is a great quietly despairing everyman, even though his day job is scaring the pants off surface dwellers in the dark and inducing boils.   

He even has a little bit of an existential crisis and a mini-argument with his wife, quickly resolved with a slimy hug and a heartfelt apology.  At no point does the book talk down to the kids (I suppose older kids than the audience this thread is aimed at really) reading it and it's got to be one of the least patronising books ever written for young people.  They literally do not make them like this any more.   


FredNurke

Phantom Tollbooth. A truly mind-opening literary experience.

Sebastian Cobb

Fungus the Bogeyman was quality.

I really liked Burglar Bill as a kid, Janet and Allan Ahlberg did some fantastic work.

ASFTSN

Quote from: Sebastian Cobb on October 23, 2017, 02:21:42 PM
Fungus the Bogeyman was quality.

I really liked Burglar Bill as a kid, Janet and Allan Ahlberg did some fantastic work.

"I'll 'ave that!"

Panbaams

I'd recommend a Dr Seuss collection – there's often one from The Book People, or possibly Amazon or Waterstones will have one. But if you get one, get Oh, The Places You'll Go!. It's a sensational book.

the ouch cube

I don't have kids myself but a favourite was the inexplicable 'Clams Can't Sing', featuring two molluscs called Benny and Beatrice (presumably a 'Much Ado About Nothing' reference just for the hell of it), who defy the pompous declaration that their species is lacking musical nous (according to a self-important lobster who rides around on a horseshoe crab and is organising a beachside concert of some sort) and treat everyone to a sort of free-jazz routine involving blowing bubbles, and are acclaimed for it.

By someone called James Stevenson apparently

That's the sort of mad shit little kids are allowed to enjoy before stuff starts getting marketed to them (usually involving ponies or dystopias).

Serge

My niece is going to be twelve just before Christmas, has anybody got any recommendations for books I could get her? She likes Jacqueline Wilson and the Dreaded Walliams, but isn't keen on Harry Potter (hurrah!) I'm going to get her 'Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls', and I was thinking of getting her a couple of the Robin Stevens 'Murder Most Unladylike' series, but if there's anything else that anyone could recommend, I'd be grateful! I suspect she wouldn't really like the Just William books, which were a staple of my childhood, or Robert Westall's 'The Machine Gunners', so I can't really go back to my own childhood reading as much of a guide....

holyzombiejesus

Quote from: Serge on October 23, 2017, 07:26:41 PM
My niece is going to be twelve just before Christmas, has anybody got any recommendations for books I could get her? She likes Jacqueline Wilson and the Dreaded Walliams, but isn't keen on Harry Potter (hurrah!) I'm going to get her 'Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls', and I was thinking of getting her a couple of the Robin Stevens 'Murder Most Unladylike' series, but if there's anything else that anyone could recommend, I'd be grateful! I suspect she wouldn't really like the Just William books, which were a staple of my childhood, or Robert Westall's 'The Machine Gunners', so I can't really go back to my own childhood reading as much of a guide....


Ghost World.

holyzombiejesus

I have a 9 1/2 month old and he seems to like these the best...




The design and illustrations are really nice and whilst the stories aren't massively involving, they're still fun to read to him. Also, they're pretty robust so will stand up to gummy gnawing.

I buy most of the books for him and, whilst I've been vehemently opposed to getting him to listen to 'cool' bands (and film him jigging to them to impress other people - fuck that!), I do like buying stuff with design that I like. I hope that doesn't make me seem to much of a twat.

My two favourites are

and

The former is a rhyming ABC book and I really love the pictures. Also, the rhymes make it lovely to read. I know it off by hear now. It was originally in French and I like trying to guess what the original words were; they must have rhymed and also tally with the pictures...



Fly's good because some of the figures in the book come out and you can move them to other bits, like this...



I don't know how to resize images :(

holyzombiejesus

Oh yeah, we both really like this too.



When I ordered it, I didn't realise how huge it was and the book was bigger than the boy. It's still huge for him but it's fun doing the animal noises with him. I showed him the picture of the cow the other morning and went 'mmmm....' and he interrupted and went ma ma, which amused me if not his miserable sleep-deprived mother. He makes growling  noises when he sees the lion now, which is pretty ace.



The same artist designed those felt lift the flap animal books which the boy also really likes.

Serge

Quote from: holyzombiejesus on October 23, 2017, 08:23:07 PM
Ghost World.

Heh, funnily enough, I was wondering if there were any graphic novels that might be suitable for her.

Regarding your other posts, I do see a lot of great books like the ones you've posted when I'm unpacking deliveries at work, and think it's a shame that all of them are too young for my niece, as there are some brilliant kids books around right now for younger kids. My cousin's daughter has just had a baby, so maybe I should start encouraging them to buy some for him.....

holyzombiejesus

Quote from: Serge on October 23, 2017, 09:46:07 PM
Heh, funnily enough, I was wondering if there were any graphic novels that might be suitable for her.


Isabel Greenberg's done a couple of books that might be suitable.

Does she like Moomins? There's that new 'World of Moominvalley' encyclopaedia thingy that's just come out.

Panbaams

Quote from: Serge on October 23, 2017, 07:26:41 PM
My niece is going to be twelve just before Christmas, has anybody got any recommendations for books I could get her? She likes Jacqueline Wilson and the Dreaded Walliams, but isn't keen on Harry Potter (hurrah!) I'm going to get her 'Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls', and I was thinking of getting her a couple of the Robin Stevens 'Murder Most Unladylike' series, but if there's anything else that anyone could recommend, I'd be grateful! I suspect she wouldn't really like the Just William books, which were a staple of my childhood, or Robert Westall's 'The Machine Gunners', so I can't really go back to my own childhood reading as much of a guide....

My eldest is a big fan of the Murder Most Unladylike series. Katherine Woodfine's Sinclair's Mysteries series (The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow, and so on) are a hit too, and Peter Bunzl's Cogheart books have gone down well.

Dannyhood91

I was prime age for Harry Potter when it first hit the shelves but it never ever resonated with me and I still to this day can't really get on with it.

I got given Beyond the Deepwoods and if my memory serves well my cover had "For kids who are bored of Harry Potter" in the corner.

Anyway it's a book and series that has a special place in my heart.

Janie Jones

Quote from: Serge on October 23, 2017, 07:26:41 PM
My niece is going to be twelve just before Christmas, has anybody got any recommendations for books I could get her? She likes Jacqueline Wilson and the Dreaded Walliams, but isn't keen on Harry Potter (hurrah!) I'm going to get her 'Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls', and I was thinking of getting her a couple of the Robin Stevens 'Murder Most Unladylike' series, but if there's anything else that anyone could recommend, I'd be grateful!
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. I loved that and so did my daughter.
Gormanghast trilogy - actually just the first 2 - Mervyn Peake
I never got on with Just William but used to love the Jennings books by Anthony Buckeridge.
Isn't the famous graphic novel 'Y' widely read by  this age group? Sorry I've forgotten who it's by.
Lucky kid, though. Imagine having Serge as your uncle, surely the Ne Plus Ultra of avuncular cool.

Serge

Quote from: Janie Jones on October 24, 2017, 08:02:53 PMGormanghast trilogy - actually just the first 2 - Mervyn Peake

Although I agree that the first two are miles above it, I don't think the third one's as bad as its reputation suggests, especially when you factor in his encroaching dementia at the time he was writing it!

QuoteLucky kid, though. Imagine having Serge as your uncle, surely the Ne Plus Ultra of avuncular cool.

I seriously doubt she sees me this way! A few years ago, she was more of a reader than she is now, but she seems to have become more and more hooked on her smartphone, almost becoming a moody teenager two years ahead of time. Hopefully it's just a phase.....

Brunette Romana 2

I think it's quite a long phase I'm afraid Serge, if my 14 year old is anything to go by!

She's recently enjoyed the Miss Peregrine series however, so they might be worth a go?!

Serge

I might try them, but I don't think she's a big fan of fantasy/supernatural stuff! Which is a shame, as I've got two colleagues at work who practically read nothing but Young Adult fiction along these lines, who could probably give me a recommendation a week....!

Fonz

The Tintin books. We're ploughing through them together.

Brilliant.

Shit Good Nose

We've just bought our daughter a load of Roald Dahl books, and I was planning on doing the full Rik for George's Marvellous Medicine, but she wants to read them herself.  Ho hum.

Neville Chamberlain

I've always been a massive Asterix fan, and a couple of nights ago I had the pleasure of reading Asterix at the Olympic Games to my five-year-old. OK, he probably didn't get most of what was going on, but I had fun. So fucking funny, I love the classic Asterixes!

Serge

A friend of mine collected the Asterix books, but when buying them would always pretend they were for a non-existent nephew for some reason. He now has three kids, so probably takes one of them along for cover these days.

MiddleRabbit

The Shrinking Of Treehorn - Florence Parry Heide. My favourite kids' book ever.  Nobody listens to a word Treehorn says.  Lots going on.  Very American for little kids, but you can translate as you go.

The Velveteen Rabbit - Margery Williams.  A beautiful, happy-sad book.

Oscar Wilde's children's stories, especially The Happy Prince and The Selfish Giant.  I first saw cartoon adaptations one lunchtime on school holidays.  The most 70s cartoons in the world.  Perhaps even more than The Water Babies.

Mind you, I was born in the very early 70s when the prevailing mood in terms of child rearing was to not shirk from the inevitability of suffering and pain of childhood and life in general.  I thought people went to the cinema to weep until I saw Star Wars...

greencalx

Hmmm, not sure if I can do this in any systematic way...

I quite like the Julia Donaldson / Nick Sharrat collaborations - the wit of Sharrat's graphics seems to suit Donaldson's prose better than say Scheffler's.

The Hairy McLary series has some good rhymes. I particularly like Zachary Quack (and we all know one or two of those in real life)

Poo Bum! about a rabbit who could only say one thing...

Manfred the Baddie and the Shifty McGifty books all have a lot going on in them.

I'll be interested to see how modern kids get on with Roald Dahl as I remember him as fresh and subversive when I was a kid, but there's so much more variety now it might come across as a bit staid and twee...

QDRPHNC

Guess How Much I Love You is lovely. Read it to my son many times when he was tiny.

lizzum

I used to like the Ha Ha Bonk book by Janet and Allan Ahlburg.

jobotic

Thanks for those recommendations holyzombiejesus. I have a 19 month old and they look great for her. Her favourite book at the moment is The Baby's Catalogue by the Ahlbergs.

Am reading Mr Gum with my six year old at the moment, thanks to the OP - very funny, thanks again.

This is a funny book



And we always like to say "Okay. Thank you anyway" from I Want My Hat Back.

jobotic

#29