Oh yay! I'm glad. It was refreshing to write something quick and easy to digest, and I like how it makes it easier for me to introduce more titles.
You're the only person who has ever picked up on the wide range of pub dates... 99% of it is genuine, in that we really do read books from 1961 to 2018 (and sometimes even earlier -- I mean the 19th century). One of the aspects of my obsession with children's literature that's most enjoyable to me is looking past the recent releases (I define "recent" as anything published in the last decade). There are thousands upon thousands of good old books that have stood the test of time. Bonus points because older books are still extremely available on the used market and, unless they're collectibles (I am not into collectibles, per se), MUCH more affordable than newer ones.
It's an interesting question about children's books aging better than YA or adult fiction -- my gut reaction is a good book is a good book no matter the reading level or genre -- but I think perhaps it's true that children's literature is longer lasting because the basic nature of childhood is timeless and universal. Adult problems seem to change more with the times, whereas the deep feelings, issues, challenges children experience have more to do, I think, with the human condition (and how to grow up) than the external circumstances we grownups get ourselves caught up in.
That said, of course there are titles -- classics, even -- that haven't stood the test of time. Racism and cultural insensitivity is rampant and often comes out of nowhere (i.e., it will have nothing at all to do with the narrative of the book, but will exist nonetheless). My 6yo and I actually ran into this with one of the books I wrote about in today's issue -- in Emily's Runaway Imagination by Beverly Cleary, one of the characters is an older Chinese man who lives in Emily's town, and he and Emily have this awkward social moment where he mispronounces a name and Emily reacts as a child does, with zero understanding of the cultural sensitivities being touched upon. Cleary made enough of a deal of it in the story that I felt it needed to be addressed. (I asked my daughter if she understood what had happened between them and she said no, which was all the more reason I felt we should talk about it.) In instances where issues come up that I wasn't expecting (I don't pre-read anything, fwiw), we talk about it -- I explain that, not just in the past but even today, some people believe different things than we do (I make sure to name whatever the "thing" is so we're not having an ambiguous conversation), and emphasize that, basically, we know better now so we do better now. She's six, so these discussions aren't in-depth -- I do make it a point to explicitly talk about the language used, e.g. "Some people used to call [this group][this name,] but that's hurtful. Now we use [this word] instead." This isn't a perfect process and I stumble all the time. But if you're going to read old literature -- I mean even some titles from the 1990s have some stuff in them that give me pause, especially as it pertains to gender roles and female body image -- you have to be prepared to address the ugly stuff. I'd rather have a five-minute discussion about an old, garbage belief, than throw a whole book away (unless the whole book is old garbage beliefs, of course). Part of being a discerning literate person is learning how to take in and analyze information, and think for yourself -- I see it as part of my job as a mother to teach my children how to do this.
My advice is to talk when you can, edit-on-the-fly as needed, and read a wide variety of books from all different time periods. Above all, don't use one title or single narrative to represent an entire group’s experience -- share more than one story. (This most often happens with First Nations people/Native Americans, who are often depicted as one people, all living in the past. Share the stories of the past but also make sure you read modern-day and contemporary narratives too.)
But to answer your question more directly 😊 Off the top of my head, here are some titles that have not made the cut for me: the Babar books (which is too bad because they are so rich in detail, both prose- and illustration-wise), the Little House on the Prairie chapter book series (not including the picture books, which are wonderful), The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (I'm not actually sure this was EVER a good book, personally), a lot of Dr. Seuss, the first Curious George book.
I really enjoyed "Ten Titles on Tuesday". Short and sweet.
One thing that caught my attention today about the day's selections is the year of publication. One of the selections is from 1961, another from 2018!
Do children's books age significantly better when compared to YA / Adult fiction ? Curious to know which 'classics' haven't made the cut for you :) ?
Oh yay! I'm glad. It was refreshing to write something quick and easy to digest, and I like how it makes it easier for me to introduce more titles.
You're the only person who has ever picked up on the wide range of pub dates... 99% of it is genuine, in that we really do read books from 1961 to 2018 (and sometimes even earlier -- I mean the 19th century). One of the aspects of my obsession with children's literature that's most enjoyable to me is looking past the recent releases (I define "recent" as anything published in the last decade). There are thousands upon thousands of good old books that have stood the test of time. Bonus points because older books are still extremely available on the used market and, unless they're collectibles (I am not into collectibles, per se), MUCH more affordable than newer ones.
It's an interesting question about children's books aging better than YA or adult fiction -- my gut reaction is a good book is a good book no matter the reading level or genre -- but I think perhaps it's true that children's literature is longer lasting because the basic nature of childhood is timeless and universal. Adult problems seem to change more with the times, whereas the deep feelings, issues, challenges children experience have more to do, I think, with the human condition (and how to grow up) than the external circumstances we grownups get ourselves caught up in.
That said, of course there are titles -- classics, even -- that haven't stood the test of time. Racism and cultural insensitivity is rampant and often comes out of nowhere (i.e., it will have nothing at all to do with the narrative of the book, but will exist nonetheless). My 6yo and I actually ran into this with one of the books I wrote about in today's issue -- in Emily's Runaway Imagination by Beverly Cleary, one of the characters is an older Chinese man who lives in Emily's town, and he and Emily have this awkward social moment where he mispronounces a name and Emily reacts as a child does, with zero understanding of the cultural sensitivities being touched upon. Cleary made enough of a deal of it in the story that I felt it needed to be addressed. (I asked my daughter if she understood what had happened between them and she said no, which was all the more reason I felt we should talk about it.) In instances where issues come up that I wasn't expecting (I don't pre-read anything, fwiw), we talk about it -- I explain that, not just in the past but even today, some people believe different things than we do (I make sure to name whatever the "thing" is so we're not having an ambiguous conversation), and emphasize that, basically, we know better now so we do better now. She's six, so these discussions aren't in-depth -- I do make it a point to explicitly talk about the language used, e.g. "Some people used to call [this group][this name,] but that's hurtful. Now we use [this word] instead." This isn't a perfect process and I stumble all the time. But if you're going to read old literature -- I mean even some titles from the 1990s have some stuff in them that give me pause, especially as it pertains to gender roles and female body image -- you have to be prepared to address the ugly stuff. I'd rather have a five-minute discussion about an old, garbage belief, than throw a whole book away (unless the whole book is old garbage beliefs, of course). Part of being a discerning literate person is learning how to take in and analyze information, and think for yourself -- I see it as part of my job as a mother to teach my children how to do this.
My advice is to talk when you can, edit-on-the-fly as needed, and read a wide variety of books from all different time periods. Above all, don't use one title or single narrative to represent an entire group’s experience -- share more than one story. (This most often happens with First Nations people/Native Americans, who are often depicted as one people, all living in the past. Share the stories of the past but also make sure you read modern-day and contemporary narratives too.)
But to answer your question more directly 😊 Off the top of my head, here are some titles that have not made the cut for me: the Babar books (which is too bad because they are so rich in detail, both prose- and illustration-wise), the Little House on the Prairie chapter book series (not including the picture books, which are wonderful), The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (I'm not actually sure this was EVER a good book, personally), a lot of Dr. Seuss, the first Curious George book.