When I was in middle school, my mom raved about Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.
Not only did I refuse to read it because of this, Istill have not read it to this day.
My mom is whipsmart and I respect her more than anyone on earth and as an adult, I do everything she tells me to do; I even own two copies of the book! 👆 But the more I talk to anyone trying to raise readers, the more I realize that almost everyone has had this uniquely weird experience, so I have kept my mouth pretty much shut with my own children about any book that has any meaning to me at all. (Yes, a not-so-minor miracle to be sure.)
Which books do you wish your children loved, but they don’t?
(See also: which books have you ruined for your kids with your genuine enthusiasm?)
My kids are too young, but I know I will have a lot of feelings if they reject Daniel Manus Pinkwater’s books. Gonna try to play it real cool with those...
Peter Rabbit and anything Beatrix Potter. The original Winnie the Pooh, Now We Are Six, etc. The Wind in the Willows. Edwardian England bores him, I guess.
I've had the experience of thinking he hasn't caught on to something I've read him, only for him to parrot back a passage of the book later on. (Notably, from "Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain" -- "Tears won't help us now.") I was overjoyed when he became obsessed -- OBSESSED -- with The Fire Cat by Esther Averill, to the point that kids at school were calling him Pickles.
My mom had never mentioned The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe to me but then recommended it to my best friend in elementary school. It took 20 years for the jealousy to wear off so I could finally read it.
Ahh 😌 this is so interesting! Not a book but I loved the Toy Story films and my son thinks they are weird and won’t watch them. We read Dr Seuss which my mum never liked so I only knew as an adult! 😉
This is hilarious and a topic that Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy talked about at her session "Reading Past Bedtime" about inspiring a lifetime love of reading in kids at Bookmarks Book Festival in Winston-Salem, NC this weekend. She talked about her husband coming on too strong with The Lord of the Rings (or was it The Hobbit?) with one of their kids and how he realized his mistake but couldn't stop insisting/raving and they now think that kid will never read the classic, ever, even though they would like it!! Going to TRY to tamp down my enthusiasm for all my favorites, but we'll just have to see...... (I'm thinking of middle grade reads like Ella Enchanged, Tomorrow When the War Began, The Giver, oh and OF COURSE Harry Potter.)
The Boxcar Children was the first book I fell in love with (read to us after recess each afternoon by my 2nd grade teacher), and The Little House on the Prairie series followed soon after (read those on my own). I don’t think any of my kids ever read them even though I kept a copy of each series on the bookshelf “just in case.”
Books my mother ruined for me with her enthusiasm: Farmer Boy and A Wrinkle in Time. I DID like The Moon by Night by Madeleine L’Engle and she got a copy for my sister and me to read with her when we drove cross country for 2 weeks before starting college.
Amelia Bedelia and Pippi Longstocking were both series I loved at 5-6 yo, and my 6 yo hasn’t taken to them. I loved The Baby-sitters Club and I’m interested to see if my 6 yo will like the graphic novel versions that are popular with some of his older friends. He enjoyed the Netflix show and I was surprised how invested he was in sharing that experience with me.
Ahh. You’re really missing a lovely piece of literature in “little women”. It’s one book that I read again and again. I adore the sisterhood of it. AJ
No matter how hard I try, neither of my kids are interested in the Madeline books 😢
I’ve got nothing to add to this thread, but I’m excited to follow.
My kids are too young, but I know I will have a lot of feelings if they reject Daniel Manus Pinkwater’s books. Gonna try to play it real cool with those...
Whenever I try to read an "award-winning book," my kids are generally meh about them. Unless they are picture books. I find this so interesting.
Peter Rabbit and anything Beatrix Potter. The original Winnie the Pooh, Now We Are Six, etc. The Wind in the Willows. Edwardian England bores him, I guess.
I've had the experience of thinking he hasn't caught on to something I've read him, only for him to parrot back a passage of the book later on. (Notably, from "Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain" -- "Tears won't help us now.") I was overjoyed when he became obsessed -- OBSESSED -- with The Fire Cat by Esther Averill, to the point that kids at school were calling him Pickles.
You win some, you lose some.
My mom had never mentioned The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe to me but then recommended it to my best friend in elementary school. It took 20 years for the jealousy to wear off so I could finally read it.
Ahh 😌 this is so interesting! Not a book but I loved the Toy Story films and my son thinks they are weird and won’t watch them. We read Dr Seuss which my mum never liked so I only knew as an adult! 😉
I tried very hard to get my kids to like “Winnie the Pooh”
This is hilarious and a topic that Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy talked about at her session "Reading Past Bedtime" about inspiring a lifetime love of reading in kids at Bookmarks Book Festival in Winston-Salem, NC this weekend. She talked about her husband coming on too strong with The Lord of the Rings (or was it The Hobbit?) with one of their kids and how he realized his mistake but couldn't stop insisting/raving and they now think that kid will never read the classic, ever, even though they would like it!! Going to TRY to tamp down my enthusiasm for all my favorites, but we'll just have to see...... (I'm thinking of middle grade reads like Ella Enchanged, Tomorrow When the War Began, The Giver, oh and OF COURSE Harry Potter.)
The Boxcar Children was the first book I fell in love with (read to us after recess each afternoon by my 2nd grade teacher), and The Little House on the Prairie series followed soon after (read those on my own). I don’t think any of my kids ever read them even though I kept a copy of each series on the bookshelf “just in case.”
Books my mother ruined for me with her enthusiasm: Farmer Boy and A Wrinkle in Time. I DID like The Moon by Night by Madeleine L’Engle and she got a copy for my sister and me to read with her when we drove cross country for 2 weeks before starting college.
Amelia Bedelia and Pippi Longstocking were both series I loved at 5-6 yo, and my 6 yo hasn’t taken to them. I loved The Baby-sitters Club and I’m interested to see if my 6 yo will like the graphic novel versions that are popular with some of his older friends. He enjoyed the Netflix show and I was surprised how invested he was in sharing that experience with me.