tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7940379803900435059.post2121773385129820058..comments2023-10-21T08:45:53.140-05:00Comments on Baja Greenawalt's Cozy Book Nook: Swotting up on children’s booksLesahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05102907186589066829noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7940379803900435059.post-28883622580674761182010-08-02T22:26:34.818-05:002010-08-02T22:26:34.818-05:00Today walking in Target, I was so excited to see a...Today walking in Target, I was so excited to see a bin of classics (paperback) for $1 each. A few titles: Little Princess, Peter Pan, Alice, Oliver Twist. What a disapointment to see 'adapted and condensed' on the cover. I did not buy a single one! So now you know which side of the fence I am on.<br /><br />btw, I glanced at the first page of Little Princess-- so drab..Lesahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05102907186589066829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7940379803900435059.post-29788779220807492112010-07-31T03:22:54.086-05:002010-07-31T03:22:54.086-05:00Ahhh, I just finished reading A Little Princess a ...Ahhh, I just finished reading A Little Princess a while ago. :) One of my childhood favorites! Also, you brought memories back with The Magic Faraway Tree. I used to gobble up Enid Blyton's work as a kid - in fact, a few months ago, I bought the faraway tree series because I was feeling nostalgic ;). The Mallory towers is next!<br />p.s. - thanks for stopping by at my blog - I really appreciate it! :)Ellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03530287318849478543noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7940379803900435059.post-61882445085319348312010-07-26T09:26:13.028-05:002010-07-26T09:26:13.028-05:00What I remember from children's books is my gr...What I remember from children's books is my grandfather, or parents reading to me. For me, that's what makes them special.<br /><br />Reading a nighttime story to my children these days is the highlight of my day - every day.<br /><br />http://www.ManOfLaBook.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7940379803900435059.post-46086227115669897622010-07-26T07:58:57.476-05:002010-07-26T07:58:57.476-05:00Oh, En, we welcome your comments, be they brief or...Oh, En, we welcome your comments, be they brief or elaborate. <br /><br />Funny, I think our co-blogger Izzy was reading Alice at a very young age. We'll ask her to weigh in on it being suitable for children.<br /><br />I did find Peter (compared to Alice) quite impenetrable, but, as you say, there is hope that our children will read the classics as adults.<br /><br />Jessica is quite right to point out the objectionable content in so many of our classics. There is no way we would let our PC kids read that now!DeLynnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14855086449854653526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7940379803900435059.post-56746884138866324902010-07-26T04:48:40.772-05:002010-07-26T04:48:40.772-05:00+JMJ+
DeLynne, I remember someone arguing a few y...+JMJ+<br /><br />DeLynne, I remember someone arguing a few years back that Lewis Carroll's <i>Alice in Wonderland</i> can no longer be considered a Children's Book because its Victorian language has been completely inaccessible to children for at least the past few decades. Only adults can read it now.<br /><br />It's partly the way English has changed, partly the way our communication patterns have changed, partly the way we're just more visual these days, partly the way we're happier to break things down for children than the Victorians were . . . Oh, there are so many reasons--but I'm not writing a thesis here! =P<br /><br />Anyway, I think the same fate has befallen <i>Peter Pan</i>. The old-fashioned language really is, as you point out, practically a foreign language. (Isn't there a saying that goes, "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there"?) I tried reading Barrie's book as a young teenager and failing miserably. But just a few weeks ago, I gave it another try, and was completely enthralled.<br /><br />But no, I don't believe in editing or abridging classics just so that children can understand them more easily. As long as there are some books they can still understand, stick to those and hope that they will be ready for the harder ones later. And when all great classics our grandparents' generation can remember have been rendered totally impenetrable, well, let's hope there are some newer classics that our children can still enjoy.<br /><br />(Pardon my verbose comment! Yes, I realise I do have my own blog. *embarrassed*)Enbrethilielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03414765854670926854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7940379803900435059.post-15310485243313916382010-07-26T03:48:23.619-05:002010-07-26T03:48:23.619-05:00I remember attempting to read Peter Pan when I was...I remember attempting to read Peter Pan when I was a child and I had to put it down after a few chapters.<br /><br />As for Enid Blyton - I notice the article didnt mention all the racist and sexist stuff which also had to be edited from her books.Jessicahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08861424110678889637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7940379803900435059.post-90781370565601188842010-07-26T03:27:31.497-05:002010-07-26T03:27:31.497-05:00Leslie, I was going to say I must check out the pr...Leslie, I was going to say I must check out the predator series, but then I remembered my audience. That little girl will be reading books before you know it!DeLynnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14855086449854653526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7940379803900435059.post-6441223790772894192010-07-26T00:59:50.628-05:002010-07-26T00:59:50.628-05:00I loved The Little Princess, Alice in Wonderland, ...I loved The Little Princess, Alice in Wonderland, and all of those sorts of books. <br />Part of what makes these stories so fantastic, is the way they were written, the language, the poetry, the descriptions. They are as much of the story as the plot and characters!<br />I look forward to my little ones reading these stories, the way they were written. <br />Right now, our bedtime stories are books like, "PREDATORS of the Dinosaurs" or "PREDATORS of the Ocean" or "PREDATORS of Africa" (do you see a theme? It's like, uh, a series.) <br />But when my little girl is a little older, I would love to read Alice in Wonderland with her!Lesliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12655136952400905041noreply@blogger.com