BellaOnline Forums Education Gifted Education what's wrong with children's books

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we have a constant current of children's library books ebbing through our home. we pick mostly ones that are the right imagination level, even if he has far outpaced the reading level. our chapter book choices, as your article points out, are very simple (sometimes too childish for children- i.e. ridiculous levels of potty humor, predictability, or name-calling) books or teen/young adult material. there are several books that have stood the test of time, but i don't see many excellent recently written books for children. when you have consumptive readers, it is difficult to supply them.

however, i have to say that i have been VERY impressed with the amount of well-written and well-illustrated non-fiction material that has emerged in the market for children! especially science and nature ones! many are NOT written as overly simplistic fluff. when i walk in a barnes and noble, i realize how few choices we had when we were children for these. those have no trouble capturing my sons interest and imagination for hour upon hour - and giving him some level of challenge.

and, lorel, i know what you mean about the bookshelves! lol

I've been thinking for a while how to respond to this. I know I'm a bit wishy-washy -- I can see both sides. Quality literature is wonderful -- but sometimes, those other books can fulfill a need, as well. And I'll admit it (and demonstrate my true maturity level, and probably make anyone reading this take anything I say with several grains of salt) -- I have read and enjoyed Captain Underpants. I always thought those two characters (and boy, are they characters) were unidentified gifted....

But I suspect those formulaic books (and my son enjoyed reading some of those series, as well) have a bit of comfort in them as they may deal with social/emotional issues that the kids need to work through. Or they may be like old friends, as in re-re-rereading a book for the umpteenth time.

Zandes -- I found that my son was far more likely to read non-fiction than fiction, too. Seems like a lot of boys are like that. Even now, my son (16) doesn't read a lot of fiction for pleasure. If we find the right book, he will whip through it, but he not likely to seek them out too often.

Zandes-

I agree- the choices for non-fiction are terrific! My son discovered the Eyewitness books at two, and we have a whole pile of them at this point. I think my dd was four or five when she got a huge horse encyclopedia for Christmas. She was so excited! The non-fiction stuff definitely gets a lot of action here.

Ms. A, I chuckle to think of you reading Captain Underpants! Thanks for coming out of the closet!

3 Cheers for Captain Underpants! Seriously folks, you have to understand the 4th grade mind to really appreciate this classic "potty humor." But it is SO much more than that. It is good vs. evil. It is kids vs. grownups, monsters, for heaven's sake, even lunch ladies (no offense to you lunch time supervisors or kitchen workers, I've done my share of lunch duty too). Dave Pinky has a knack for tickling kids' funny bones with ridiculous humor and illustrations. Perhaps the best part is that he goes so overboard that it makes it "okay" to say some of these words outloud in hilarious contexts. And, yes, I agree. The two boys are definitely gifted. When gifted minds are not challenged with the "regular" academic work, they tend to make up their own "challenges."

Now on a more serious side...

I completely empathize with those of you who cringe when seeing children read the pop star based books. One time while on our weekly public library visit, I came across a Spice Girls book. I just about lost it when I read the content with explicatives and the manner in which these women were dressed. Granted, this was in the "teen" section, which was WAY too close to the children's section if you ask me. I don't believe in censorship except on the familial level--me, Mom, making some executive decisions when it comes to "literature" for my kids. Thankfully, neither my son nor my daughter ever went through an "idol" stage.

However, it can be VERY challenging finding appropriate literature for those readers who are miles ahead of the crowd. For example having a 2nd grade girl able to read at a 9th grade level. But do you want her exposed to the YA subjects out there? Not yet. I remember my daughter (and son) loved the Classic Nancy Drew series. Note: Classic. She also read the original classic unabridged 1001 Arabian Nights as a 2nd grader. She pretty much cleaned out the library until recently. As a 13-year-old high school freshman, she's choosing fiction from the adult paperback racks, usually mysteries or fantasy fiction. It does sound a little scary, and not for every 13-year-old, but she handles it pretty well.

I have two daughters who are grown now and I remember how difficult it was to find books that matched both their age and their reading level. It even persisted through the teen years. We just ran out of young adult books at the library and I started foraging into the adult section. This is difficult since some of these books have topics that are inappropriate for young teens and it is impossible to tell what is in the books without reading them yourself. It was a concern that the moral messages could be well -- immoral! Eventually, I had to just trust them to know what constitutes sensible behavior and it all worked out. Luckily, we're past that now but I remember how it was...

Hi Diana!

Welcome to the GE forum. You know, I have to say that my kids are pretty good about selecting their own higher level books. If they came across something that was distasteful, they'd probably just put the book down. My kids start in on adult non-fiction very early, and have gotten into adult novels before most kids are reading The Cat in the Hat. They've managed ok without a huge amount of guidance in this area.

I have to agree with Lorel...as an advanced young reader as a child, I was given free reign of our extensive home and community library. My family had instilled values in me and trusted that I would know if something was inappropriate. And even when I did read things that were beyond what I should have been reading, I was glad that I got it from a book that I could close and get distance from rather than a movie which is more in-your-face. I think that I was exposed to things that kids are going to be exposed to eventually anyway but in a more intellectual way through books rather than other media.

And is also always helped that our family talks about the books we are reading all the time and so my parents were able to process things with me as needed, too.

Melissa

Melissa-

That's a great point about a book being less obtrusive (not sure what other word to use) than a movie. I recall reading Jaws as a ten year old, but it wasn't until a few years later that I saw the film, and guess which one bothered me more?

Of course I have just ordered some (adult) books for my seven year old and now I am wondering if I should browse through them quickly to make sure there aren't any graphic accounts of this or that. She just read a book of mine by this author and on the same general topic, but who knows whether the others will be similarly PG?