trash?

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JaneEyre
Posts: 4843
Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 1:04 pm

trash?

Post by JaneEyre »

now I have a shock…
one of the top ten summer read advised by BP is Diary of a wimpy kid.

Why to advertise such books? Why to pull down children into this kind of poor quality books?

I am fully aware that some children do not like to read and that this kind of books could help them onto reading… But I really feel the culture advertised around us is very often just trash culture… and that make me scared. Am I alone with my worries? :? :?
JaneEyre
Posts: 4843
Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 1:04 pm

Re: trash?

Post by JaneEyre »

I mean, what could be done is a list of top 10 summer read with good quality books which would enhance children's vocabulary or imagination... and then a section 'for those who do not like to read' where all the low quality books (but which enthuse some children) could me gathered...
Amber, where are you? I am sure you would be with me on this one!
tense
Posts: 679
Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2007 3:02 pm
Location: Herts

Re: trash?

Post by tense »

The low quality books??!! Perhaps the lists should be called 'good quality' & 'low quality' so everyone knows their place.

Any reading at all is a good thing as far as I'm concerned.

(I have no idea what BP is. I am probably the wrong kind of poster :roll: )
kenyancowgirl
Posts: 6738
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:59 pm

Re: trash?

Post by kenyancowgirl »

Absolutely. I think all babies should be handed the Complete Works of Shakespeare at birth (in their Bounty Pack) and no child should be allowed entry to school until they can recite War and Peace, (in the original Russian.) :shock: :shock:

Of course there is a place for all genres of book. DoWK took off partly because the eponymous hero is not your usual macho type and some children relate well to it. Both my boys, who are articulate, intelligent and well read children, enjoyed the series of books, sharing them between them, laughing at things in them.

By engaging with a whole range of books, children learn what works well for a reader, they learn a range of styles and how different forms of expression work. They learn to make decisions about the type of literature they like to engage with. Too often kids are pushed to read books that adults think they should be reading, not what the kids would actually enjoy - parents and school reading trees can be guilty of this.

Besides, EL James and Jilly Cooper have done pretty well out of "poor quality" books...
JaneEyre
Posts: 4843
Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 1:04 pm

Re: trash?

Post by JaneEyre »

kenyancowgirl wrote:Absolutely. I think all babies should be handed the Complete Works of Shakespeare at birth (in their Bounty Pack) and no child should be allowed entry to school until they can recite War and Peace, (in the original Russian.) :shock: :shock: .
oh dear, I have been misunderstood there!!!! :shock: :shock: :shock:
OK, this tread can be locked!!

At least, the English department at my DS' school is doing a great job. I am grateful for that. English teachers over there would understand what I am talking about!!
southbucks3
Posts: 3579
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:59 am

Re: trash?

Post by southbucks3 »

What is bp?

Diary writing is on the curriculum, so I imagine anything that encourages both reading,,all be it at a very fun simple level, and writing a diary, is going to be advantageous.

Before anyone says anything, I know there are much higher quality diaries to read, but not many contemporary works that children can truly relate to. Two of my boys read and enjoyed the doawk full set a few years back, funnily enough they are now reading 'bunker diary' together, a great read, but I have to say doawk scored highest with them.
At least, the English department at my DS' school is doing a great job. I am grateful for that. English teachers over there would understand what I am talking about!!
Our English dept say, "read read read, anything they enjoy, any genre aimed at any age, they will choose more advanced books when they are ready." We had a whole evening after school with them saying just that. I went right out and bought my son the 'how to train your Dragon' latest book he wanted, as I had been saying he was too old for it. :oops: They are red hot on spag and writing though.
kenyancowgirl
Posts: 6738
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:59 pm

Re: trash?

Post by kenyancowgirl »

JaneEyre wrote:
kenyancowgirl wrote:Absolutely. I think all babies should be handed the Complete Works of Shakespeare at birth (in their Bounty Pack) and no child should be allowed entry to school until they can recite War and Peace, (in the original Russian.) :shock: :shock: .
oh dear, I have been misunderstood there!!!! :shock: :shock: :shock:
OK, this tread can be locked!!

At least, the English department at my DS' school is doing a great job. I am grateful for that. English teachers over there would understand what I am talking about!!
Oh no...I "understand" quite well, what you are saying. I don't need to be an English teacher to do that. You haven't been misunderstood. I don't "agree" with what you are saying - that is completely different. I'm also not a book snob - reading anything (even the TV guide) is worthwhile for children. Any decent English teacher, (or any teacher, for that matter), would tell you that.

Children make decisions about what to read, in the same way adults do (and children should be encouraged to do this) - I wouldn't chose to read the same genre of book on the beach as I would in bed at night - why should a child?

Just because you don't approve of DoWK doesn't mean that it doesn't have a valued place in children's literature. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole was extremely popular when I was at school - even with teachers - as it showed another way of writing.
ToadMum
Posts: 11944
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: trash?

Post by ToadMum »

British Pharmacopoeia?

Didn't know it had an Eng.Lit section, but one lives and learns,as they say.

Wouldn't give the DWK books the time of day, myself, but DS2 has read and loved all of them. I would worry if a lad was still struggling with the Magic Key books at the age of 11, not that he was chortling at the Wimpy Kid's travails. Or the Hunger Games (hopefully no chortling, though :shock:).
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
Jiffreturns
Posts: 20
Joined: Sat Oct 04, 2014 2:36 pm

Re: trash?

Post by Jiffreturns »

Oh the irony!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dog Days: "Mom" tries to get them to read "classics" such as Little Women and The Yearling at her Reading Is Fun Club but the boys bring their own favourites including "Xtreme pop-up Sharks" and "Green Wasp"! :lol:

ETA p33 if anyone wants to read it!
Tolstoy
Posts: 2755
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:25 pm

Re: trash?

Post by Tolstoy »

These books are excellent for dyslexic DC as the pictures break up the text. I am eternally grateful for them as along with the Mr Men series and The Owl who was afraid of the Dark, they were just about the only books my DS would read.
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