Astrid Lindgren and other children's literature

[Taliesin]

Now.

I would like to know what is the attitude to children's literature in this forum.

Is it something like: Oh yes, very necessary, but you seriously can't mean that they are real literature. They are like half-literature, sort of. Wouldn't give a Nobel prize, like. And we're all grown people and don't read it any more. Unless we read it to our children or younger brothers-sisters"
Or can it perhaps be something other?

The thing is, I searched for "Lindgren(s)" and found only two references, one of them being my own.
Is the attitude in this forum really like the first option?

For if it is, I won't bother starting a discussion about Lindgren.

[BSturdy]

Haven't got children but read to nieces, nephews and goddaughter

Adults probably get as much out of this as the children being read to, but you know...egotism, affectedness and all that

What sort of age is Astrid Lingren suitable from?

[Helga]

I still read the stories by Torbjorn Egner, I don't know the English name of the play but it's about animals in a wood and how the bear is like the president and everybody is afraid of the fox. It has a very sweet ending and teaches you a lot.

I love H.C. Andersen's stories, and I bought a children-book after working in a kindergarden, it's by James Thurber called the Last Flower, one of the best children literature I've read.

I think it's very important to read real children literature for kids not the simple stories about a mug or something like that.

[BSturdy]

I think it's very important to read real children literature for kids not the simple stories about a mug or something like that.

Are you implying that I am a gullible fool? That may be the case - I will even perhaps try reading the book you suggest to the kids : )

[Jester]

I recently read the Chronicles of Narnia and its not children but its young adult and you never get to old for it. I dont Lindren but I never tire of reading Dr. Seuss... :p Its not real educational but it sure is fun. He's a genius, really is.

[kushi]

I recently read the Chronicles of Narnia and its not children but its young adult and you never get to old for it. I dont Lindren but I never tire of reading Dr. Seuss... :p Its not real educational but it sure is fun. He's a genius, really is.
Dr. Seuss is GREAT!.. even if it's super tongue-twisty. Green eggs and ham Jester ;)

[kushi]

Children's books are so educational in a way...I mean like they talk about the "complex" things in a easy manner so its easy for the children to understand. I had recently gone to a dentist and there was a book about this animal going to the dentist's place and it had all the stuff that the dentists do and all yeah...and i personally like...learned quite a bit (not that i have no understanding of what goes on hehe)

[SleepyWitch]

I loved Lindgren's stories, ..read them as a teenager..
my dad read Ronya to my bro and me when we were small...
i should reread Rasmus and the Vagabond and also The Brothers Lionheart... it's a bit scary, but I think lots of very young children are virtually obsessed with a fear of death... i think it's one of them phases of psychological development...
Lindgren's books are soooo much better than the stuff you get today (i do love Harry Potter, but it's nowhere near as good as Lindgren)
does any one know the ORIGINAL Pippi Longstocking films?? they rock :)

[Helga]

Are you implying that I am a gullible fool? That may be the case - I will even perhaps try reading the book you suggest to the kids : )

no I am not, what I am saying is just that there are so many good books for children that can educate them too. I really doubt that a book I had about a blue mug that wanted to get to the floor is very educating, maybe I am not getting the real point but I doubt it.

when I was 4 my dad read the last mohican to me and many books by Icelandic authors, I had a lot more fun listening to that kind of books.

[simon]

Favorite all time childrens book is Grasshopper on the Road, it is a daoist masterpiece in disguise as a childrens tale to being true to yourself, complete with pictures on every page of course.

[Shea]

I still re-read the Cronicles of Narnia from time to time as well as The Secret Garden, Harry Potter, and I'd like to re-read Charley and the Chocolate Factory again. I think it takes quite a talented person to be able to tap into what kind of a story a child needs to read. We as adults can understand how those stories can benefit our children in a way that they can't understand until they become adults themselves. That's where my appreciation comes from.

[EAP]

I would give the Putlizer Prize to 'Where The Red Fern Grows', 'Watership Down', 'The Hobbit' or 'Bridge to Terebithia' in a heartbeat.

[mono]

For me, nothing topped Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, Aesop's Fables, and other various classics of Peter the Rabbit, Jack and the Beanstalk, and books by Dr. Seuss.

[amuse]

George MacDonald's works are fantababulous.
Especially his collected fairy tales, because one just isn't enough...The Light Princes, The Golden Key, The Princess and the Goblin/The Princess and Curdie books.

ooh, yes!!!! i found them online. :)
http://www.george-macdonald.com/etexts.htm

[ajoe]

I've been reading nothing but children's books.
The following book, even though are not without flaws, are awesome:
- The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly
- A Separate Peace by John Knowles
- The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
- The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
- Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery
- Dragonwings by Laurence Yep
- Wise Child by Monica Furlong

I think children's books are actually better than adult's books. Adult's books are pretty much about relationships and everyday-life situations and are written to make you think or something. Children's books, on the other hand, tell actual stories and are more flexible in that they can be about anything.

[IWilKikU]

Its all about Dahl. Also The Hobbit, Narnia, Alice, but I still think Harry Potter is driveling tripe!

[frozenlight]

i remember being touched by some of oscar wilde's stories... and i liked andersen a great deal. later i read a bunch of stories by wilhelm hauff, now i don't really remember what they were about, but i know they were kind of creepy and had an impact upon me.
and i remember reading a lot of historic legends, which later turned into a passion for my country's history, which didn't last very long (my passion that is... ).

[Koa]

Now.

I would like to know what is the attitude to children's literature in this forum.

Is it something like: Oh yes, very necessary, but you seriously can't mean that they are real literature. They are like half-literature, sort of. Wouldn't give a Nobel prize, like. And we're all grown people and don't read it any more. Unless we read it to our children or younger brothers-sisters"
Or can it perhaps be something other?

The thing is, I searched for "Lindgren(s)" and found only two references, one of them being my own.
Is the attitude in this forum really like the first option?

For if it is, I won't bother starting a discussion about Lindgren.

You got 2 references cos you searched for Lindgren, if you had looked for Dahl you would have found a few more.

I used to be totally addicted to Dahl as a child, and I wouldn't mind re-reading something now. I appreciated Lindgren too, someone mentioned Ronya which I didnt like much but read a few times anyway...and sorry my memory is failing but is it Lindgren who wrote Pippi WhatshernameinEnglish?
These kind of books are not stupid at all, they make children grow up with a deep conscience cos they have magic and sadness and poetry and everything...I used to read an awful lot as a child and I'd never treat that kind of literature with disrespect cos it helped making who I am, which sounds like a bit of a shallow sentence but it's true, it's the world I was living in at the time and it's in my memory still.

I'm not into Harry Potter tho..I can't be bothered. It's too popular to attract my attention.

By the way i was notcing the coincindence that many of the best authors for children seem to be from northern Europe...Lindgren is Swedish if I'm not wrong, Dahl is English of Norwegian origin or something like that... and I remember liking a book by Christine Nostlinger (German?) about a kid who's made in a factory and can therefore only obey to orders and be kind...

[shortysweetp]

pippi longstocking

[Koa]

Aw thanks...not hard to remember, but it's not the first time I'm told and I always forgot... Pippi Calzelunghe for me... Literal enough.

*goes to look for the book to find the original name*
Here it is:
Pippi Langstrump, with that Swedish empty dot above the A :)

My cousin was (and probably still is cos she's still only 8 years old) a big fan of hers... though I think she mostly knows her through tv cartoons and movies.

[ajoe]

Well, actually, I just reread Pippi Longstocking two days ago, and while I like the book, I don't really like Pippi the person. Even though she's brave and is for defending the weak, she's also rude, often times acts like a know-it-all, and is obnoxious in general. Really if I could meet her in person I'd knock some sense into her head.

[Koa]

Lol yes, she's not the ideal person to be around...It wasn't my favourite book of all times but I remember it as enjoyable anyway... I guess lots of kids are like that anyway...I think I was :blush: