Confessions of a Book Snob

Hello.  My name is Laura.  I am a book snob.  (This is going to be so cathartic!)  Actually, I did not realize that I was a book snob until going through my book reorganization project these past few days.  As part of my recovery, I am going to share with you the warning sign that led to my diagnosis (self-diagnosis).  As I was going through all our books, I realized that there were certain books I wanted to reject altogether.  And I mean reject as in "get that book out of my house" rejection.  Books that fell into this category tended to be any books with Disney or TV characters as well as any books with "bells and whistles" such as buttons to push for sound effects.  The thing is, my boys enjoy some of these books.  And that is why I realized that I am a book snob.  But seriously,

doesn't hold a candle to...........

...........at least not in a quality literary sense.  I know how book snobby that sounds. 

Obviously, we have both types of books in our home, although I did not buy the Diego book.  And Blueberries for Sal  was a gift from Aunt Carole (Thanks, Carole!  Good choice!) and Whoever You Are  was a gift from my good friend, Beth (Thanks, Beth!  I love this one!).  The point I want to make here, mostly for my own benefit, is that it is good to read to your child........period.  Yes, I strongly believe it is important to expose them to high-quality literature like the books I pictured above.  However, they will also get great joy from hearing other types of books as well as the experience of sitting with a beloved adult and sharing some quality time.  How's that for a recovering book snob?

To reinforce my point, my littlest boy, who just turned three, saw the Diego book on the screen while I was typing this and got very excited!  So there you go.

Below is a photo of a FANTASTIC book about sharing books with your child.  It has several chapters on the family book experience which are really well-written and inspiring.  It also has several chapters with bibliographies and reviews for various age levels.  This is a MUST HAVE book if you love books and children.  I apologize for the very poor photo quality of the pictures in this post.  I think I've figured out my camera's problem, I just don't know how to fix it yet.  The Kodak live chat line is closed until tomorrow.  So, we'll see.

This book is called Honey for a Child's Heart: The Imaginative Use of Books in Family Life by Gladys Hunt.  It has an annotated list of books for children ages 0-14.  She has also written a similar book for teens and women.  I am putting a link to this book in my Amazon sidebar.  (In case you are wondering, I'm aware that there are two Amazon widgets in my sidebar, but I haven't been able to figure out how to remove one!)

I realize that since we have upwards of 556+ children's books in our home (as of yesterdays' count), a strong case could be made for weeding out.  I'll have you know that there has been recent weeding out leading up to Friday's garage sale.  The problem is that my children are pretty attached to most of their books.  And I think that's okay.  But I do gradually thin the books out and donate them (in case you were wondering........).

I would love to know your thoughts on this post.  Are there any other potential book snobs out there, and if so, what are you doing about it?

Comments

[Laura]

Linette,
Wow! You are a trooper to start at the beginning. I have done that also with other blogs that I really like.So Imflattered that you are starting from the beginning. Thats a great suggestion about keeping those books separate fromyour precious ones. Take care and thanks so much for writing!
Laura

To: directress@live.com

[Linette]

Hi Laura
I am starting at the beginning of your blog and reading all of it. Is that insane?

By the way, I join you on the book snobbery list. To solve the problem, I put all the books I don't care for, in a small bookshelf that my girls can access easily and do with as they will. All their other books are on our main bookshelves and can be accessed anytime, but are treated with extra care so they last the distance.

[qudsya]

hi there i am new to this concept and it would be nice if you just explain your point a bit... what good does it do to your kid when he says look mom junk books or cheese with eyes and whats wronge if they associate Names to certain charecters/ cartoon . Are they less educational ? or does the cherecter recognition hinders in overall learning process ....I really really want to know
Thanks

[nina]

Another book snob raising her hand! I won't allow anything character related into our home. My dd (4) still refers to Sponge Bob as "the cheese with eyes." It makes me laugh everytime she says it. When she sees Barney or any other brightly colored charachter related toy or book she will mimic me and say "look mommy, junk books." I'm happy to know that I'm not alone.

[Amy @ Let's Explore]

I'm totally with you - the character books make me crazy! But, like you said, it's hard to deny your kids a book they enjoy. :) I do hide the Dora books from time to time -- they are so long and tedious. I also keep a tub of character and other books I don't love (but the kids do) in the car. They will look through them for hours... :)

[Tina]

I will definitely have to check out that Honey book. Always looking for new ideas! While I would admit to being more discerning about which books I buy for the kids, I also don't dissuade them from reading any book that they happen to find interesting. I will admit to buying some Scooby Doo early readers! However, even though they love Scooby Doo, I think they realize that those books aren't very good either and they are rarely the first book that they reach for. The ones with sounds particularly annoy me because they start running out of battery after awhile, and they sound really awful, but the batteries are almost impossible to replace (if you actually wanted to do such a thing and repeat the performance).

[Mary]

Yes, I have the Honey book and I agree that to expose children to really well crafted literature and beautifully illustrated books helps their excitement about reading and learning.

[Thimbleina]

Yes I'm definately a book snob - see I admitted it!
I don't like the ones that disneyfie the fairy tales into something they weren't when written and the fact that books such as Winnie the Pooh aren't what they were. I love the pictures as much as the words in books.

[Ines]

I am too..that is so funny...I read the cartoon-y ones the least...give me "Harold & the purple crayon" or "where the wild things are" anyday..I love to ignite the creative stuff in my boys & my class...but here's a question...Do you often finish reading a book & think I totally could've wrote that. :) Just wondering???

[Melissa]

Me,too! I am absolutely a book snob AND a toy snob :) O doesn't have any character toys (I don't count Winnie-the-Pooh since he was a book character 1st), and she has very few character books. We do have a couple of Dora books, but only for the Spanish exposure. I'm glad I'm not the only one!