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Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks
My sense is that they weren't discarding children's books per se, but saying they weren't going to read them for this poll/selection. And for that particular kind of book, it can make perfect sense. My re-read of Nancy Drew in my 30s found me astounded at the simplicity of the mystery and vocabulary! Those books definitely influenced my reading and my person. They were intricate! Detailed! Fabulous stories! But re-reading them as an adult...well, it can be hard to give it a "fair" reading. It can also be hard to be impacted the way a young adult or child would be.
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I can understand this sentiment. It so happens, however, that the two I nominated are among several supposedly children's books that I still regularly re-read and enjoy. I didn't nominate them from distant memory, but from recent experience. The best children's stories show a talent with language and expression that is often overlooked, but which can make them a joy at any age. These are the things that make them worthy, in my eyes, to stand among the others listed. (Okay, so there was a period in my life when I was much too mature and worldly to pick them up, but thankfully I've gotten over that.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hamlet53
As someone who is guilty as charged . . . 
To me it was just making a choice when confronted with say a basket of apples, a basket of oranges, a basket of plums, etc. and being asked pick the best piece of fruit out there. Now there are some genres that I did and will just eliminate from consideration (just wait until we get to decades where SciFi/Fantasy seem to dominate the list) because such books just don't interest me. When it comes to passing on books written for children the reasoning is different. The Wind in the Willows is a great children's book, it's just for me if I have to chose a single best it's going to be in adult literature. BTW if the poll was about the best book for children I would certainly put forth one of the books by Dr. Suess, the man was a genius at producing books for his intended audience. |
I certainly didn't intend anyone to feel "guilty".
I was just curious. I will be even more curious to see if anyone else feels as I do about these nominations.
It is difficult to pick just one "best". There's some great stuff in the lists. I tend to read pretty widely, not eschewing any genre in particular, and that only makes the choice harder. For example "All Quiet on the Western Front" is up there with my "Winnie-the-Pooh" nomination - you can't get works much further apart than that. They are both great books (in my opinion), but they are totally different experiences. Comparison just isn't really possible. What I can say is that I know which one I could happily recommend to pretty much anyone that can read.