Rec or Wreck? - Jacque
Hello everyone and welcome to this week’s Rec or Wreck? Everyone's favorite blog series where I think of a genre and provide two books that fit in said genre. One is a “rec,” or a book I liked and would recommend to others; the other is a “wreck,” a book that I did not like for some reason. I feel as if this one will get some feathers ruffled so let’s jump right in!
Children’s BooksToday’s genre is children’s books. Obviously, as we are freshmen, most of us will not be reading children’s books anymore. This blog post is meant to be more of a retrospective on the books we read as children. Looking back, just how good were those books we were reading? Were they actually good or was our judgement just clouded by the fumes of nostalgia? Today, I’m here to answer this question. I will be looking at kid’s books that have mostly pictures instead of small chapter books, as to narrow down the criteria a bit.
Rec:
First up is one of my favorites, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. This used to be one of my favorite books as a kid. I’m not quite sure what about it I loved so much, but the love for it still exists as I still have this book displayed proudly in my bookshelf. The wear and tear of the edges are testament to how much time I would spend reading this book as a kid. It follows the life of a simple little caterpillar as they decide what they wish to each and eventually grow into a beautiful butterfly. Truly a wonderful, heartwarming story, and to add onto that it’s unique holey design gives it even more intrigue for the reader. What more could you want as a kid?
Wreck:
My wreck for today is Green Eggs and Ham. Please get your booing out of the way now, thank you. To be honest, I also do not remember a lot about this book besides me hating it. It was over read and not even the best Dr. Seuss book– The Places You’ll Go takes the cake on that one. During story time, my peers would constantly request this to be read to us but I was also the lone voice crying out for another book to be read. Perhaps I wouldn’t hate it as much if it wasn’t read to me so much. To add fuel to the fire, one year, my elementary school made green eggs and ham for Dr. Seuss Day. I hated it. It was under seasoned, nasty, and just overall unenjoyable, much like the book itself.
This is my first time visiting the blog, and I'm living for it Jacque! In retrospect a lot of the children's books I read now seem very much lackluster after about 8 years, but I still cherish memories of them for nostalgia's sake. I also love the last sentence where you compared the under-seasoned, nasty, and unlikeable green eggs in ham in real life to the book itself!
ReplyDeleteNice blog post Jacque! I remember reading these books when I was a kid, so reading your blog post was nostalgic to me. I will be reading more Rec or Wreck in the future. Good job!
ReplyDeleteI disagree completely. Green Eggs and Ham was one of the best books I have ever read. The hungry caterpillar on the other hard is a terrible book as well. oH hEy GuYs ThE cAtErPiLlEr GeTs FaT. Its not interesting. Just like those eggs you ate on Dr. Seuss Day, that book needs seasoning. (I am being 100% serious(ok maybe not))
ReplyDeleteI HATE Dr. Seuss and could not agree more with your take. On the other hand, your The Very Hungry Caterpillar take is cold—also I question your "What more could you want as a kid?" statement since I can think of a lot more I wanted as a kid, such as more leaf drawings and less butterfly—and I unfortunately have to disagree with your opinion. I thought the Caterpillar eating the leaf was a beautiful drawing and it encouraged me to eat a salad even but besides that, this book is over hyped. Forgive me for criticizing such classic book but what I said had to be said. Great post! Keep it up Jacque Butts!
ReplyDeleteHey Jacque! I actually agree with you on the Green Eggs and Ham (proud to be a Green Eggs and Ham slanderer from Day 1) and think it was WAY overread throughout Pre-school and elementary. The Very Hunger Caterpillar on the other hand is a classic that will live on forever in infamy. Overall, this is probably my favorite Rec or Wreck so far, great job :)
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