/lit/ - Literature

>>12497851
>Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?

>>12497851
Unironically start with the Greeks. Aesop's Fables is a good primer for logic processes. Get an edition with decent illustrations. I recommend the Illustrated Junior Library edition. Pic related.

>>12497851

Click, Clack, Moo Cows that type is next on my list of must haves for a children's library. Doreen Cronin does an excellent job of introducing children to the concept of disaffected workers. Farmer Brown's absolute control over the farm has led him into arrogance that blinded him to the plight of his animals - who were the real producers on the farm. Reasonable grievances are lodged and accommodations are made - with a plot twist whereby those with no legitimate grievances are empowered to advance their own political agenda. Betsy Lewin deserves much credit for delivery of the story, as her illustrations, intentionally Spartan, visually deliver the message of the text on each panel without distracting detail.

Pinocchio: The story of a Marionette by C. Collodi is an excellent addition to any children's library. The plot is so well known that I will abstain from delving into any description in that regard. This is a good transitional piece, getting children accustomed to longer stories with plot twists that span several chapters. The Great Books for Children edition from the John C. Winston Company is adequately illustrated and comes as a compilation with Aesop's Fables - which I find to be not adequately illustrated for the task that it should perform (though it be a very compact and cost-effective route).

What are the best books to get a 10 year old interested in reading?

>rarely see it discussed anywhere
>thread literally every single day
What are you selling OP

Seven Short Plays by Lady Gregory spans the topics of the unintended consequences of lying, the power of reputation, the depth and malleability of pride, and nationalism. The stories are typically twenty to thirty pages so they do not require a sizeable investment in time. This is an excellent introduction to Irish literature for children through a writer whose more important works helped to shape the nature of The Rising.

Is it actually possible to make your kid more intelligent by reading to him? Or is it mostly genetical? And I’m talking 25+ when they are grown up

>>12498350
Intelligence-wise (purely speaking), probably not. Between two individuals of equal intelligence, the one with more experience in solving problems through literature will likely shine over others that spent all of their time in less worthy pursuits. Raw intelligence is likely genetically driven, but misapplied intelligence is nearly as worthless as is stupidity.

>>12498284
I sell being new

>>12498350
You can teach your kid to approach problems in a structured manner, which boosts efficiency quite a lot.
Reading is also good to teach delayed gratification and other such goodies.

What does /lit/ think about picture books without text? Any good ones there? I'm particular to medieval castle ones myself. But my nephew loves pirates.

Though I agree with the general consensus of this board - that George Orwell's Animal Farm is pleb tier for adults - it is a good beginner political text for children. Since it covers several chapters with many plot twists, you need to allocate some extra time for discussion of the plot with the child. Children tend to identify well with the animal characters and the plot usually holds their interest very well. Be prepared to answer questions regarding justice, fairness, lying, and death.

>>12499546
I read it by myself and the only discussion I had about it was some old lady telling me there was a cartoon. This 'having discussion is necessary' bullshit is why most can't think for themselves.

>>12499569
>This 'having discussion is necessary' bullshit is why most can't think for themselves
No four year old should be expected to wade through the plot of Animal Farm alone. Children need some guidance. Once they get primed then they are typically good to go. You are likely thinking that I am reserving this text for a child that is ten years old.

Another good example from Irish literature is Eleven Plays of William Butler Yeats. The stories are typically twenty to thirty pages so there is little commitment. Amongst the themes we have destructive ignorance, malice and anger, and nationalism. Yeats is another figure prominent in molding political issues preceding The Rising.

Moving into Scandinavian literature, I suggest Bjorn Rongen's Olaf and the Echoing Cave. It is a story of overcoming adversity with self-reliance, fortitude, and help from others. The boy suffers greatly in the story but he works through his adversity and survives his trials. This book is 128 pages with several chapters so it is a bit of an investment in time.

Closing my suggestions for Irish literature, I present Lady Gregory's Cuchulain of Muirthemne. At 263 pages, it is a bit of a time investment. Also, the plot covers a lot of ground, so I would recommend that this text be reserved for the ten years and above bracket - though it be well suited for use as a bedtime story as read by the parents at a much younger age. I specifically recommend against Rosemary Sutcliff's version: The Hound of Ulster. It has been neutered and fails to carry the story well - though the publisher specifically claims otherwise. Regardless, Lady Gregory's work in compiling a vast array of fragments of the original story, and her later compilation of them, was not insignificant in building nationalistic cohesion amongst the Irish prior to The Rising.

The Complete Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales is a good bridge between German and English speaking culture. I found the Literary Classics version from Gramercy to be a decent translation. A good rule of thumb for determining whether or not BG has been neutered is referencing The Frog Prince. If your version has the princess kissing the frog then your version is neutered. If your version has the princess murdering the frog in a rage then your translation is likely good to go. Many of these stories are so heavily referenced in other works that ignorance of them is a stumbling block. The stories are typically very short but, at 680 pages, the totality of the work makes it a very good value.

This was my favorite read for k like the 4th grade to 6th

>>12497851

A series of unfortunate events

If the thread survives then I will build a bridge into German language Brothers Grimm - but my time, for now, is spent. Opie - do your job and keep the thread alive. I would also like some critique on my many suggestions, in addition to the suggestions of others in the thread.

>>12500417
I like the thread. A lot of good suggestions so far. A bit older than I was aiming for with my OP pic. But there isn't a lot to talk about when it comes to books for toddlers, I suppose.

Personally I especially like recommendations such as >>12500324 as country and culture specific suggestions are not widely known in other countries.

>>12500378
If you want to talk about the classic german books for children, Gebrüder Grimm is half of it. The other half is Struwwelpeter - with pictures.

"Each of the ten poems in Struwwelpeter contains rhyming couplets describing in detail the gruesome downfall of children who misbehave. Some teaching moments Hoffman includes address grooming, animal welfare, fire safety, gun safety, eating healthily, and white supremacy."
And yes, I know from my own experience that it's appropriately terrifying for a three to four year old to getting read stories in which kids get their thumps scissored off for sucking their thumps.

>>12497851
I read this when I was 7 and I'd say it was a good introduction of horror to kids.

>>12500506
>But there isn't a lot to talk about when it comes to books for toddlers
Click, Clack, Moo was likely the lowest level book that I suggested. I will get into board books for the little ones towards the end.

Pic related from Bambini Books is my bridge companion to Brothers Grimm to tie into German. You need the one with this exact cover, as they have several editions with similar titles. This edition is specifically tailored around the Brothers Grimm tales as can be seen from the images on the cover. The barcode on the rear reads: 4 250595 901640. This book is for full immersion and has no English translations. Everything is referenced with pictures and German text. Its 59 pages are split into sections such that you can turn to the pages for Aschenputtel, for instance, and many of the items of interest in that particular story can be found in one place.

Pic related is a non-translated German text copy of Aschenputtel from Paletti. Paletti has a wide range of the Brothers Grimm Books in not just German, but the original, archaic German of the original tellings - with a glossary of the archaic terms that are no longer used. I have read about half of their catalog of these and I have no favorite amongst them. They are all excellent renditions. I have been unable to find a good hardbound copy of these stories in the USA in the original, archaic German. If I could find an equal quality text in a hardbound copy then I would consider it a worthy investment.

Pic related is a decent German language boardbook for the littlest of ones. It is part of a series:
>Pauls Polizeiauto
>Harrys Hubschrauber
>Tobys Traktor
>Sams U-Boot
They are very ruggedized and each has a decent storyline with minimal plot that is easily followed. These ae also available as part of a larger collection in English.

I'm spent. If someone can keep this thread alive until morning then I will add some more.

>>12502496
This is an excellent thread.

>>12499546
My dad read this to me when it was his turn to do story time. Told mom it was about "talking animals on a farm and stuff".
Was good fun and really drew me in at the time, had the allure of adult themes while not actually being too difficult to process them.
Surprised to see it recommended here but I can vouch for it as a book for kids.

Bumping to say I really appreciate this thread.

Famous Fairy Tales by Fred Ladd and Murray Benson is a compilation of fairy tales, many of which get caught in the net of Grimm Brothers. This compilation, however has several illustrations per story, whereas most GB translations only have one illustration per several stories. This edition is not neutered and they do not hesitate to let The Little Match Girl die at the end of her tragedy. If I were on a tight budget then I would probably pass on this one due to the fact that many stories can be found in GB. Due to the illustrations, and the fact that it catches a few stories outside the purview of GB, it makes a nice addition if your budget allows.

You will find that books are a very common gift that you will receive for your child. Most people give very little thought to the process:
>open Amazon
>goto childrens books
>select based on thumbnail
I recommend that you be proactive. Be forthright about the issue and tell everyone that low quality books will likely go straight to the dumpster. Ignore pleas of the child if they see you doing it but be honest with them about why you are disposing of their gift as garbage. Make a list available to all prospective book givers. Prepare to be considered ridiculous.
>oh, anon, it's no big deal that the text is grammatical garbage
>it's only a childrens book
>lighten up
Almost all childrens books are terrible examples of grammar. When you are put in the position of reading these texts to your child, your authority as a teacher of language is undermined. When the child hears you read syntactical nonsense, they absorb it as being correct - leaving you to undo the damage later. Further, I find reading extremely poor grammar as being uncomfortable to read. I find myself stuttering while trying to correct the grammar which undermines the child's confidence in you as a reader. It is for this reason that I tell people that I will make them eat their own dick if they suggest The Black Stallion as being Leeeturraahhhhchooor. BS is a cobbled pile of tripe that hides an excellent plot. The same goes with Wong Herbert Yee's Big Black Bear. I stomached this one for some time until it was reviewed as being premiere poetry. He strategically adds words where they are unusual to an English speaker - not for the purpose of maintaining meter but for the purpose of breaking meter. The same also goes for the rhyming Jew that is regarded as being the eminent childrens literature author - I will not even give him his own insult, but instead make him share one with Yee. In this vein, I have a short list of basic bitch stories that will feature prominently on Amazon or Scholastic - for those that are not willing to hunt for something more substantial. I revert to my previous suggestion of Click, Clack, Moo as the first in the list. This one was a surprising gem. She made a series of these but I cannot vouch for the others. Dumping...

Down Down Down by Steve Jenkins is a series of factoid blurbs pertaining to the ocean. There is no real story line and the text is a little pedantic so I recommend reserving this one for when the child is already asking questions and problem solving.
1/X

I Spy Spooky Night is a picture riddle book with lots of pictures within which you are directed to find hidden objects. Text is minimal - but what is there is well spelled and sound use of grammar is made. Some ability to identify objects and find them within the pictures will be required.
2/X

This is San Francisco by Miroslav Šašek is a good introduction for children to the city of San Francisco. The English text is well written by a Czech with no pretense of appealing to the common vernacular. Text is minimal, being well streamlined for succinct delivery of the descriptions of the ample, accurate illustrations.
3/X

Bones by Steve Jenkins is, simply, an introduction to the study of bones for children. Quality of the text compares with his other works.
4/X

A Dark Dark Tale by Ruth Brown reminds me a bit of Poe - if he were distilled to his most Spartan essence. This is an unamazing introduction to suspense for children. Text is minimalist, but generally conforms well to grammar. As the simplistic illustrations served Cronin's story well in Click, Clack, Moo by not distracting from the story, the highly detailed illustrations in A Dark Dark Tale serve Brown well by helping to build depth to the story. Certainly not at the top of my recommended reads, it does deserve a mention.
5/X

Chris Ferrie has a series of board books introducing babies to various subjects of science. Though he does make wide use of prepositions outside of prepositional phrases, I forgive him due to the rest of the text conforming to grammar. Due to not having read all of these, I cannot vouch for all of them. I can say that the few that I have read were good, however, and I doubt not that the author would be capable of carrying consistent quality to the rest of the series.
6/X

Jennifer Adams has a series of board books distilling selected items for consideration by babies from various works of literature, adding appropriate illustrations. Selecting a page of Jane Eyre at random:
>3 candles
>it is always dangerous to leave a candle burning at night
>*shows picture of candles*
This is the extent of the depth of the text. The author leaves elaboration to you as the parent. These books will likely benefit the child by ensuring that they are not confounded by aspects in the actual literature when they are exposed to them, having already had the subject explained to them by you.
7/X

I will close my basic bitch book series with the Buggybuch primer to opie's image reference. The Buggybuch boardbook texts are well ruggedized for their intended purpose. A sampling of text for Die kleine Raupe Nimmersatt shows:
>Rot/Apfel
>Blau/Pflaume
>Braun/Kokon
culminating with a two page endspread revelation:
>Viele Farben/Schmetterling
This is full immersion German with no English translations. The companion English version is readily available. I find full immersion to be less confusing for the child so I prefer this style of presentation.
8/8

I will close my basic bitch book series with the Buggybuch primer to opie's image reference. The Buggybuch boardbook texts are well ruggedized for their intended purpose. A sampling of text for Die kleine Raupe Nimmersatt shows:
>Rot/Apfel
>Blau/Pflaume
>Braun/Kokon
culminating with a two page endspread revelation:
>Viele Farben/Schmetterling
This is full immersion German with no English translations. The companion English version is readily available. I find full immersion to be less confusing for the child so I prefer this style of presentation. Reposting due to forgetting image.
8/8

>>12498277
I don't remember what I read at that age, but my favorite author in 1st-3rd grade or so was Roald Dahl.

Continuing my contributions for German texts, I present Kasimir hat einen Platten by Lars Klinting. Most notable in this book is the fact that, when a character has a flat tire during a bicycle adventure, the author does not resign the character to merely fixing the problem. Instead, Klinting goes step by step through the process of repairing a flat tire, including a breakdown of the tool requirements. After reading this book, a child should be able to repair their own flat tire - provided their skill are up to the task. He has several other books in this series but I cannot vouch for their quality - though I suspect quality to be consistent across his catalog due to my brief glance at the covers.

I'm spent again (fuggin sick/time for nap) so I am cheating this one with a very informative infograph made by another /lit/anon. An easy way to build a gift request list for children is just to tell them that anything from Eric Carle is acceptable. I actually had more of Steve Jenkins's books that I found to be quite good works, but I neglected to keep adding them for fear of appearance of shilling. In my delirium stupor I have stopped caring. Obtain the entire catalogs of Eric Carle, Steve Jenkins, and - based on the extreme high quality of Kasimir hat einen Platten - the entire catalog of Lars Klinting.

>>12498086
Based Mira Lobe

The Bauer Bolle series by Steve Smallman is pretty good. The simple stories tend to follow a problem/solution path. These tiny texts are incredibly well bound hardcovers for a childrens book. Each book has a riddle - many of which will be confounding for those who do not have an adequate vocabulary from which to discern rhyming.

I think that I have run out of suggestions except to say that there is no issue in reading bedtime stories that are way above the child's level. Shakespeare, Homer, and Wagner are certainly considerations to be made. At any point, you can break the telling of the story to explain something to the child. Do not invest yourself in the reading so much that such interruptions annoy you. Make good use of this time for both yourself and the child. The woman will likely keep her fangs away from you as you read to the child - so you will usually have at least this brief moment of solace, even when times are trying.

>>12502672
I am done contributing and I doubt that there will be enough other contributors to keep the thread alive for long. I welcome any criticism or queries regarding the suggestions that have been made. Perhaps opie can be summoned again for his feedback.

what are some non leftist or progressive propaganda books? a lot of these try to be subtle but in the end it's easy to see their purpose

Unironically the Hobbit, and maybe the graphic novel too because it's drawn beautifully and kids like connecting words to pictures.

>>12498277
Warriors by Erin Hunter.

screencap

>>12497851
I wrote this guys. What do you think?

https://bookdash.org/the-pumpkin-chase-by-smanga-simelane-amy-jane-harkess-and-arthur-attwell/

>>12508526
The sunflower is very uggly.

>>12508526
how did the pie survive being rammed into a wall

Is Where The Sidewalk Ends a good introduction to poetry?

>>12509923
Where The Sidewalk Ends is an introduction to Shel Silverstein. He is a Benjamin Dreyer tier language degenerate:
>https://lithub.com/are-these-bad-habits-creeping-into-your-writing/
Read Dreyer's article on writing quality, keeping in mind that he is the Copy Chief of Random House. I make no mistake in comparing these two men. Shel Silverstein will continue dragging you into works such as Runny Babbit Returns:
>Runny Babbit lent to wunch
>And heard the saitress way,
>"We have some lovely stabbit rew --
>Our Special for today."
This is an actual quote from the text.
>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shel_Silverstein
>https://books.google.com/books/about/Runny_Babbit.html?id=u4CEQgAACAAJ&source=kp_cover
He is one of two primary influences causing me to help op run this thread. Silverstein is the cancer I hoped to help cure. I had hoped the thread would die before his name was mentioned.

>>12509194
This looks like an interesting piece of work.
>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_in_Moominland
Can you give a basic Gestalt?

>>12509895
The thief got rammed, not the pie

>>12497851
I love this book

desu my mom read them to me but I have no idea what they are about. I still remember looking at the pictures for hours though.

>>12510592
Your mom got her pussy rammed until it queefed cum. Her tight little asshole swallowed up a hard cock. And you, you should have been a cum stain that ran down your mom's legs. Instead the world has to suffer you and your stupidity. You're a net-negative on society, a stupid piece of shit. Fuck off.

>>12510623
Brother?

>>12497851
I feel a selective reading of the first part of Don Quixote would make for great children’s lit, it’s silly, fun, but it doesn’t lack substance. Avoid reading part 2 because your kid will probably develop deep depression

>>12497851
Cunt...

>>12498277
Pic related and The Hobbit were what made me love reading.
But if they're a ten-year-old that's grown up with Youtube, Minecraft, and Fortnite, your only Hope's would be something like Artemis Fowl or Animorphs.

>>12510774
I found the plot of The Phantom Tollbooth to be solid but the massively disjunctive grammar was uncomfortable to bear. Still, of course, it stands well above the best works of Silverstein or Geisel - who are considered masters of this market segment.

We had like three threads of this in the last week. What's going on?
Also, is this any good?

>>12511040
Fuck off with your questions. Nobody gives a shit about you.

>>12508526
>>12510623
>>12510748
>>12498086
>>12511050