For the Kids Archives - Awful Library Books

Carpentry for Kids

January 23, 2023 Mary Kelly For the Kids 10 comments

Carpentry for Children
Walker
1982

My general rule of thumb for kids nonfiction is that it shouldn’t be older than the age of the kid. Please don’t write us about all your examples of the exceptions. I get it. There are probably thousands of exceptions. But I digress…

This book was brought to me by one of my co-workers. Topic is fine, but this particular book was old and tired looking. (As I am old and tired looking, I feel qualified to judge.)

In this example, the date published makes me question the following:

Is the instructional component and other content appropriate for the age group?
Are the tools/equipment/materials available and safe? (Beware of products/materials that are no longer available.)
Do any of the projects or commentary use outmoded or inappropriate language when describing people or things?
Are the projects something kids would be interested in now? (Not 40 years ago.)

Again, I am not saying that just because it’s old, doesn’t make it an automatic weed, however it does mean we need to check further.

How about some cheese with that “whine”?

August 18, 2022 Mary Kelly For the Kids 11 comments

A Children’s Book About Whining
Berry
1988

Gotta hand it to Joy. She is so optimistic that kids might reconsider their behavior after a moment of self reflection. I am of the mind that many adults haven’t quite mastered this skill. More than once I have faced off with a parent who had better whining skills than the average kindergartner.

I can appreciate the intent, but I doubt this book has very little impact on a child’s behavior. A better strategy is ear plugs and a drink (preferably alcoholic).

Table Manners for the Kids

August 17, 2022 Mary Kelly For the Kids 7 comments

What to do when your Mom or Dad says …
Don’t Slurp Your Soup!
Berry
1984

We have a lot of old Joy Berry books here at ALB. Her stuff from the 1980s is dated and I just don’t like the illustrations. However, her books are popular with kids. Rather, I should say they were popular with kids 30 years ago. I guess if it works for your library, then more power to you.

I will just throw some caution out there that since many of the topics are sensitive for both adults and kids, these books should be evaluated regularly. Language from even 20 years ago might be considered inappropriate in 2022.

This one is about table manners. Frankly, plenty of adults and kids would do well to review basic manners. Will a book make a difference? Probably not.

Focus on Mary Jane

August 1, 2022 Mary Kelly For the Kids 15 comments

Focus on Marijuana
Zeller
1990

I think a lot of folks would like to focus on marijuana. Since legalization (or decriminalizing) seems to be a trend, maybe an updated book is needed. There is also a statement about marijuana as a gateway drug. From what I can tell, this is still a debate from the scientific community. There is also no recognition of the on going research into the benefits of marijuana such as chronic pain, anxiety, and epilepsy.

I really don’t have an opinion on the benefits since my experience is limited to a shared joint in 1981. I was more worried about getting the munchies and killing any ambition to keep my ass from expanding any further.

These types of books kind of bother me. They have more of an agenda than about real information. I have had many a teen and preteen that must do a “drug report”. More than once I have had a teen question me on why marijuana is “worse” aka illegal than alcohol. Gotta say my favorite questions are ones where the teens call b.s. and ask me to help them get better resources so they make a case.

TV of the late 1970s

June 6, 2022 Mary Kelly Entertainment, For the Kids 12 comments

TV Time ’78
Herz
1978

We have featured many of Peggy’s books here on the site. She generally writes pop culture type stuff for youth. Probably not the most glamorous of writing gigs, given the parameters. Totally appropriate for the time and probably was good for those reluctant readers looking for stuff about television shows. All the big hits from the 70s and 80s are here: Rhoda, Mork and Mindy, and Happy Days.

She also did compilations like this one. A little bit of age appropriate gossip and some pictures of the celebrities. All clean and sanitized for our sensitive children.

Size matters

May 2, 2022 Mary Kelly For the Kids 10 comments

How big is a stick?
Podendorf
1971

This is very dated. The illustrations are bizarre and look even older than early 1970s. Andy and Jerry go around comparing sticks to body parts. (Of course I immediately wanted to make a bunch of tasteless jokes, because it is just too easy.)

Andy and Jerry need better hobbies and they need to be a bit more clever with names. 80 percent of this book is focused on the naming and comparing of these sticks. The last bit is when Andy and Jerry’s dad shows up and talks about rulers. The end.

I have questions. I want to know why they have so many sticks. Don’t these people gather them up? Don’t they need kindling? What about all the dogs in the neighborhood?

World Class Tree Houses

January 27, 2022 Mary Kelly Craptastic Crafts and Hobbies, For the Kids 9 comments

Tree Houses
Wills
1957

This book was weeded from a local collection. The book was tired looking and was outdated and hadn’t left the shelf in decades. I was curious about the author and found out that Royal Barry Wills was an architect and was pretty influential. His work work was mostly in New England and was considered to be the master of the Cape Cod style.

Considering this was geared to children, the text was more complex and instructions weren’t easy to follow. I think this is more a vanity project, given the author’s credentials. This is not to say this book doesn’t have worth. I am sure that architecture geeks would say this is worth keeping. That may be true, but it still doesn’t belong in a modern youth nonfiction collection.

Science Fun!

June 28, 2021 Holly Bleeding Edge, For the Kids 15 comments

Fun With Science
Easy Experiments for Young People
Freeman and Freeman
1956

This little gem from the 1950s is CLEARLY past its “sell by” date. The cover was in bad shape and there was some yellowing. This came from a university collection, not a public library. (There was one public library that had this book listed in its collection.) The Freemans wrote many youth science nonfiction books up into the 1970s.

This book was first published in 1943 and was last printed in 2000. The Freemans passed away in the 1980s. I couldn’t find much biographical information about the Freemans with my cursory searches. Given the longevity of their books, as well has the number of titles, their materials should be archived and maintained for study.