Sandra Boynton is not a good writer

[Deleted]

For months we have been reading Benjamin "The Going to Bed Book" because DH wanted him to associate the book with bedtime.  I hate it.  It's so stupid.  The animals all take baths and then go exercise?  Who does that?  The illustrations are cute though and I remember her being someone people recommend on here so I bought two more books at Marshall's. Tonight I read "Not the Hippopotamus."  It was depressing! And the ending was not too positive either.  Poor armadillo. 

Tell me some board books that won't make me tear my hair out pretty please.

[crazycakes]

Dd seems to like Barnyard Dance.

She really seems to like Ten Little Kittens and Ten Little Dinosaurs by Marian Harris. They have these little googly eyes and it's all rhymes that I kind of sing. I think that holds her attention. She rarely lets me finish a book at this age.

[gibbinator]

I know, I loved the hippo book until the last page! Poor armadillo. I do like "moo bah lalala" though

[pugz]

WHY YOU HATING ON SQUIRMY'S FAVORITE BOOK??!

Snuggle Puppy is our favorite, look up the song online so you can learn the tune.

I also like Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs, almost have it memorized

[spankswife]

Good Night Moon was our bedtime book for a long time.

We also like Eric Carle books for that age.

[mollybrown]

She may not be a great writer, but her books are at least entertaining I'd agree that But Not the Hippopotamus is our least favorite.

Snuggle Puppy and Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs are also two of our favorites. What's Wrong Little Pookie and Good Night Little Pookie are also very cute. Barnyard Dance and Pajama Time are favorites as well. We have a couple of her music CDs that we bought when we we tired of traditional children's music and I love them. Some of the books are actually songs, including Snuggle Puppy and Pajama Time.

[mrshandy]

Barnyard dance is the shit. H and I have a dance routine to go with it.

[gibbinator]

Oh yeah the dinosaur book is great!

[winecheery]

I LOVE But Not The Hippopotamus and Barnyard Dance!!! Love them! Going to Bed Book is not her best, but it's silly and that's the point of all of them I think.

[ssmjlm]

Opposites is cute and short.

[Brie]

We were just reading Llama Llama Red Pajama to C and H was horrified. He called Mama Llama a neglectful bitch, LOL.

[catbus]

Pajama Time is horrible. So bad that I gave it away because neither H nor I could bear reading it. Barnyard Dance is stupid, IMO, especially since it ends but then continues; WTF is up with that? But H likes that one, so he reads if and I try to ignore.
We all like The Going to Bed Book, because the cadence is good and it's short. But yeah, the order of things is weird.

[curbsideprophet]

DD loves the last page of the Going to Bed book.

[pugz]

I FUCKING LOVE PAJAMA TIME!

YOU BITCHES ARE DEAD TO ME!

[Deleted]

Andplusalso re: Hippopotamus. I don't want Benjamin to think that if all the kids are ignoring him but one day want to hang out he should be all "yay." Because screw those kids!

[undecidedowl]

Nov 9, 2013 19:26:19 GMT -5 jenny1980 said:

Omg and check out the expressions on the animals faces when they're going downstairs to bed. It looks like they are stealing themselves for something very, very bad. :\

But I always loved SB books because they're so short LOL.

Yes!

Some of her books are good, others just weird.  We like "Belly Button Book" and "Moo, Baa, La La La".  DS also loved "Blue Hat, Green Hat" for awhile.  I like "The Going to Bed Book" but OMG the exercise thing annoys me every time.


I just looked up her books, and did not realize how old some of them are.  A bunch were published in 1982, but I don't remember ever seeing them as a kid.
 

[peachdragon]

Lol. I always think that they shouldn't be exercising after getting ready for bed! Ah the sacrifices we make for a rhyme.

[Brie]

I like From Horns to Toes and Barnyard Dance.

[Deleted]

So my friend and I once had a somewhat lengthy argument about The Going to Bed Book. She thinks that the exercising after other bedtime routine stuff is just Sandra Boynton's trademark silliness and that it's fine. I think that, while silliness may have been her intent, it is way too subtle for a kid's book and it ends up being weird. I also always feel like I have somehow been tricked into reading a book about Noah's Ark.

We loved Moo Baa La La La when DD1 was smaller and she still enjoys Snuggle Puppy and Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs. For the love of all that is good and pure do NOT get Doggies though. I freaking hate having to WOOF, YAP YAP, NNN NNN NNN my way through that stupid book.

I like Goodnight Moon a lot for bedtime. We have never had "bedtime book," though, DD1 goes through phases of what she likes.

[h]

I hate Sandra Boynton and have never been able to figure out why so many people seem to be such fans. For board books, my oldest two both loved the board book versions of Cowboy Small, Policeman Small, Brown Bear Brown Bear, and The Very Hungry Catepillar. Goodnight Gorilla, Dear Zoo, and a few Dr. Seuss (Mr. Brown Can Moo, Hop on Pop) were popular, too.

[pupcake]

Am I the only one that doesn't own any of her books? We have what feels like a million books but none by her.

[countthestars]

Nov 9, 2013 19:57:26 GMT -5 Brie said:

I like From Horns to Toes and Barnyard Dance.

Yes! And Are You A Cow

[thebreakfastclub]

I have never heard of this woman and we read jack shit before bed. Win.

[asoctoberfalls]

I also like them because they are short. DS's favorite is "Brown Bear, Brown Bear." I HATE that book and the person who bought it for him. Ugh!

[catbus]

Nov 9, 2013 19:44:54 GMT -5 pugz said:

I FUCKING LOVE PAJAMA TIME!

YOU BITCHES ARE DEAD TO ME!

But the cadence is all off! I wanted to like it, but there was no consistent beat to it.

[urbancowgirl]

Doggies is the worst. It's just a bunch of barking. Maybe I don't like it because I'm a cat person.

[mollybrown]

Nov 9, 2013 20:16:34 GMT -5 catbus said:

Nov 9, 2013 19:44:54 GMT -5 pugz said:

I FUCKING LOVE PAJAMA TIME!

YOU BITCHES ARE DEAD TO ME!

But the cadence is all off! I wanted to like it, but there was no consistent beat to it.

That's because this book is a song.  A cute song that is now stuck in my head

[karinothing]

Nov 9, 2013 19:28:37 GMT -5 incogneato said:

You take that back! Singing snuggle puppy with DD1 makes my heart melt into a little puddle.

Agree. I love snuggle puppy.

[Deleted]

I love pajama time! We read that most nights.

I just got. "But not the hippopotamus" and I like it. We talk about reaching out to others and including others etc. he's 18 months so I'm sure he understands perfectly ;-)

[ladygrey]

Pajama Time and Snuggle Puppy are read almost every day in our house.