Hello everyone! Welcome to my ☀Daily Book Chat☀ where I do some SERIOUS discussions that fellow book fans will get a kick out of and relate their thoughts about the subject to other book fans!
Today's discussion question is 10 STRANGEST CHILDREN'S BOOKS THAT I EVER READ (OR 10 CHILDREN'S BOOKS THAT ARE SERIOUSLY MESSED UP)!
Today's discussion question is 10 STRANGEST CHILDREN'S BOOKS THAT I EVER READ (OR 10 CHILDREN'S BOOKS THAT ARE SERIOUSLY MESSED UP)!
So, when we read children's books, we tend to think that they are a pocketful of RAINBOWS and SUNSHINE! But what about those children's books that are so WEIRD and ODD that you have no idea what is going on? Or those children's books that are DISTURBING AS HECK and you wonder to yourself about how in the world they are even aimed at children in the first place?
Well, I have uncovered a couple of children's books that I think are WEIRD, STRANGE AND MESSED UP that you guys should definitely check out! So, here's my top 10 Strangest Children's Books (in no particular order)!
*WARNING! IF YOU HAVEN'T READ ANY OF THESE BOOKS YET, THERE WILL BE MASSIVE SPOILERS IN THE IMAGES. SO BE FOREWARNED!*
1. The Beast of Monsieur Racine by Tomi Ungerer
Purchase Link: Book Depository
Goodreads Blurb: A suspicious pear-thieving beast becomes fast friends with a lonely man who proudly presents him to the prestigious Academy of Sciences.
Okay, so you are looking at this cover and while the creature that the man is standing next to looks bizarre, it still seems like a harmless story, right? WRONG! Just take a look at these crazy illustrations and you'll see why I consider this book to be so MESSED UP!
2. The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey
Purchase Link: Book Depository
Goodreads Blurb: The Gashlycrumb Tinies: or, After the Outing is an abecedarian book written by Edward Gorey that was first published in 1963. Gorey tells the tale of 26 children (each representing a letter of the alphabet) and their untimely deaths in rhyming dactylic couplets, accompanied by the author's distinctive black and white illustrations. It is one of Edward Gorey's best-known books, and is the most notorious amongst his roughly half-dozen mock alphabets.[2] It has been described as a "sarcastic rebellion against a view of childhood that is sunny, idyllic, and instructive". The morbid humor of the book comes in part from the mundane ways in which children die, such as falling down the stairs or choking on a peach. Far from illustrating the dramatic and fantastical childhood nightmares, these scenarios instead poke fun at the banal paranoias that come as a part of parenting.
Have you read any of Edward Gorey's books before? Well, if you had, you'll noticed that they are DISTURBING AS HECK! And this book "The Gashlycrumb Tinies" was definitely no exception to how disturbing Edward Gorey's works can get. Here are some "memorable" illustrations that will keep you up at night!
3. In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz
Purchase Link: Book Depository
My Summary: This is a collection of horror stories for children and there is a total of seven stories being told in this book. The stories featured in this collection are:
1. The Teeth
2. In the Graveyard
3. The Green Ribbon
4. In a Dark, Dark Room
5. The Night it Rained
6. The Pirate
7. The Ghost of John
1. The Teeth
2. In the Graveyard
3. The Green Ribbon
4. In a Dark, Dark Room
5. The Night it Rained
6. The Pirate
7. The Ghost of John
Maybe this collection is nowhere as terrifying as Alvin Schwartz's other work, "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark," but there are some genuinely scary stories in this book that would surely mess kids up, especially that one story about a head (you know which one I'm talking about).
Goodreads Blurb: Schwartz's three best-selling collections of scary folklore -- Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and Scary Stories 3 -- are made available in one book, each one in its complete form.
Yeah, everybody knows the story with this series and how it was banned in many libraries because of its HORRIFYING artwork, to the point where they had to change to artwork to make it more KID-FRIENDLY (yuck)! So, I'll let the illustrations speak for themselves on why this book is so MESSED UP!
Goodreads Blurb: Paul and Judy have a pet named Beastie. With devilish glee, Paul and Judy encourage readers to smell Beastie's stinky feet, peek at him in the shower, and worse. Prankish pop-ups and rascally interactive devices of this wacky parody of the classic Pat the Bunny "touch-and-feel" book will keep readers in stitches. Full-color illustrations.
I have read many books written by Henrik Drescher and most of his books were pretty strange and sometimes freaky. But, that's what I love about his works and "Pat the Beastie" was definitely no exception to just how weird and creepy this book can get!
Goodreads Blurb: A picture-book delight by a rising talent tells a cumulative tale with a mischievous twist.
The bear’s hat is gone, and he wants it back. Patiently and politely, he asks the animals he comes across, one by one, whether they have seen it. Each animal says no, some more elaborately than others. But just as the bear begins to despond, a deer comes by and asks a simple question that sparks the bear’s memory and renews his search with a vengeance. Told completely in dialogue, this delicious take on the classic repetitive tale plays out in sly illustrations laced with visual humor—and winks at the reader with a wry irreverence that will have kids of all ages thrilled to be in on the joke.
So, you're looking at the cover of this book and all you see is a regular old bear starring blankly at something. Sounds boring, right? Well, that's what I thought at first, until I actually read the book and it was actually much...DARKER than I expected... Just try piecing together the images down below to figure out what just happened...
Goodreads Blurb: "'Will you walk into my parlor,' said the Spider to the Fly..."
is easily one of the most recognized and quoted first lines in all of English verse. But do you have any idea how the age-old tale of the Spider and the Fly ends? Join celebrated artist Tony DiTerlizzi as he -- drawing inspiration from one of his loves, the classic Hollywood horror movies of the 1920s and 1930s --
shines a cinematic spotlight on Mary Howitt's warning, written to her own children about those who use sweet words to hide their not-so-sweet intentions.
I should have known that this was going to be a dark book, based on the gothic artwork. Of course, seeing the ghosts of past bugs that the spider had eaten should be a huge warning to anyone wondering what will become of the fly at the end of the book....
8. A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
Purchase Link: Book Depository
Goodreads Blurb: "What we have here is a bad case of stripes. One of the worst I've ever seen!"
Camilla Cream loves lima beans, but she never eats them. Why? Because the other kids in her school don't like them. And Camilla Cream is very, very worried about what other people think of her. In fact, she's so worried that she's about to break out in...a bad case of stripes!
Camilla Cream loves lima beans, but she never eats them. Why? Because the other kids in her school don't like them. And Camilla Cream is very, very worried about what other people think of her. In fact, she's so worried that she's about to break out in...a bad case of stripes!
I remembered how this book used to FREAK me out when I was little because of the disturbing imagery! Check out the imagery for yourself!
Goodreads Blurb: When the Tsar proclaims that he will marry his daughter to the man who brings him a flying ship, a goofy country bumpkin sets out to try his luck and meets some unusual companions on the way. Includes an audio cassette with narration and music.
Now, this is SERIOUSLY one of my all time favorite children's books! It's got so much humor and energy that I'm constantly reading this book over and over again! But, it also has some of the strangest artwork I have ever seen in any children's book. Check them out for yourself!
Goodreads Blurb: Last night while I lay thinking hereThis 20th anniversary of Shel Silverstein's A Light in the Attic includes a CD of highlights from his Grammy Award-winning album.
Some Whatifs crawled inside my ear
And pranced and partied all night long
And sang their same old Whatif song:
Whatif I flunk that test?
Whatif green hair grows on my chest?
Whatif nobody likes me?
Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?...
Here in the attic of Shel Silverstein you will find Backward Bill, Sour Face Ann, the Meehoo with an Exactlywatt, and the Polar Bear in the Frigidaire. You will talk with Broiled Face, and find out what happens when Somebody steals your knees, you get caught by the Quick-Digesting Gink, a Mountain snores, and They Put a Brassiere on the Camel.
From the creator of the beloved poetry collections Where the Sidewalk Ends and Falling Up, here is another wondrous book of poems and drawings.
Everybody knows about Shel Silverstein's works and how controversial they were. Well, "A Light in the Attic" is probably his most controversial book yet and it's all because of a poem that dealt with a little girl and a pony!
So that's my top 10 strangest (and messed up) children's books that I have ever read and you guys need to SERIOUSLY check these books out AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
And tell me in the comments down below: what were some of the strangest and most messed up children's books you ever read?
Annnnnnddddd....as always everybody:
HAPPY READING, BOOK FANS!!!!
I think "The Giving Tree" is a messed up children's book. I hate it!
ReplyDeleteOh yeah! I almost forgot about how the tree was being treated in that book!
DeleteYep yep definitely messed up! I have this book (and it is NOT meant for kids but it's funny and styled like a children's book) called "K is for Knifeball" and my kids get the biggest kick out of it because it is so morbid hahah. But I am not going to lie, some of these pictures WILL give me nightmares! Messed up!
ReplyDeleteOooh! I need to check out K is for Knifeball! Sounds like fun!
DeleteOkay, those are some seriously messed up books! But I do love me some Shel Silverstein---his poems are definitely quirky but irresistable!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Same here!
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