I just want to take this oppurtunity, to inform you that Winnie The Pooh outgrossed Harry Potter this year, according to the AOL stocks keyword.
Winnie the Pooh is the highest grossing fictional character this year, Mickey Mouse was in second, with Harry Potter being number 3. Just to give you an idea, SpongeBob Square Pants was number 9.
Just goes to show you: the Pooh is still on fire.
Posted by Anna (Member # 2582) on :
Can't we love Harry AND Winnie ? Cause I do...
Posted by Foust (Member # 3043) on :
Harry Potter sucks. I really liked PoA, but when Sirius fell into a bloody portal and didn't actually die, it was the last nail in the coffin. It makes the articles where Rowling says she cried writing that scene sound utterly fatuous and foolish.
Posted by Anna (Member # 2582) on :
Point is : I don't listen to J.K. Rowling. I like her books, nothing else, nothing more. I just can't help continuing reading when I read one. And I find the characters deep, not only what they seem to be SPOILERS (Snape for exemple, I've been very touched when I learnt about his spying against Voldemort, and now the scene in his memory...) END OF SPOILERS That's not as good as "His Dark Materials" (Philip Pullman, you have to read that ! ) but it's still good.
[ September 26, 2003, 10:47 AM: Message edited by: Anna ]
Posted by Maccabeus (Member # 3051) on :
*chuckle* That's irony for you. It hasn't been that long since I read an article somewhere contrasting Harry Potter with His Dark Materials. It was a Christian mag defending Harry; the claim was that no matter what you think of the series, His Dark Materials is incredibly more anti-Christian.
I don't know anything about the books except what I read in that article, so please...no flames.
Posted by Christy (Member # 4397) on :
I only wish it was the REAL Winnie the Pooh that was still going strong and not the Disney rip-off. Don't get me wrong, I love Winnie in all forms, but Classic Pooh still holds more dearly to my heart.
What ever happened to poor Paddington bear? He was my first bear-love. Posted by Papa Moose (Member # 1992) on :
Spoiler warnings are still appreciated, folks.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
This is more indicative of the Disney machine and the number of babies in the world than the comparitve value of the charactes. Posted by docmagik (Member # 1131) on :
Winne the Pooh may sell, but Harry Potter is still the most challenged. Posted by Anna (Member # 2582) on :
Sorry about that, Papa Moose, I just forgot I wasn't talking to only one person. about myself.
Posted by Anna (Member # 2582) on :
Oh, and about His Dark Materials... I didn't read it in an Pro or anti christian point of view. But as a christian myself, I didn't feel offended. I mean, an author creates a world, he has an absolute right to imagine whatever he wants about that world, even some things about a god, if you ask me.
Posted by Anna (Member # 2582) on :
Docmagic : they find Anastasia Krupnik offensive ? Why ?
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
Cool, of the 100 most challenged library books, I've read sixteen.
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
Harry Potter remains the book that required the New York Times to create another list for it.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
Book: yep Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
His Dark Materials is awesome I'm reading it again for the 9,000,000th time. It is a lot more intense, disturbing and should make certain people quite angry. But the message is excellent though... To live life to the fullest even if there might not be a God... It's better than HP is in a lot of ways, but i love HP too and hate groups of people who challenge books every 3 seconds. Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
I think it's funny that anything by Katherine Patterson is on that list, though I have not read the story in question. She's a graduate of my Alma Mater, and a person of some religious feeling (or so I have been told). Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
You've never read The Bridge to Terabithia?
Oh, you should! It's wonderful. There's no question that it (as well as several other books on that list) is quite intense. But it's a good kind of intense -- makes you really think, and feel.
Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
Hmmm... I've only read 22 of them, and don't remember several of those. Though there are a bunch on that list that I've been meaning to read.
Posted by saxon75 (Member # 4589) on :
Bridge to Terabithia was required reading in my fourth grade class. I remember loving it, even though it was a very sad story. It's one of those books that I've been meaning to re-read.
Posted by 5710 (Member # 5710) on :
Ive only read 14, but, why is Wheres Waldo on the list??
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
*blinks* The Giver? What on earth is wrong with that? It's one of the most amazing books Lowry ever wrote -- and that's saying something!
Flowers for Algernon? A Light In the Attic? How to Eat Fried Worms? Ok, it's been a while since I read them, but nothing potentially problematic is coming to mind.
Let's see, I've read at least 27 of these. *snickers*
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Some people just don't seem to want their kids to think I hate being told what to read. Hyper-religious relatives would try to do that to me often and it would always make me furious. For example, the Alice serious is excellent. (I am proud to state that most of the books I read are young adult books.) It emphasizes friendship, it discusses issues like sex frankly. And the Giver talks about all kinds of important issues.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Oh, wait! I figured out what's "wrong" with The Giver.
Well, geez, the banning types should be happy -- supression of puberty and sexual urges. Posted by greensong Rose (Member # 5590) on :
Where is there "occult/satanism" in Bridge to Terabethia? I hate that they are banning all those books about racism. From the ones I've read, they are talking about dealing with racism, not saying "hey, let's teach kids to be racist"! Especially Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry. I've read 15 (I think) of those books. What a shame, they are so good! Once I finish Heartfire, I think I'll use that list as a "must read" list". Posted by wieczorek (Member # 5565) on :
quote: Harry Potter sucks. I really liked PoA, but when Sirius fell into a bloody portal and didn't actually die, it was the last nail in the coffin. It makes the articles where Rowling says she cried writing that scene sound utterly fatuous and foolish.
You're a funny one, Foust.
Have you read Order of the Phoenix? You should, you'll realize why J. K. Rowling says she cries. I cried when something bad happened...for a long time, too... Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
psst, I think he did.
I'm wondering if Where's Waldo isn't the picture book with the guy in the stripped shirt, but a regular book by the same title. I didn't know for sure.
Posted by wieczorek (Member # 5565) on :
*sigh* yes, I suppose he might've I also think it's possible that Where's Waldo could just have the same name. That reminds me of this series. It's called The Sword of Truth series, by Terry Goodkind. Then there's another book called The Sword of Truth, but it's by Terry Brooks. Hmmm...
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
My sister has "The Boy who Lost his Face" out the library. I guess I'll have to read it now.
I've read twenty one of those books. (iOf you don't count series' as more than one book)
You have to STUDY Bridge to Teribithia (which made me cry) and the Giver (which was ruined when a friend of mine explained the end... she's somehow related to the writer...) and Catcher in the Rye at school... is that why they are so challenged?
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I bet I win the challenge for fewest books read from that list, at like 5. "The Pigman" that was a rare school assignment that I actually read
Tom Sawyer Huck Finn Hey, I'm not totally illiterate.
Bridge to Terebithia. I guess it isn't a great idea to hang out in the woods with a member of the opposite sex. I know my own experiences in that had tragic results.
In the Night Kitchen- I actually did ban this one from my house. I hadn't read it, but it was on a children's video and it has this little naked boy. He's cute, but I am trying to potty train my child.
:Fixing face mask for the onslaught of "Come on, you never read...":
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
I've read 15 out of the top 100 and 4 of the top 10.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
It is the picture book of Where's Waldo by Martin Hanford. Maybe it was withdrawn for the same reason Madonna's Sex was: the bindings were easily worn out. Or the book's audience had a higher than normal tendency to damage it.
Posted by Homestar Runner (Member # 5724) on :
well chicken is better!
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
I'm freakin' awesome. I started the "How many of the 100 most challenged library books have I read?" sub-thread.
[ September 26, 2003, 06:08 PM: Message edited by: sarcasticmuppet ]
Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :
The book versoin of Flowers for Algernon spends the first half discussing his various sexual urges, and how he's too stupid to repress them. It bothered me enough in 7th grade that I stopped reading it halfway through. I really loved the short story though.....
Posted by Jill (Member # 3376) on :
I've read 35. And they were all excellent. James and the Giant Peach?!?! How on earth is there anything wrong with that book? Teshi- How did the end of The Giver ruin the book for you?
[ September 27, 2003, 10:28 PM: Message edited by: Jill ]
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
The Bridge to Tarabithia is probably on the list because the girl frankly discusses her disbelief in Jesus Christ with the boy and his sister after attending Easter services with them. (They deleted this scene from the movie, BTW.)
If I recall correctly, she views the Crucifixion/Ressurection as a tragic, romantic story, and nothing else.
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
The end of The Giver was retarded, it ruined a perfectly good book.
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
I read it when I was, like, twelve. I didn't understand the ending at all. I think I understood it when I read it again when I was sixteen, but I'm still not sure.
Posted by Human (Member # 2985) on :
I noticed that a bunch of them are sex-ed books...we all know it's so morally offensive to teach kids about that stuff...especially in a BOOK.
Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
::shakes head::
Total hijack of a thread.
You have done well.
Posted by Scythrop (Member # 5731) on :
I can't imagine too many other lists in the world where Roald Dahl's The Witches would be sharing the billing with Atwood's Handmaid's Tale Anyone else spot some strange bedfellows in that list???
Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
"Where's Waldo" -- there's a tiny picture of a topless women at the beach.
"James and the Giant Peach" -- just guessing, but it's probably someone objecting to the part where Aunt Spike and Aunt Sponge get squished and everyone says "Yay"...
Posted by Raia (Member # 4700) on :
quote: why is Wheres Waldo on the list??
You're not going to believe this. But I know this for a fact. On the second (I think) page of Where's Waldo, somewhere in the upper left-hand corner, there's a boy who pours a glass of water on a woman's back, and her bra falls off.
It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of, considering the figures aren't any bigger than the Hatrack smilies. Oh well.
*leaves thread*
(edit: Plaid, sorry, I didn't see that...)
[ September 28, 2003, 09:59 AM: Message edited by: Raia ]
Posted by ana kata (Member # 5666) on :
To me, the ending of The Giver meant he was dying of exposure. Was there some other interpretation?
I saw it as a "problem of pain" book. Sort of like The Worthing Saga only not as good. A sort of thought experiment on what it would be like to live in a world with no pain or sorrow.
[ September 28, 2003, 10:27 AM: Message edited by: ana kata ]
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I'm weird and optimistic, so I wanted that book to end happily after all he had been through...
Posted by dangermom (Member # 1676) on :
46! Woo!
The end of The giver was purposely vague, and I think it's interesting to see who thinks he lives and finds a home, and who thinks he dies. Lowry herself was asked about it and said she was surprised that people thought the ending was so sad and that he died--she thinks of it as a hopeful ending. I can't find the email I have where that incident is quoted, but if I do I'll post it.
I myself always hoped he lived, but had an awful feeling that he didn't.
Posted by Jill (Member # 3376) on :
I personally love the ambiguity at the end of The Giver. I was very disappointed in the 7th grade when my teacher didn't discuss it at all. She just assumed that he had made it.
[ September 28, 2003, 01:12 PM: Message edited by: Jill ]
Posted by wieczorek (Member # 5565) on :
Racking up the points with a whopping seven!! Yay... Well, anyway, I've read: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - not very interesting The Harry Potter series - VERY interesting The Giver A Wrinkle in Time Go Ask Alice - most uninteresting book I've ever laid eyes on To Kill a Mockingbird A Light in the Attic ...
I read The Giver in 8th grade - my teacher said that in the end Jonas died and "[Jonas] was seeing the lights of Heaven and the bliss of God". I prefer to stay optimistic and believe that he really found it out of his town, but I can't be sure.
[ September 28, 2003, 01:11 PM: Message edited by: wieczorek ]
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
I don't care why Lowry ruined the book the point is she ruined it!
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
I've read 20 of them
What I don't understand is how 'Bridge to Terebithia' got challenged more frequently than 'Sex' by Madonna!
[ September 28, 2003, 09:16 PM: Message edited by: imogen ]
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
I guess you can't have worldly inspiration without being a little worldly. The school system seems to think that it's an adequate sacrifice. The kids who really want it will go looking for it, I hope.
Also, I like seeing how some children's books are being more challenged than Cujo.... Man alive, that's ridiculous.
[ September 29, 2003, 12:22 AM: Message edited by: Book ]
Posted by dangermom (Member # 1676) on :
Children's books naturally get challenged more than books for grown-ups. Sex and Cujo wouldn't be in the shelves with the children's books, and they wouldn't be stocked in elementary school libraries at all--and schools are where a lot of the challenges happen. People are far more interested in protecting their children's minds from smut, filth, and scary/sinful ideas (real or perceived) than they are in protecting other adults, especially in public schools.
Posted by Nato (Member # 1448) on :
quote:What I don't understand is how 'Bridge to Terebithia' got challenged more frequently than 'Sex' by Madonna!
Probably Bridge to Terabithia is in more school libraries than Sex.
*sigh* I wrote this totally overlooking that dangermom had just said this, what, five hours ago?
[ September 29, 2003, 05:15 PM: Message edited by: Nato ]
Posted by wieczorek (Member # 5565) on :
One of my friends won't read the HP series because she thinks it's "devil-worship". I'll tell you, if no one else in the world challenged the Harry Potter books but her family, it would still find its way onto the list of challenged books. But she listens to music with profanity in it because it's "expression". Tee-hee. Silliness.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
I actually had a debate with several people a couple years back about the end of The Giver. I thought it was like the end of Hans Christian Anderson's The Matchbook Girl; several other disagreed. We tried to find textual proof, and I eventually convinced at least one person I was right.
But apparently Lowry didn't intend that at all! That makes me very happy, actually -- I thought that book deserved a happy ending.
Speed, thanks for that explanation re James and the Giant Peach. I guess my third-grade teacher (who read the book to us, a few pages a day, as a reward for getting our work done) was just leading us down a terrible path.
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about myself.
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Anyone else spot some strange bedfellows in that list???