When I was small, other than my own parents, these family members (below) were my role-models.
They were good honest people who always helped others. They lived an ordinary life, and their son, Rupert, was always having adventures with his friends; usually helping to solve problems.
Rupert was a Bear, and his friends were a Lion, an Elephant, a Badger, etc. Nothing seemed unusual about this group of friends as they went about doing good. And I always looked forward to reading about them in my annual Christmas present book.
The great difference between my childhood, and that of today, is that instead of the Rupert Bear Annual to read, children will have a mobile phone on which they'll watch porn, crazy antics, AI composed videos of anything you could imagine, and even nude photos of Angela from the Lower IVth Form (probably faked).
These days, children rarely read books, and if given a Rupert Annual it would simply be put away and never opened. Even the great adventures of The Famous Five no longer see the light of day.
I doubt if children now see or read anything that represents 'GOOD' in society. All is bad or dangerous.
I have never looked at TikTok or Snapchat, but I believe they are pages where junior noses are glued for most of the day. As far as I know, they are certainly not a good-example for young people.
If you ask a group of school children "What was the last book you read?", you will probably be met with a grunt, and confused disbelief.
We currently have over a Million young people on benefits in the UK, half of whom have NEVER had a job. Maybe they should read a book (if, indeed, they can read).
19 comments:
I was just like you. I loved the adventures of Rupert and always looked forward to the Annual.
I have the Famous Five books and the Secret Seven in English and Greek. My girls read them and borrowed them for the grandchildren. But they were already out of fashion 20 years ago. I don't think my grandchildren enjoyed them as much as their Mums.
But we all had lots of children's books and read them the old fairy tales and modern tales.
My girls are still avid readers but grandchildren don't have much time for books.
I have a shelf of children's books and hope at least the great grandchildren can enjoy them while they're young
I'll add a note to that. I've just remembered that my grandchildren do read books. But tik tok and snap chat are more in favour of course. My grandchildren are lucky to have been brought up to a slower way of life. They're also lucky to be involved in athletics and sports.
The British scene seems so much blacker
Reading has become 'old fashioned'. It doesn't go fast enough for the young of today. We always used to read bedtime stories to our children, and they loved it. These days even they don't read books. Maybe when they're older they'll return to reading.
It's really sad isn't it that kids don't read any more. My granddaughter used to read a lot then suddenly stopped, she has a bedroom full of books. My grandson does read a bit, but mostly educational type comics which I suppose is better than nothing at all. As you say Cro, they all have such a short attention span these days and prefer their electronics.
My mother always said about me “ if she hasn’t got a book, she would read jam pot labels and bus timetables”. Still an avid reader of actual books at 72 years old, just read the Suzie Fletcher book ‘Sun over the Mountains’ and about to start rereading all of the Victoria Hislop books for historical interest. Have a good day. Jan in Castle Gresley
Reading is so important. It teaches so many things. Punctuation, spelling, composition, and simply how to tell a good story. I meet a lot of young people who can't even speak properly; it's very sad, and I blame their lack of reading.
I expect we are the last generation of readers. Most people of my age (and yours) have a book on the go, and another waiting in the wings. I doubt if that will ever happen again.
Our three grandchildren all read, Will 9 reads to himself, the youngest two love books.
I also used to get the Rupert annual for Christmas.....I only ever read the rhyming , short version that was under the pictures,( am I remembering that correctly?) not the longer text. Not sure why as I was an avid reader of Famous 5 and such like!
You didn’t answer your own question. What was the last book you read?
Good for them, make sure they continue!
They were all good adventure books. Books that stimulated the young minds.
I'm currently reading one of my own books. Well, you did ask!!!
morning Cro, Don't forget we had local libraries too. Not so much now. We couldn't afford to buy books. I could run to my library in about 10 mins.( when I was about 10yrs old) Always in there. Often used to take a book out more than once if it was good.
Your negativity about children and books is rather misplaced in my opinion. Even today, the reading of books is a happy feature of thousands of family homes. Mind you, those homes will tend to belong to professional people who themselves value reading. When I was The Head of English on the edge of a vast council estate, I had occasion to visit some children's homes and there I was often struck by the absence of books. The most popular book seemed to be "The Yellow Pages". Always, in the corner, like some sort of idol there would be a television with a big screen.
I was always fascinated by the Chinese girl and the Pekinese dog. Thought were strange.
I still had my 'Library Card' until a few years ago. These days I either buy my books online, or re-read old books.
Sadly the majority of children do NOT have 'professional' parents, and are not encouraged to read. Even out walking the dog this morning I came across several children on their way to school; ALL with their noses stuck in their phones.
She WAS a strange character, with an interesting family. They always wore exotic Chinese clothes, and lived in equally exotic homes.
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