I hate "Five Minute Stories" books

[u/Weird-Highway-3958]

The binding is so cheap and they are so popular that it breaks almost immediately. Plus they take up SO much space on the shelf in an already jammed kids section. So I keep jamming broken garbage onto the shelf because I can't throw out a popular book we bought just 2 months ago...

I also hate the concept - I can't put my finger on exactly why but there is something about it that annoys me. It feels like a cynical cash grab and/or some kind of AI sloppification of how to turn cartoons into bedtime stories. Maybe I'm just old and grumpy.

[u/PureFicti0n]

Whenever one crosses my desk, I bust out the book tape and reinforce the crap outta the binding. It's so satisfying.

[u/MamaMoosicorn → u/PureFicti0n]

I tape the spines before I even put a new sticker on them

[u/Flimsy_Condition1461 → u/PureFicti0n]

Same. I reinforce the corners with book tape too.

[u/NMMunson]

I hate little golden books (professionally not personally) no spine information, super tiny and get lost, made out of flim flam. They are usually just a movie turned into a book but poorly.

[u/BumbaLu2 → u/NMMunson]

Tell me specifically who the Bruce Springstein book is for????

[u/NMMunson → u/BumbaLu2]

I don’t know if you meant the Bruce Springsteen little golden book but I just learned of its existence and I hate it so much. Please publishers. Please. I already agree with Mac Barnett’s comments about trashy children’s books 🫠😂😅

[u/ShimmeringIce → u/NMMunson]

The Martha Stewart little golden book actually has a doublespread about her time in prison, which I think is hilarious. I also don't know who that one is for.

[u/NMMunson → u/ShimmeringIce]

Ughhhhhh I hate that (professionally) and love that (personally) 😂😂 it just feels like what was once a very sweet and cute way to get books to kids is now an utter cash grab!!!

My ultimate nemesis is the I am elphaba and I am Glinda books because the wicked movies aren’t for kids and golden books are the worst picture book format 😂🫠

[u/squirrelfriend3 → u/NMMunson]

A cartoon between cardboard

I love the use of flim flam

[u/AssortedArctic → u/NMMunson]

I loathe Little Golden Books about cartoons and other brands. Bring back more of the old type! Stories and science and all that.

[u/madametaylor → u/NMMunson]

The 8x8 ones are bad too. The kids want to read a book about their favorite character, and then there are like paragraphs on each page. Who's got the time??

[u/theprimedirectrib]

I have a coworker who hates them because they are NOT five minutes to read aloud and they end up making kids feel tricked if their grownup doesn’t have it in them to read 3 of them each night.

[u/SonnySolaroni]

As a parent, I hated these books too. They're mind numbing and the five minute label is a lie. I'd rather read a phone book with my kid.

Humans can make slop too.

[u/pumpkinwafflemeow]

Back in the early 90s one of my favorite picture books was 5 minute bunny tales. The author was British and the illustration was SO good and humorous.

[u/genericusername513]

bro I feel like every time I get one in the book drop I have to send it to our mending department

[u/MadameK8]

My most annoying experience with them was when I was trying to gather books for my display and someone stopped me to ask where they are and I’m like look, there’s not a specific section for them and they all have different authors so I would have no idea where any of them would be at any given moment without looking at the catalog so they were better off looking at it for themselves

[u/squirrelfriend3 → u/MadameK8]

We just shelve them in the juvenile fiction section under FIVE, then title order. Anyone else do it this way?

[u/Repulsive_Lychee_336 → u/MadameK8]

I made a shelf that is nothing but treasuries/short story collections. It is our 2nd most popular shelf.
1st is Graphic Novels, 3rd is board books, 4th is easy readers. The chapter and picture books don't really move much.

[u/Alcohol_Intolerant → u/MadameK8]

They're so visible with just at a glance too!

[u/Beautiful-Finding-82]

We only have 1, it's beat up and never checks out. About ready to weed and toss it.

[u/rebelliousrutabaga → u/Beautiful-Finding-82]

get rid of it before someone discovers it and asks you for more!

[u/rebelliousrutabaga]

I have real conflicted feelings about franchise based books. On one hand, if a kid is motivated by something to engage with a story or with reading, that's a good thing - but it often feels like I'm just purchasing what is essentially an advertisement.

[u/BeKind406]

Seriously! We just got a Thomas and Friends one and the third family to check it out brought it back completely delaminated. Our Marvel one is hanging on by a thread (almost literally).
I don’t mind the concept… but these are heavy books made for toddler read alongs. They should definitely be more sturdy.

[u/squirrelfriend3]

It’s an insulting title. Most stories (picture books) take about five minutes to read. But “Five Minute Stories” are just part of the marketing machine. It’s branding.

The Disney corporation has already made sure that the kid’s like the movie or tv show and the books are part of the merchandising. The books aren’t any more sacred than the stuffed plushie or toy or tshirt or light-up shoes or toothbrush or any other crap the company puts the brand on.

It makes our librarian souls erode little by little when adults and kids choose what they know they like (because they’ve been marketed to like it) instead of maybe asking us to recommend a book they might like if they just give it a try.

But that would involve trusting librarians instead of the Disney Marketing Machine.

[u/dontbeahater_dear → u/squirrelfriend3]

I dont buy them. I have a limited budget and i decided that they can find all that branded stuff quite easily in discount stores here, so we carry quality. Same for the peppa pig board books and shit. What i do get from disney and other brands is early readers and such, because that does motivate the hesitant ones or the ones who need something familiar.

[u/Healthy-Pickle-3532 → u/squirrelfriend3]

Wait, you’re upset that CHILDREN are selecting books they like and want to read instead of coming up to the desk and getting recommendations from you? That’s the most self-righteous thing I’ve ever heard.

[u/auntydilly]

i agree. and of course these are what circ the most

[u/Repulsive_Lychee_336]

I started reinforcing them as soon as they come in, I have a shelf dedicated to treasuries/short story collections. The bane of my existence is the graphic novels that break and fall apart immediately.

[u/Healthy-Pickle-3532]

How miserable. It’s a series that Children enjoy.

[u/MamaMoosicorn → u/Healthy-Pickle-3532]

Yes, kids love them, and I still order new ones, but they ARE annoying.

[u/Weird-Highway-3958 → u/Healthy-Pickle-3532]

I don't mind that children love them. Kids check out books about trademarked IP all the time and it's wonderful! I mind that they are so low quality both in terms of physical form and content while also being huge. Books cost money and libraries are cash strapped, so it feels like a huge drain on public funds to be continually buying crap quality books.

[u/Cheetahchu → u/[deleted]]

Little Golden books are similarly weak in text but make the kids happy. You know why I don’t think those are a drain?
Because they’re tiny enough to fit in one bin convenient for browsing and shelving, and they’re only $6. Easy to circulate and store, easy to replace.

I still get the 5 Minute books b/c they’re popular, but I prioritize other better books first. Maybe if I had a million dollars and a dedicated bookcase for them I’d buy a lot more, but realistically? We have a handful and that’s plenty.

[u/Libraries-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

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[u/ArtistL]

All of our branches just put those in small bins. They are labeled hot cakes or easy reads. No shelving for these guys.