Why are licensed products so bad?

I know, a bit provocative. perhaps I should have rephrased the headline and said "Why are licensed children's books so bad?"

For some unknown reason my 3 1/2 year old daughter has become enamoured with Dora the Explorer. She started with some clothing as hand-me-downs, and then we borrowed some books from the library. This was followed by the discovery of Dora DVDs on the library shelves.

I've had the misfortune of having to read far too many of these books. Complete and utter rubbish. Horrible illustration, miserably bad writing, and incomprehensible plots. And also horribly inconsistent. Evidently you get chocolate from the "Chocolate Tree" and also from the "Chocolate Lake".

So, if you are looking for a gift for your kid this Christmas, try to steer clear of licensed books. The publisher has to pay a percentage to the TV show, and in order to keep the price down they sacrifice content.

There are tons of great children's books that are not based on TV shows . The Little Blue Truck books, anything by Mo Willems, or old favourites like Dr. Suess or Beatrix Potter. Just steer clear of Dora, or her cousin Diego. You child will thank you eventually and you may manage to keep your sanity through a couple of readings.