Frankly, I don’t enjoy the reading of “Goodnight Moon” or “Who Loves Baby” or any of that toddler junk that kids like to hear when they are under five years old.  I know that most people stop reading to their kids when the kids can read to themselves, but in my opinion that is when the books finally get interesting.  As a result, the kids and I read together every night. I have two rules.  First, I get to pick the book and it can’t be a book the kids could read on their own. My second rule is that they can’t interrupt the reading with questions that are unrelated to the story.  It has taken awhile for these rules to settle in but we have a pretty good rhythm now and I’ve used this opportunity to read children’s books that I never had a chance to read as a kid.

OH MY GOODNESS!! Okay, I now understand why children’s literature is an actual major.  These people are messed up – these “children’s” stories are written by deranged individuals.  Have you read anything written by Roald Dahl?  Drugs. It is the only explanation.

The best part is having the kids recognize the differences between the movies and the book.  For example, did you know the “Wizard of Oz” movie is hardly anything like the book and the book has a horrible ending.  Seriously, Lucy and I complained for days about the terrible ending. “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” – the movie not even remotely anything close to the book except there are penguins and a guy named Mr. Popper.  This is quite possibly the best book club I’ve ever been a part.  The kids and I look forward to our time with a good book and I love hearing them plead “one more chapter”.  Well, Lucy pleads, Max usually falls asleep after the first chapter is read. I thought I would share a list of our favorites:

1.) The Wizard of Oz

2.) Mr. Popper’s Penguins

3.) Charlie & The Chocolate Factory

4.) The Twits

5.) The Secret Garden

6.) The Fantastic Mr. Fox

7.) The Littles (several volumes)

8.) Peter Pan

9.) Winnie The Pooh

10.) Alice In Wonderland

11.) Charlotte’s Web

12.) The Wind In The Willows

We stopped reading “Ella Enchanted” because it was God awful slow and neither Lucy nor I could ever get into “Little House on the Prairie”.  We are definitely open to recommendations so please leave suggestions for books that you and your kids have enjoyed reading together.  The next couple on our list include:

1.) Tom Sawyer

2.) Through The Looking Glass

3.) Mary Poppins

4.) Jungle Book

5.) Swiss Family Robinson