OT: Children's books that adults enjoy too
Reading with my daughter is one of the most enjoyable parts of parenthood. We have been working hard together reading the classics like Winnie the Pooh, The Wizard of Oz and Dr. Seuss. I have now relived a lot of childhood memories and created new memories for the kiddo to share in the future.
But I'm running out of friggin' material. Going on a beer book run soon!
What are some of your books from your childhood that you would read or have read to your children?
I ask you guys and gals because we share common interests and humor. Also, there are just so many different people on the blog. I'm sure there are tons of books out there that you have read and enjoyed as a child that I haven't. Kid's love books and I have been a happier person since I have been reading children's literature again. Thanks for any recommendations!
Some carpenters can read, but only if the words are short enough and there are pictures.
August 2nd, 2015 at 11:56 AM ^
the bible
August 2nd, 2015 at 11:57 AM ^
Everybody Poops
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August 2nd, 2015 at 12:59 PM ^
People these days....
August 2nd, 2015 at 12:00 PM ^
Harry Potter.
/end list
My five year old absolutely loves Harry Potter. We've been doing about a chapter a night for the past four or five months and are almost done with book five.
August 2nd, 2015 at 12:27 PM ^
That book is a favorite at our house too, especially when doing my bad Grover impression.
August 2nd, 2015 at 12:12 PM ^
Jungle Book (kids version).
My favorite as a kid. It had a record that you played along as a soundtrack as you read. It was awesome.
"I wanna be like you-ooo-ooo . . . "
August 2nd, 2015 at 12:01 PM ^
I read The Giver, Animal Farm and The Prince and the Pauper early and would enjoy a re-read.
The Giver is a phenomenal book. For op tho probably more like a junior high level read.
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August 2nd, 2015 at 12:04 PM ^
I still love everything Dr. Seuss. I was ecstatic to see Chicago has a museum/store in the water tower last month. Really cool paintings there.
August 2nd, 2015 at 12:12 PM ^
Chicago that well. I've really only driven through it to get to Evanston for games. I just looked it up and it looks awesome!!
Yes it was amazing. I know it's cartoons by they have stuff that I would really like to hang up in my living room and all around the house. Haha awesome stuff!
I have to go here and throw in a plug for my favorite Dr. Seuss - the incredibly, vastly underrated And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street.
That is still a favorite line of my mother anytime she sees something new. She's 74 now.
August 2nd, 2015 at 12:06 PM ^
The Confessions of Rick James: Memoirs of a Super Freak
I will admit to being a horrible parent.
August 2nd, 2015 at 12:07 PM ^
My three year old son loves the Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems. They're funny and entertaining for the reader too.
Knuffle bunny is the shiznit
are some of his best stuff though.
True that. Don't let the pigeon drive the bus and the pigeon finds a hot dog were two mainstays for my son. Can probably still tell you the words verbatim without looking at it.
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August 2nd, 2015 at 12:07 PM ^
Dr Suess and Shel Silverstein
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August 2nd, 2015 at 12:28 PM ^
Silverstein is always an excellent choice - for many months at a stretch, all my kids wanted to hear was stuff out of "Where The Sidewalk Ends", "Falling Up", "A Light In The Attic" and his other works. I had not even touched them in years, but those poems have not lost a beat in my mind and I found that, at nearly 40, I was still enjoying them and laughing at them.
The Giving Tree is one of the greatest work of children's literature IMO. Just incredible.
August 2nd, 2015 at 10:20 PM ^
The human in the giving tree is sort of a selfish jerk though.
August 2nd, 2015 at 12:08 PM ^
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1617750255/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1438531613&…
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A favorite with my teenagers
It's a shame that guy wouldn't know a meter if it smacked him in the face. Funny the way they are. Downright hysterical if they had any rhythmic structure whatsoever.
August 2nd, 2015 at 12:09 PM ^
Has an adventure story line that adults will enjoy but the main characters are rabbits.
Also, the author spent a lot of time reviewing research on rabbit ecology/behavior so it's educational as well.
Definitely an all time classic, and way too good to be just for kids.
There's a movie too, which has scenes that will horrify both adults and kids alike!
August 2nd, 2015 at 12:16 PM ^
http://www.amazon.com/The-Contests-Cowlick-Richard-Kennedy/dp/0316488631
Although my sons have made read "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" every night for the last decade.
like "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" that much that you've read it to them some 3652 nights in a row, maybe surprise them with this "new" Dr. Seuss book:
which reportedly was actually written a couple years before your favorite:
.
I think you and the kids (?) will like "what Pet Should I Get" , as it stars the same siblings as the "Fish" book.
I've already read it a few times this past week (bought it 7/28, first day on the shelves) to my 6-year-old granddaughter. She absolutely LOVES the book and can already read nearly all of it herself, only needing help with a small handful of words.
My favorite growing up was "If I Ran The Circus"; it became my kids' favorite too.
August 2nd, 2015 at 12:17 PM ^
wrote this book, it is not for children though.
August 2nd, 2015 at 12:21 PM ^
This is one of the greatest comments of all time.
August 2nd, 2015 at 12:26 PM ^
Gonna show the boys at work this tomorrow. GOLD! Thanks for sharing!
August 2nd, 2015 at 12:21 PM ^
are outstanding for new readers
August 2nd, 2015 at 12:26 PM ^
No more dead dogs. Absolutely hilarious book
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And written by a guy named after Gordie Howe. All around perfection.
August 2nd, 2015 at 12:26 PM ^
A few my daughter loves:
Pinkalicious series
Big Words by Jamie Lee Curtis
The Day the Crayons Quit
Fancy Nany series
She digs Curious George too. Have fun!
August 2nd, 2015 at 12:27 PM ^
We love Where the Wild Things Are around here, but this two-year-old wants to sleep with the lights on afterwards...
August 2nd, 2015 at 12:30 PM ^
If you give a mouse a cookie
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August 2nd, 2015 at 12:34 PM ^
This one is maybe for kids a little older than you're daughter, but it's a super fun book that really piqued my interest in math and literature when I was younger. Reading it together would be a great way to do it because you could talk through some of the concepts you'd be (subconsciously) learning, in a fun way!
Cool story, bro: My uncle illustrated the Phantom Tollbooth. He and Norton Juster were roommates in the late 50s/early 60s.
August 2nd, 2015 at 12:34 PM ^
The Chronicles of Narnia
August 2nd, 2015 at 12:56 PM ^
Narnia because it is based on Christianity
I had my sons read the secular alternative, His Dark Materials, before reading Narnia.
+10000000 for the His Dark Materials trilogy. I just read The Golden Compass for the fourth or fifth time. My dad read it out loud to my brothers and I 15+ years ago and it's just as great now as it was then. (I'm now 28, so my youngest brother would have been about 9 during the reading aloud, for what it's worth.)
Pullman also wrote a series of books about a young woman who investigates mysteries in Victorian-era London. The first one is called The Ruby in the Smoke.
Narnia just because it's awesome. And for older elementary kids, Kate Seredy authored some really wonderful stories (The Good Master and The Chestry Oak are family favorites). For younger tots, my kids like "The King's Wish" and "The King, The Mice, and the Cheese". Don't know the authors offhand.
As infatuated as my kids seemed to be with royalty, they ought to be pretty happy with the new commit (Sir)!