I never “got” the kids in school that hated reading. I was pretty much always in the middle of a book growing up and, after a brief hiatus in college, I jump from book to book without pause again now. May 11–17 is Children’s Book Week and I thought it only fitting to throw together a group of slightly “geekier” books that I have enjoyed and that I understand the kids (with their rock ‘n’ roll and their hip-hop) are enjoying these days. So here we go:
For the little ones:
- Frankie Stein (Lola M. Schaefer) – Young Frankie is not nearly scary enough for his parents. They attempt to make him scarier until he realizes that he can be far scarier than anyone thought. (Kindergarten+)
- How Do Dinosaurs Go To School? (Jane Yolen) – Do dinosaurs behave in school? How does something so big fit in with the students and teachers in school? (Kindergarten+)
- Puff The Magic Dragon (Peter Yarrow) – See, Puff the Magic Dragon lived by the sea. He frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee. Apparently he was a rascal. There’s really not much more to know. (All Ages)
- The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish (Neil Gaiman) – The title says it all. The main character swaps his dad for two goldfish. Dave McKean (Sandman) does the art for this book. Parents (dads especially) will enjoy reading this to the little ones. (3+)
For the older ones (Or the younger ones if you can get them to sit still while you read to them):
- The Amazing Spider-Man Pop-Up Book (Caroline Repchuck) – The origin story of Spider-Man in a pop-up. Need I say more? (Grade 3 and up)
- Encyclopedia Brown Cracks the Case (Donald J. Sobol) – It’s been 25 years since there was new Encyclopedia Brown. That makes me feel really old. This group of 10 short mysteries should interest any budding PIs. (Ages 8+)
- The Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis) – The movies should help stoke interest, but once you get started, there’s a lot going on in these books. Great choice to read to the kids and discuss. (5+ aloud, 9+ alone)
- Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling) – Otherwise known as “the elephant in the room” here, the Harry Potter phenomena has paved the way for a ton of other genre kids books and made reading cool. Parents will enjoy these every bit as much as the kids, even though they will probably be reading the books for the second or third time. (5+ aloud, 9+ alone)
- The Graveyard Book (Neil Gaiman) – The most recent winner of The Newbery Medal, this is a fantastic story from a fantastic writer. Taking place in a graveyard, there could be some questions about death, but Gaiman does a great job making this about characters rather than dying. (5-6+ aloud, 9+ alone)
- The Chronicles of Prydain (Lloyd Alexander) – This will be better known by the title of the second book in the series, The Black Cauldron. A fantasy series written long before the hundreds of fantasy kids’ series you see around today. It helped shape my taste in books from a very young age. (5+ aloud, 8+ alone)
- Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events (Lemony Snicket) – A terrible series about awful things happening to good children, now also a movie. Great short books that you could read together and get through fairly quickly. (5+ aloud, 9+ alone)
- The Dark is Rising (Susan Cooper) – It’s hard to believe that this series is forty years old. It scared me as a child, it scared you as a child. Who are we to break that tradition? It also happens to contain two Newbery Award winners in the series and also has a movie adaptation now. (9+)
- A Wrinkle In Time (Madeleine L’Engle) – As I worked on this list, multiple people mentioned this series to me and how much it confused them as a child. It’s a remarkable story, and could make an excellent series to enjoy together in case there is any confusion to clear up. (9+)
I’m a huge fan of books. I think that they aid kids in developing their imaginations, their vocabulary, and spelling skills. My daughter is still a little young for most of these books, but I do have copies of almost all of them just waiting around for her to enjoy. Children’s Book Week is a great tradition (it’s been around since 1919) that I look forward to continuing with my own child.
