Ok Veeky Forums I need help growing up my dad was always at work and my mom was dead at my birth. So I didn't read children books. Now at the age of 27 I have a son and a daughter. I want to read to them but I don't know what the fuck to read to them. I read the hobbit to them and they seem to like it.
I need kids books preferably nothing with gender bullshit or political bias. It's a long shot I just wanted to ask. Pic not related.
>preferably nothing with gender bullshit or political bias
i mean no media exists in a void but ok
anyway, how old are your kids?
a series of unfortunate events are always solid books for kiddies
read 'em Robinson Crusoe and Treasure Island, some Jack London, the Westing Game, Chronicles of Narnia. I'm partial to Cooper's The Dark is Rising books, personally.
Out of curiosity...
How do you feel about your mom? Do you not care because you've never met her or are you pissed off that you never got the chance? Are you sad? Has it changed with age? Again-- just curious.
My son is 3 and daughter is 2 and I know what you mean I just want to avoid the obvious gender preaching.
Narnia might be a good time, treasure island sounds good too. Thanks user you've helped me in more ways you can imagine. Anything else you rec?
I'm not mad at my mom in fact I've always kinda hated myself and still feel responsible for her death. I'm sad that I'll never talk to her or know her outside these pictures I have of her. She's a stranger to me but I feel this love from her too.
My dad says she was wonderful and I believe him I kinda have too he's my only source for her existence. Why are you wondering?
I've never had the chance to ask someone before. So thank you for replying. For what it's worth you seem like a good dad and I'm sure your mom would be proud.
That fairly oddparents episode about Timmy Turner wishing to be a girl.
That's not a book I can read to them, also anything after episode 80 is trash.
Are you looking for picture books? Just google a list of the best picture books idk.
It was a joke.
Anyways, any Oscar Wilde short story would be magnificent. And "The little Prince", from Antoine Saint Exupery is always suitable.
Picture books, anything really. I just want to spend time with them before the weekend is over and I have to give them back.
>son is 3 and daughter is 2
oh, when you said you read 'em the Hobbit, I assumed they were more lie 7-10.
>Anything else you rec?
yeah, anything Beverly Cleary; Mouse and the Motorcycle, Henry and Ribsy, the Ramona books, and Judy Blume's Tales of a Fourth-Grade Nothing and sequels are a lot more age appropriate. Actually, scratch that, do The Little Prince, Frog and Toad, Wind in the Willows, Harold and the Purple Crayon, Maurice Sendack and Richard Scarry, and maybe Raold Dahl and then work up to everything else I mentioned. But TI and Narnia is probably still OK for that young.
Fuck so the hobbit wasn't appropriate after all, I knew I fucked up I tried to make voices ANF make it as much fun as possible too. I hate not being to relate to them. Thank you user I will pick up these books asap.
>the hobbit wasn't appropriate after all, I knew I fucked up
nah, man, it's somewhat above their level but I wouldn't call it inappropriate. You said they liked it, so that's all that matters.
adding The Madeline (picture) books, Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel, and this volume of mythology, D'aulaires, is tailored to very young readers. Start 'em on the patrician route early. They do Norse myths, too.
I didn't know this existed if you're the same user from before I seriously thank you.
yeah, I'm that user. really my pleasure. My mom was a children's librarian for a while, so I guess it's in the blood :)
Swiss family robinson
Swallows and amazons
Chronicles of narnia
Matilda
Got em on my list. Thanks
I forgot Matilda existed. I feel asahmed.
The secret garden
The wind in the willows
The railway children
Skellig when they get a bit older
Ballet shoes for your daughter
Also, Show them ernest and celestine, and song of the sea (both films) i feel like the second would be very relevant to you
>Little prince
My man
Old Possum's book of practical cats. Which is a collection of T.S Elliot's Cat poems. You can't go wrong with Dr Seuss.
Winnie the Pooh
Frog and Toad, Beatrix Potter, Ruth Krauss, Winnie the Pooh, Richard Scarry, Eric Carle
If theyre that young go with the children's classics like dr suess, the hungry catepillar, where the wild things are, see spot run, etc. Spend 15 minutes on google looking at books for children 2-4 and you'll find a million good books.
Hobbit is probably good starting age 5 or 6, reading it to them out loud. They'll get a head start in literature. I personally started reading Narnia when I was 5 or 6, so while it'd be precocious for them to get much out of Tolkien or Lewis before 7-10, it's possible if you condition them with vocabulary etc.
So wait a year or two for the Hobbit imo
Faraway Tree are perfect for that age. At around 5 Alice in wonderland is awesome and you'll get a kick out of it too.
Berinstein Bears books from Dimension A
This. Read your kids simple books with pictures. They will be more interested and understand the story better.
CAPS FOR SALE
Read your son the Iliad and he'll become Alexander the Chad.
Animalia by Graeme Base is the most aesthetic children's book ever.
The never ending story
dubs and good post aside he can't read that to his kids, which is what OP was asking for.
>gender bullshit
I don't think people understand why feminism is a big deal these days...it's really contributed a lot to modern academia and thus literature through cultural seepage.
>contributed
More like destroyed but ok.
Everyone that's contributed here, I thank you I'm op and I seriously thank you. I need to give back the kids to my ex so I'll need to wait until next month for their visit. But I'll have fantastic books to read them, I will see what happens I will pick up a lot of these recommended books and can't wait for the next visit. Just thank you.
Some good suggestions already, personally I would add the works of Astrid Lindgren.
My dad read those to me and my siblings when we were young and they were instrumental to getting me into reading on my own.
Try "Momo" by Michael Ende, it's pretty good and it has a nice philosophical undertone. I would also recommend an adaptation of The Odyssey for children (haven't read any though, so I can't recommend you one in particular)
Chicken Little, Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks.....
I liked My Father's Dragon a lot when I was a kid. I tried reading it to some kids I was babysitting and they didn't have the attention span for it, though... what they'll like depends on how old they are.
Another favorite of mine was Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch. It has pretty illustrations and a really sweet moral. It would probably make me ugly cry if I read it again...
If you're religious, there are kids books about holidays and stuff that they'll probably like and will teach them about their religion.
Maurice Sendak is always a classic.
There was a pop-up book called Bugs That Go Bump in the Night which is fun for younger kids and really cute.
Ezra Jack Keat's The Snowy Day has beautiful illustrations. I don't remember what it was about, but it sure was pretty...
There's also humorous books, like Captain Underpants, The Stinky Cheese Man, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, and Frog and Toad.
Oh! And Verdi and Stellaluna - stories about real animals.
And Gloria the police dog...
Sorry if I'm overloading you, this just sent me down a memory hole... thank you! lol
YASS!!!