Tag Archives: Kids’ Books

Reading To Children

We've done this topic before, but it's come up recently, so it seemed workable.

What do you read to your kids? What are your goals in reading to your kids, and how does that inform your book selection? (My goal is calming my children down since they're often crazy, and so I read to them from the phone book. Not really, but I should. If only I owned a phone book... (wow the world has changed!)).

Anyway, books. We read them. Then talk about them. Let's do that here.

The YMAs, baby!

So, are you all set for Monday? Got the webcast bookmarked so you're sure not to miss a single moment? Don't forget, it begins at exactly 9:00 a.m., central time!

Wait, what? You have no idea what I'm talking about? It's the YMAs! (Yes, I realize that the all-caps of the post title makes it look like I merely misspelled "yams." Hush.) It's one of my absolutely favorite days of the year! This is the day when the American Library Association (and a number of related groups) announces the winners of the Newbery Medal, the Caldecott Medal, and a host of other awards.

Were you a kid who went right for all those books with a shiny award sticker on the front cover? Or did you stay as far away form them as possible? Do you have a favorite Newbery or Caldecott winner?

While I loved both my elementary school library and my public library as a kid, I didn't care all that much about seeking out books that had won awards. That said, if I had to pick a favorite Newbery winner, it would without question be A Wrinkle in Time. Following that would probably be The Black Cauldron, in Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain series. What about you?

Father Knows Best: Roundup

Sitting here listening to some hockey (Wild win in Detroit, 4-2) after watching an episode of Homeland, drinking a glass of this, trying to figure out what my edition of Father Knows Best should address. I realize that any of those first three items could (and typically do) generate a whole day’s worth of conversation here at the World’s Greatest, but none of them really help me with the task at hand: namely, come up with something about being a father that is useful, challenging, interesting and LTE-inducing – all while keeping the post manageable, i.e., short.

More after the jump… Continue reading Father Knows Best: Roundup

Father Knows Best: Kids Books

Either my wife or I have read childrenʼs books nearly every night for the past ten years. The last four or five years have been more interesting as weʼve gotten into the chapter books read over multiple nights and not just repeated readings of Dr. Seuss or Berenstein Bears.

We do not read to them because we are convinced it will make them smarter or anything like that. The kids just really enjoy it and it is a nice transition for them from the activity of everyday life to sleep.

This will focus primarily on books that are good for five-to-ten year old kids since that is what I have been reading the past few years. I am not saying this is great literature or worthy of any awards (although some of it is). They are just enjoyable childrenʼs books and some of them do have some things the kids can learn from them.

Anyway, here it goes. There will be spoilers in each review as you may want to know how they end to decide if it is appropriate for your child.

Continue reading Father Knows Best: Kids Books