Our niece and nephew are 15 and 13 respectively, and are thoughtful, intelligent, and witty [when they aren’t pushing each other’s buttons]. Reading makes a huge difference.

Please read to your children. And volunteer at schools to read to other people’s children. Give to charities that make books available to low income families. In my work as a grant writer I came across a truly horrifying statistic: middle class children spend about 1750 hours reading books but low income children spend about 25 hours.

Maybe it encourages them to think for themselves, too. Although I will admit all of us still have a weakness for a good children’s book as adults. Good memories.

Childhood reading seems awfully far away. I remember running through Swiss Family Robinson at least a dozen times, but when I checked it out years later it seemed pretty darned sappy – and of course the Disney treatment didn’t help!

But Milne and Barrie were also hits and I have happily returned to the former at least, with kids and on my own.

And, a few years back, it was a delight to share White, Snicket, the first Pullman, and several Rowlings with our youngest. I greatly miss that, but continue to explore recommended books for the younger set on my own, with sensors out for the next round of youngsters to read with. One of life’s great experiences.

It’s awesome as always how many respondents FDL has, and once again I could not process even a fraction of the preceding comments. But I’d put good money to the idea that another of my favorite childhood books has not yet been mentioned: W. O. Douglas’ “Of Men and Mountains.” This is a great bio of the terrific Justice of the Supreme Court, to mention just one of his vital Fed Govt roles. FTC commissioner, perhaps – and a danged good trust-buster? We could sure use him now.

But, sadly, when I went back to the book a couple years ago it was a major disappointment. I think you have to be a little more innocent or something!

Part of the everything I used to read as a child were books that had a kind of geographical interest. A favorite author (and illustrator) was Lois Lenski, among whose titles I remember best are Strawberry Girl, Blue Ridge Billy, and Bayou Suzette. When the books were written, they were considered pathbreaking for their depictions of children in realistic circumstances—which is to say that some were poor, and lived in migrant worker families, and the like. Not having read any of her books in years, I do wonder how they stand up today.

More classroom reading:

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The Last Book in the Universe…(this one will warp their minds to rage against the machine…

We got The Last Book as an ARC at the bookstore where we worked. Sold many copies (kept the ARC for myself).

There are many books-especially at the ‘young adult’ level that I can remember some of the plots, but not the titles, or even characters, I’m going to have go to the children’s librarians at the downtown library and pick their brains.

I’m in a mood to re-read them and see if they’re as good as my 9 year old brain rememb ers them to be.

I was able, many years later, to personally thank the school librarian who handed me ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe’ when I was 9. That book turned me into the avid bookworm that I still am today. I told her I felt that my love of reading that started that day, was the foundation of the success I had later in life.

Other great favorites, re-read many times – Little Women, Secret Garden. Also, anything by Lloyd Alexander, whose storytelling has only gotten more masterful with the years.
Loved Nancy Drew too.

Also, when your daughter’s a little older, two books about the Gilbreth family; the the original Cheaper by the Dozen and Belles on their Toes. Ernestine Gilbreth just recently died at 98, what a century she saw, huh?