10 Must Reads for Your Children

As a little girl I can remember an endless number of nights curled up in my bed, next to my mom while she read to me. I loved it when she would read me to sleep, a chapter a night (sometimes two if I really begged) until we finished the book . She always brought the characters to life by giving each one their own voice and adding the expressions in her tone. I enjoyed our nightly tradition so much that I continued it on with my own children.

Over the years there have been many stories told at bedtime, some good, some bad, some never to be repeated. But then there are the ones that no matter how many times they'd heard them were always read again and again and again.....

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

by:Judi Barrett

Ages: 6-11

In the tiny town of Chewandswallow the weather comes three times a day, at breakfast, lunch and dinner. But it never rained rain and it never snowed snow. It rained things like soup and juice and snowed things like mashed potatoes and sometimes the wind blew in storms of hamburgers. But when the meals become more than a mouthful the residents are forced to run for cover.

I LOVE this book! My mom read it to me for the first time when I was 8 years old and I've been reading it ever since! It's so imaginative and beautifully illustrated. The story really holds a child's attention which is a rare thing in this video game era. The pictures are a blast to look at, there's always something new to see. My favorite is the scene at Ralph's Roofless Restaurant on "Frankfurter Day". It's hysterical seeing all the people running around trying to catch hot dogs in their buns while mustard drizzles down from the sky.

A good clean book that's full of laughs and one that I don't mind reading over and over.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

by:Laura Joffe Numeroff

Ages 2-5

Who would ever suspect that a tiny mouse could tire out an energetic little boy? Well, that is what happens when you give a mouse a cookie. Because if you give him a cookie, he's going to need a glass of milk to wash it down. And before the day is done the list of favors he'll ask for will grow and grow.

I can't tell you how many times I've read this book. It was a favorite of the 3 year olds I taught in pre-school. The absurdity of this forward little mouse running a boy ragged is quite hilarious and had them erupting in fits of giggles every time I read it. And the faster you read the story the harder they laugh. Younger children really enjoy the "What If" possibilities and have a blast making up their own.

The words are easy to follow so kids can begin to memorize the story and eventually decode the words. The colors are bright and inviting allowing the illustrations to reveal a lot about the nature of the characters.

This book is fun from start to finish and back again. If you read this book to your kids, they'll definitely want you to read it again. :)

Where the Wild Things Are.

by:Maurice Sendak

Ages: 4-8

A mischievous little boy named Max is sent to his room without any supper after his rowdy behavior gets him into trouble. Feeling misunderstood and unloved by everyone Max escapes by way of a boat (and his active imagination) to a mysterious island where he befriends seven giant creatures.

The wild things make Max their king and he joins them in a rumpus romp through the forest, where they hang from trees and have a wonderfully wild time. But Max soon discovers that there's no place like home and turns in his crown so he can set sail back to reality.

Where the Wild Things Are is one of those truly rare books that both children and adults enjoy equally. The monsters aren't scary, in fact at times they're down right hilarious. And I love the way it teaches kids to deal with their anger.

My son used to tell me all the time that he was Max and that when he was bad and in time out he became king of the wild things too. The little monsters in your life are sure to love this story just as much as mine did. It's brings out the wild child in everyone and is the most fun you'll ever have in a wolf suit!

Super Fudge

by: Judy Blume

Ages 10-12

Nothing is easy for 12 year old Peter Hatcher. He tries to lead a normal life but is constantly being annoyed by by his uncontrollable, spoiled brat younger brother Farley Drexel, better known as "Fudge" And as if that weren't enough, his parents insist on making life-changing decisions without asking him first! Like the decision to have another baby and to move to Princeton for an entire year! He's not moving, noway no how and he definitely does not want a carbon copy of Fudge. He's running away to live with his best friend Jimmy Fargo and that's final.

This book is the sequel to "Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing" and one of my all time favorites to read. I love it so much that I've been reading to my kids since for years (I think we've already read it through twice!) The book is hilariously funny and light hearted but be warned it does casually throw out some revelations that you may not be ready to explain like where babies come from and the existence of Santa. But it also touches on the trauma of a new baby and moving to a new city and away from your friends.

The story moves quickly and the banter back and forth between the characters is filled with humor and really keeps the readers attention. Peter's journey from a child to a young adult is comical and very relatable for older kids.

Charlottes Web

by:E.B. White

Ages 7-12

Who doesn't love this book? It's truly a classic and my daughter's all time favorite. She's done a book report on it every year for the last 4 years!

Published for the first time in 1952, this endearing tale tells the story of a sometimes bashful pig named Wilbur and his wise and loving Arachnid friend Charlotte. After being spared from an untimely death because he was the runt of the litter, Wilbur is devastated when he learns that one way or another he is destined to end up on the breakfast table. Determined to save her friend Charlotte begins to spin words like "Some Pig", "Radiant" and "Humble" into her web. When the magical message begin to appear the farmer (Zed Zuckerman) and the surrounding community begin to see that Wilbur is no ordinary pig and should be saved.

The barnyard is populated with a truly marvelous cast of characters. A special shout out to Templeton the rat. Gluttonous, sneaky, often nasty but curiously sympathetic, he'll steal your heart and your garbage.

This is a powerful story of friendship, hardship and the passing of time, that reminds us to open our eyes to the wonders and miracles that happen around us everyday in the simplest of things. Deeply moving and wonderfully written. This book will surely endure the test of time.

The Giving Tree

by:Shel Silverstein

Ages 4-8

"Once there was a tree.. and she loved a little boy." To say that this particular apple tree is a "giving tree" is an understatement.

Everyday the boy would come to the tree, eat her apples, swing from her branches or slide down her trunk and the tree was happy. But as the boy grows older he begins to want more and more from the tree. Like her apples to sell for money rather than to eat and her trunk to build a house instead of to slide down. And so the tree gave and gave and gave because making the boy happy made the tree happy. Even when she has nothing left to give but a stump for him to sit on.

I love reading this book to my kids because it teaches the a very valuable lesson, that life is not always full of happy endings and happily ever afters. There are times of laughter and times of tears and you learn to take the good with the bad.

Alexander and the Terrible,Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

by:Judith Viorst

Ages 5-10

Waking up with gum in his hair, tripping over his skateboard and dropping his sweater in the kitchen sink while the water is running was only the beginning of Alexander's terrible,horrible, no good, very bad day.

As his day progresses he faces a barrage of bummers worthy of the saddest country song imaginable: getting smushed in the middle seat of the car, a dessert less lunch, a cavity at the dentists office, Lima beans for dinner, witnessing kissing on t.v. and being forced to wear railroad pajamas. Nothing went right and everything went wrong. "I'm moving to Australia!" he resolves several times.

This book flawlessly and humorously captures a child's testy temperament. Which makes Alexander sympathetic rather than whiny. My kids pulled this book off the shelf every time they were having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Reading about Alexander's day full of mishaps made them laugh away their troubles.

I always find myself reading this story with tons of drama and emphasis, it almost becomes a mini therapy session for all of us.

I adore this book and the beautiful message that everyone has bad days.

Miss Nelson is Missing

by:Harry Allard

Ages: 5-9

Miss Nelson is the sweet and nice teacher in room 207 who has the most terrible classes in the whole school! Everybody is mean and nobody ever listens to her. They're just plain rude and obnoxious! Miss Nelson is tired of the children taking advantage of her and knows that something has to be done to set them straight.

One day when she doesn't arrive to class the bratty children are thrilled. They think they've driven her away for good and are all smiles and grins until they meet the substitute...

Miss Viola Swamp. An ugly and mean teacher who puts them to work, yells at them and makes them do tons and tons of homework. Where is Miss Nelson?

This book is incredible. I loved it as a child and my kids love it too. It's fun for all ages really and gives a good moral lesson at the same time that's not sugar-coated. The pictures are fantastic. Children love looking at them and pointing out things like the incorrect math problems on the chalk board and the books the children carry that say "Facts and More Facts". And the silly ideas the kids come up with for finding Miss Nelson are a riot.

Is she missing? Not really. Is she hiding? Sort of. Just where will be the surprise.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

by:Roald Dahl

Ages: 7-12

The gates of Mr. Willy Wonka's famous chocolate factory are opening at last for the first time in years but just five children and their escorts will be allowed inside. Willy Wonka is a regular candy magician. He's made ice cream that doesn't melt, even when you're out in the sun all day long. Gumballs that never never melt in your mouth so you never have to get a new one. And candy balloons that you can blow to enormous sizes before popping them and gobbling them up. The only way in is to be the lucky finder of a Golden Ticket.

Charlie Bucket lives at the edge of town in a crooked little wooden house with his parents and two sets of grandparents. His family is very poor (his father lost his job screwing the caps onto tubes of toothpaste) and they live on a diet of cabbage soup and bread. Every night Charlie goes to bed with an empty stomach and a head full of dreams. He looks forward to his birthday each year when he receives a single Wonka chocolate bar that he savors for weeks by only taking a tiny nibble each day. Would he be lucky enough to find a Golden Ticket in his birthday chocolate this year? What wonders do the iron gates of the factory hold behind them?

My teacher read this book aloud to my class in the 4th grade and I absolutely fell in love with it. The characters are larger than life and kids of all ages enjoy hearing about the amazing things that are found inside the factory. Like the Inventing Room, which is full of Mr. Wonka's newest creations and the chocolate river that runs throughout the factory. Did you know that Wonka Chocolate is the only chocolate in the world to be mixed by waterfall? There's a world of pure imagination around every corner.

If you want to find out what happens to our friend Charlie Bucket and the 4 other Golden Ticket holders, you'll just have to read the book. I highly recommend it.

And last but certainly not least by any means. A old stand-by of course but still one of the most read and highly treasured children's books ever written..

The Cat in the Hat

by:Dr. Seuss

Any Age!

Poor Dick and Sally. It's cold outside and too wet to play, so they're stuck in the house all that cold, cold, wet day with nothing to do. UNTIL... a giant cat in a hat shows up and rescues them from the boredom of that dull day! He brings excitement with him in his bag of tricks which quickly gives way to mass chaos. But things go from bad to worse when Thing One and Thing Two join in the mix. What a mischievous pair they are, flying kites in the house and running about making the mess bigger and bigger as they go.

The children's pet fish borders on annoying and the voice of reason as he continuously warns them to get rid of the cat, before things get any worse. "He should not be here. he should not be about. He should not be here when your mother is out!" Eventually he is successful in his attempts to rid the house of the playful feline when Dick and Sally have finally had enough of his kind of fun.

The story centers around self -responsibility and owning up to your mistakes and in this case the mother of all messes! The house is a wreck and their mother is coming up the path. What on earth will happen when she's finds them this way? When she discovers the mess that the cat has left behind. How will they ever explain what happened? But never fear, the cat always cleans up his playthings and soon returns with a miraculous machine (that every parent wishes they had) that cleans everything up in the nick of time.

"Did you have any fun?" their mother asked. "What did you do?" The two don't know what to say. I mean "What would you say if your mother asked you?"