# Bedtime book both girl (8) and boy (5) will like. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 15, 2018, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671 "2018-08-15T17:43:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671/1 "2018-08-15T17:43:12Z")
My children have fairly typical interests for their gender and age. I read to them every night, each child gets a chapter in a book they had picked out from the library. But I was hoping there’d be something out there compelling for both of them. Perhaps in the fantasy genre, a go-to ‘Princess Bride’ except for kids. A picture or two every few pages would go a long way and if it holds their interest longer chapters wouldn’t be an issue. Thanks in advance for any help. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671/2 "2018-08-15T17:47:31Z")
The Stick Dog (and now Stick Cat) series is popular in my house (currently 9 year old boy and 7 year old girl, but they began loving these books about 2 years ago). The books are by Tom Watson. They’re funny books (even I laugh), but not gross-out stuff like Capt. Underpants. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671/3 "2018-08-15T17:47:52Z")
Chronicles of Narnia? I was about that age when it was read to us in grade school and it kept my attention pretty good. I’m sure there are illustrated versions out there. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671/4 "2018-08-15T17:57:55Z")
Harry Potter? The books get more complex as they go, but I’ve heard of plenty of young kids who enjoy them. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671/5 "2018-08-15T17:58:06Z")
The first thing that occurs to me is Roald Dahl’s [The Witches](https://www.amazon.com/Witches-Roald-Dahl/dp/014241011X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1534355803&sr=8-1&keywords=roald+dahl+witches+book&dpID=51qLW0CbusL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch). Of course, he has some other good stuff too. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671/6 "2018-08-15T19:38:07Z")
The \*\*\*Bunnicula \*\*\*books are hilarious. Any of Marguerite Henry’s books (e.g., _ **Cinnabar, the One O’Clock Fox** _; _ **White Stallion of Lipizza** _) are good. There are so many I remember from my childhood, written by Beverly Cleary, Carolyn Heywood, Betty MacDonald, et al. Too many to list here. Astrid Lindgren’s books are also good; my daughter loved \*\*\* Karlson on the Roof\*\*\* when she was little. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671/7 "2018-08-15T20:00:40Z")
Oh! How about [Mr. Popper’s Penguins](https://www.amazon.com/Poppers-Penguins-FLORENCE-ATWATER-RICHARD/dp/B004WJ0ZUU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1534363166&sr=8-2&keywords=mr+poppers+penguins+book)? The edition I linked to has lots of charming illustrations. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671/8 "2018-08-15T21:25:51Z")
I’m conferring with sibling now. That was around when our father started reading Tolkien to us. It took a few years. Before that, not necessarily in order, Robert Louis Stevenson, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Daniel Defoe, I don’t remember who wrote _The Swiss Family Robinson_ but we liked that one. We read the Swallows and Amazons books on our own but those would have been good bedtime reading. 8 might be pushing it for having Beverly Cleary read to the oldest but maybe not. I think it’s ok to read stuff to kids even when they can read it themselves because the adult can add a bit more depth. E. B. White, Roald Dahl might fit here. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671/9 "2018-08-15T21:34:35Z")
Totally second Roald Dahl (I like _James and the Giant Peach_ best myself, but they’re all good) [The Faraway Tree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Faraway_Tree) is a great, if rather old, escapist kids fantasy which is still very popular You probably won’t have heard of him (though I believe he’s currently trying to crack the American market) but [Andy Griffiths](http://www.andygriffiths.com.au/books/) is an incredibly popular Australian author of kind of surreal off the wall fantasy. The Treehouse books are aimed squarely at your kids’ age range - all my kids loved them ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671/10 "2018-08-15T21:57:13Z")
Not to be a party pooper, cuz a lot of these book suggestions are good books, but they might be a little old or intense for a five-year-old, or even an 8 year old. The Witches, and some other Roald Dahl stuff, has some pretty dark stuff that might be a bit too intense for bedtime reading for a Kindergartner or first grader. I think I got into him when I was a pre-teen. Tolkein, the Narnia books, Stevenson are all classics, but, again, might be a bit much for younger kids. They would’ve been for my kids when they were 5, but YMMV. I can’t say enough good things about the [Stick Dog books](http://stickdogbooks.com/). Very well written, funny, and every story has a similar structure, so kids will begin to recognize a certain rhythm when the books are being read to them, which my kids enjoy very much. And there’s artwork every second or third page. My 9 year old son and 7 year old daughter love them equally. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671/11 "2018-08-15T22:14:14Z")
Nate the Great is also a popular series in my house. ---
**Author:** ![BlueInfinity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BlueInfinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueInfinity)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2018, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671/12 "2018-08-15T22:23:56Z")
The Phantom Tollbooth, The Toothpaste Millionaire, there’s a lot out there. If pictures help, you’ve got the Great Illustrated Classics versions of many golden oldies. Every other page is a picture. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671/13 "2018-08-20T07:47:43Z")
I don’t have kids, so I have to cast my mind back to my own childhood for ideas. There were the Ribsy and Ramona books by, I think, Beverly Cleary. Istr I enjoyed them. There was one book where a brother and sister ran away and lived in, I think, a museum, while not alerting the staff or guards. No title or author there, but maybe that rings a bell with someone. I recall them scavenging coins from the fountain to raise money. I recall being caught up in HAVE SPACESUIT WILL TRAVEL as a fourth grader, but the book goes into the protagonists math homework quite deeply, iirc, so some judicious verbal editing might be needed on the fly. Loved the alien races, and the Mother Thing. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671/14 "2018-08-20T08:04:04Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > I don’t have kids, so I have to cast my mind back to my own childhood for ideas. well, I used to like The Famous Five when I was a kid, but they are probably too old-fashioned now. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671/15 "2018-08-20T08:15:00Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > There was one book where a brother and sister ran away and lived in, I think, a museum, while not alerting the staff or guards. No title or author there, but maybe that rings a bell with someone. I recall them scavenging coins from the fountain to raise money. I don’t know the book, but I remember watching a movie which google tells me is called "From the “Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler” which was that sort of premise, kids in a museum. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671/16 "2018-08-20T10:04:43Z")
> [@blob](#): > > I don’t know the book, but I remember watching a movie which google tells me is called "From the “Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler” which was that sort of premise, kids in a museum. Damn, I love the Dope. That was it, thanks. > **[From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_the_Mixed-Up_Files_of_Mrs._Basil_E._Frankweiler)** > > From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is a novel by E. L. Konigsburg. The book follows siblings Claudia and Jamie Kincaid as they run away from home to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It was published by Atheneum in 1967, the second book published from two manuscripts the new writer had submitted to editor Jean E. Karl. > From the Mixed-Up Files won the annual Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1968. > The prologue is a letter from Mrs.... ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671/17 "2018-08-20T16:03:00Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Not to be a party pooper, cuz a lot of these book suggestions are good books, but they might be a little old or intense for a five-year-old, or even an 8 year old. The Witches, and some other Roald Dahl stuff, has some pretty dark stuff that might be a bit too intense for bedtime reading for a Kindergartner or first grader. I think I got into him when I was a pre-teen. Tolkein, the Narnia books, Stevenson are all classics, but, again, might be a bit much for younger kids. They would’ve been for my kids when they were 5, but YMMV. Depends on the kid. I’ve read a lot of Roald Dahl to my five-year-old, and indeed am almost done reading The Hobbit to her (we’re just at the end of the Battle of Five Armies). What scares kids is often not what you’re expecting will scare kids. Obviously I recommend Roald Dahl, too, with the slight caveat that he relies a bit on ethnic stereotypes and British imperialist attitudes for humor, and it can get a little squicky sometimes. As for more recent stuff, there’s **The Tale of Despereaux** (also has some real dark bits), nearly anything else by Kate Di Camillio, **The Girl Who Drank the Moon** – hell, nearly everything I’m gonna recommend can have some dark parts, so I’m gonna stop with the warnings about that. The first Harry Potter might be all right. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671/18 "2018-08-20T16:17:06Z")
My kids are still in love with these books (14, 13 now), and as a family, we all enjoyed reading these together. There are some others that the kids still have. I’ll go peek. [Goblin Quest series, by Jim C Hines.](https://www.amazon.com/Goblin-Quest-Jim-C-Hines-ebook/dp/B002DMZ9ZE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1534781118&sr=8-1&keywords=jim+c+hines+goblins) > [@](#): > > Jig is a scrawny little nearsighted goblin-a runt even among his puny species. Captured by a party of adventurers searching for a magical artifact, and forced to guide them, Jig encounters every peril ever faced on a fantasy quest. [Tui T Sutherland Dragonets of Prophecy series](https://www.amazon.com/Wings-Fire-Book-One-Dragonet-ebook/dp/B0080K3HES/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1534781282&sr=8-1&keywords=tui+sutherland+wings+of+fire+series+book+1) > [@](#): > > The seven dragon tribes have been at war for generations, locked in an endless battle over an ancient, lost treasure. A secret movement called the Talons of Peace is determined to bring an end to the fighting, with the help of a prophecy – a foretelling that calls for great sacrifice. > > Five dragonets are collected to fulfill the prophecy, raised in a hidden cave and enlisted, against their will, to end the terrible war. > > But not every dragonet wants a destiny. And when the select five escape their underground captors to look for their original homes, what has been unleashed on the dragon world may be far more than the revolutionary planners intended . . . [Tuesdays at the Castle (Castle Glower series Book 1)](https://www.amazon.com/Tuesdays-Castle-Glower-Book-ebook/dp/B005PWMFQK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1534781510&sr=8-1&keywords=tuesdays+at+the+castle) > [@](#): > > Tuesdays at Castle Glower are Princess Celia’s favorite days. That’s because on Tuesdays the castle adds a new room, a turret, or sometimes even an entire wing to itself. No one ever knows what the castle will do next, and no one - other than Celia, that is - takes time to map out the new additions. But when King and Queen Glower are ambushed and reportedly killed, it’s up to Celia with her secret knowledge of the Castle’s many twists and turns, to protect their home and save their kingdom. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671/19 "2018-08-20T17:08:30Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > [Tuesdays at the Castle (Castle Glower series Book 1)](https://www.amazon.com/Tuesdays-Castle-Glower-Book-ebook/dp/B005PWMFQK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1534781510&sr=8-1&keywords=tuesdays+at+the+castle) Heh–weirdly, since I left the Hobbit at home on vacation, I had to pick up a different book to read to my 5yo. Guess which one it was? And speaking of castles, here’s one that’s really not very dark at all, in fact is totally hilarious and fun: **Castle Hangnail**. Someone on the boards recommended it to me, and I fell in love with the author, Ursula Vernon. My wife just got her books for adults, and they’re next on my list. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671/20 "2018-08-20T19:41:19Z")
From my own childhood: the Oz books. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedtime-book-both-girl-8-and-boy-5-will-like/819671.md?page=2)