# Parents of small children: what are you currently reading your kids? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 26, 2014, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-of-small-children-what-are-you-currently-reading-your-kids/682339 "2014-02-26T18:31:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-of-small-children-what-are-you-currently-reading-your-kids/682339/41 "2014-03-01T11:20:40Z")
Heh…when I was eight, I think my Dad was reading me _The Martian Chronicles_ and a young-adult history of the Skylab missions. I think some [Johnny Dixon mysteries](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nKJ_uvquASQ/S9YI30CkBBI/AAAAAAAABGc/BdX8c4hbxjQ/s1600/eyes+full+dj+sm.jpg), too. With the original illustrations. I rather like having a weird family, sometimes. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-of-small-children-what-are-you-currently-reading-your-kids/682339/42 "2014-03-01T13:19:38Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > The SF fans might get more of a kick out of [Goodnight, Dune](http://goodnightdune.com/) wow, that’s… just perfection. thank you! ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-of-small-children-what-are-you-currently-reading-your-kids/682339/43 "2014-03-01T14:41:38Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Each of our three sons went through varying degrees of obsessiveness with Thomas the Tank Engine. We still joke now and then about calling an indignation meeting for something that’s annoying us, or say “Cinders and ashes!” or “Oh, my rods and couplings!” when we don’t want to use stronger language. You know… Thomas & Friends isn’t really that annoying relative to a lot of kids’ TV. The songs are catchy, there’s always a good lesson to the stories, the hero isn’t always right, and in a paroxysm of nerdiness, I learned a LOT about railroads and locomotives through curiosity about Sodor and the locomotives. Can’t say any of that’s true about say… Ni Hao, Kai Lan or Peppa Pig though. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-of-small-children-what-are-you-currently-reading-your-kids/682339/44 "2014-03-01T15:45:35Z")
> [@gonzoron](#): > > wow, that’s… just perfection. thank you! No problem - saw it on io9 recently. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-of-small-children-what-are-you-currently-reading-your-kids/682339/45 "2014-03-01T16:03:23Z")
> [@gonzoron](#): > > My 5 and 7 year old are on an Junie B. Jones kick. My 6 year old as well, though she’s also hooked on Cam Jansen. ---
**Author:** ![dada2fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ccd318/32.png) [@dada2fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dada2fish)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2014, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-of-small-children-what-are-you-currently-reading-your-kids/682339/46 "2014-03-02T06:54:53Z")
“If You Give A Cat A Cupcake” by Laura Numeroff and all the others in that series. My kid is really into “Richard Scarry’s Best First Book Ever” too. I’ve dug out some of my old children’s books and one of my son’s favorites is “The Hungry Thing” by Jan Slepian. “The Lorax” and other Doctor Seuss books are always good and of course, Sandra Boynton’s books. Even though my son is now 4 and potty trained, he likes to dig out his book “Potty” by Leslie Patricelli, because he thinks it’s so funny. Also, what’s wrong with Caillou? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-of-small-children-what-are-you-currently-reading-your-kids/682339/47 "2014-03-03T16:41:38Z")
> [@MissSwitac](#): > > Even though my son is now 4 and potty trained, he likes to dig out his book “Potty” by Leslie Patricelli, because he thinks it’s so funny. “Bye bye diaper! Hee heeeeheeheeehee!” My son is hysterically amused by the part where the baby sits on the potty with the diaper on and looks shocked, and then takes it off. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-of-small-children-what-are-you-currently-reading-your-kids/682339/48 "2014-03-03T16:46:40Z")
Leslie Patricelli cracks me up every time. My daughter has mostly moved on from these books, but I flip through them for laughs when I come across them. It’s amazing how expressive her characters are. This thread is making me think I’m a complete fascist, because I’m realizing there are a lot of books that we don’t read because I don’t care for them. Don’t get me wrong, we have TONS of books in the house and go to the library often, but I keep a little mental blacklist for books that I find too annoying to bear. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-of-small-children-what-are-you-currently-reading-your-kids/682339.md?page=2)