If you’re like me, you’re usually too burnt out to pick up a book (meant for adults) and read any significant length of it before nodding off. There’s a growing stack of novels beside my bed waiting for my attention. However, they can wait, because I’m too busy enjoying children’s books.
To be clear, we used to read our son the standard ABC 123 and Dr. Seuss books (which I personally love) every night. But since he’s getting older, and appreciating more complex storylines, we’ve moved on to titles for more developed brains.
If you like to read to/along with your child, and also like to lose yourself in a story, these suggested books cover both. They are entertaining and enlightening for both a young and older crowd.
Here they are, in no particular order (note, I do not make any money from affiliate links, and have no family/friendly ties to these authors, although I wish I did):
This is a very interesting book from the mind of Peter Brown. It follows the adventures of “Roz”, a robot designed for manual labour, which washes up on a deserted island following a shipping mishap.
This robot, meant to serve humans, learns and adapts to her surroundings fairly quickly. She even befriends the creatures of the island, learning life lessons, dodging trouble, and having adventures together along the way.
While a machine, Roz makes human-like connections with her surroundings, the other life forms on the island, and most of all, the readers. Both my son and I were drawn into Brown’s compelling storytelling style, and the sequel (The Wild Robot Escapes) did not disappoint despite going a somewhat different direction.
Note: books contain some themes of death and violence. Suitable for 7–10 year olds.
This book comes to us from the vivid imagination of Sara Pennypacker. It’s about the simple love between an animal and a boy, their separate paths, and their desire to reunite — but it’s much more than that.
The book takes place during wartime, and rich imagery is used to recreate their world. The writer expertly switches the point of view between the boy and a fox, each facing their own unique but relatable challenges.
The book is quite exciting in some parts, but also tugs at the heartstrings.
Pax has a sequel called Pax, Journey Home, but we haven’t yet read it. I will update this when we do.
Note: books contain some themes of death and violence. Suitable for 9–12 year olds.
This story by Rodman Philbrick vividly recreates the reality of natural disasters — in this case, a giant wildfire that threatens to swallow the main protagonist’s summer camp.
While scared, tired, and alone, he uses the skills he learned at camp to navigate himself through the wilderness, ever watchful of the wall of flames approaching. He eventually gets some help in the form of another human who is also stranded — and together they fight for survival.
The storyline is compelling, and it believably portrays how running from a giant, out-of-control fire — one of the most common natural disasters in the U.S. — might be like. There are safety tips in the back of the book, adding to its value.
Note: book contains themes of death, danger (including potentially scary animal encounters), and possible body image triggers. Suitable for 8–12 year olds.
Of all the books I’ve read together with our son, this might be the heaviest. A boy training in his father’s artistic craft sets out from his modest village on a coming-of-age adventure to find his true self.
He meets compelling characters such as a wise hermit who trains him, reminding me of the magical relationship between Mr. Miyagi and his student in Karate Kid. Soon, the boy is accepted into a circle of monks that teach him how to use his brain — both in life, and in battle.
Without giving too much away, there is at least one scene took my breath away. The author, Tony Mitton, weaves a thoughtful and poetic tale of a heroic journey that ends… well, not quite as I expected.
Note: book contains some themes of death and violence, and some very mild language. Suitable for 8–12 year olds.
If you love dogs, you will both laugh and possibly cry during this read from Greg van Eekhout. A troupe of dog astronauts — labeled “barkonauts” — accompanying a human space mission, but when things go wrong the pups are left to their own devices.
Yes, the dogs “talk” like they do in cutesy kid movies, but I promise it’s worth following these animals striving to survive, and attempting to make human contact.
Anyways, if you and your kid(s) like sci-fi, space, and animals that can speak and reason at human levels, this one’s for all of you. It can get a bit darkly suspenseful in some sections, but so is the nature of infinite space! It’s a mostly fun read.
Note: book contains some themes of death. Suitable for 8–12 year olds.
Stacy McAnulty created this tale of kids who become millionaires. It sounds like fun and games, but there’s a “game” attached to the money — and a time limit. Even worse, they’re not allowed to tell anyone about it.
This book was entertaining, and teaches the value of money in a fun way (more fun than accounting class, that’s for sure.) It illustrates to kids that money can be a blessing or a curse, depending on how you handle it.
The book also shows how people that are very different can become friends when working towards a common goal.
Note: book contains some themes of death and violence, and divorce. Suitable for 8–12 year olds.
The Many Worlds of Albie Bright
This book deals with some heavy topics — from a parent dying to quantum physics. But the author, Christopher Edge, expertly tells the story in a way that’s both heartfelt and informative.
This is an exciting read that explores the possibility of parallel universes, and where people go when they leave this world. It sounds a bit intimidating, but it’s written in a way that both adult and child can appreciate.
It’s not just made-up science, either — the author strived to be accurate, and even had the manuscript checked by a professor of particle physics!
Note: book contains some themes of death. Suitable for 9–12 year olds.
If you like sci-fi tinged tales, then also be sure to check out The Longest Night of Charlie Moon (from the same author) that discusses the theory of time travel. Like Albie Bright, it might cause you to tear up in some sections.
No book budget? Use your local library system
You don’t need to have a “reading fund” set aside to afford all of these books (although they’re all worth owning.) You should be able to borrow most or all of them for free from a municipal library.
My local library system has a cool service that picks several books based on the preferences of a child or an adult. I just fill out an online form, and often during the same day, I pick up the bag of literary gems. (It helps that the nearest library branch is right around the corner from our home.)
Check to see if your library has a service like this. At the very least, they can recommend titles capable of entertaining readers of different ages — maybe even other titles from the authors I’ve mentioned.
There are other books that entertained both our son and I — perhaps I will write another post about them in the future.
Any other titles you’d recommend that are good for both kids and parents? Drop them in the comments!
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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Photo credit: Adam Winger on Unsplash
