The Cartoon History of the Universe has probably affected our household more than any other series, though I’m not even sure where our copies came from. The Cartoon History of the Universe, Volumes 1–7, by Larry Gonick Read: Why kids aren’t falling in love with reading Yeats on Instagram, and although he may not recall where he first heard the poem, I have fond memories of reading it to him from a big collection just like this one. And because poetry has a habit of sticking in the brain, the most satisfying payoff may come years or even decades later: Recently, my now-teenage son posted a few lines of W. Take turns dipping in, and each family member can find poems they’ll relish, whether they respond more to the playfulness of Lewis Carroll or the thoughtful reflections of Langston Hughes. A volume like this one, packed with a wide range of styles and voices, offers something for everyone. People are sometimes surprised when they unwrap it, but I never worry, as most kids have an innate love of meter and rhyme they’re delighted by the daily poetry of cheers and preschool chants. The gift I most frequently send to any new parent is a thick anthology of poems, such as The New Oxford Book of Children’s Verse. The New Oxford Book of Children’s Verse, edited by Neil Philip But each will offer something significant to a variety of readers, in any stage of life. Will everyone in your family enjoy these the same way? Honestly, that seems unlikely. What I list here, then, is an assortment of titles that may speak to a wide array of ages and tastes. Any given selection was unlikely to thrill the entire group, but a book can do more than entertain-it can also provoke, challenge, educate, or soothe. But how was I to find writing that might entertain everyone? That was the wrong question, I realized. Sharing what we were reading could give us a common language and a cast of characters we all knew. Neither of them had much interest in the fairy tales I loved, and I couldn’t stand most of what they checked out of the library-I struggled to follow their graphic novels and cringed at dense World War I nonfiction, full of descriptions of gory battles and trench foot.Įven so, I was grateful for the time we spent with our books, and loved what it did for us as a family. Once they could read, however, my boys made clear to me that we didn’t enjoy the same stories. I’d loved books as a child, and I couldn’t wait to share my favorites with my new little family. They’d gurgle up at me, chewing their adorable fingers, as I chanted the words to The Real Mother Gooseor When We Were Very Young. As soon as my kids were born, I began reading to them.

Lullaby langston hughes