Right now we’re reading The Underneath by Kathi Appelt for our chapter book at bedtime.
It was my 7yo’s turn to pick and, as I usually do (because we have too many books in our house for me to just set my children loose and expect them to come up with something they want to read in less than three days), I curated a short stack for her to decide from — The Underneath, plus The Water Horse by Dick King-Smith, Tiger Boy by Mitali Perkins, and Gooseberry Park by Cynthia Rylant.
(The predetermined stack means I only offer books I actually want to read, which my small listeners haven’t figured out yet… obviously I’m going to keep this going as long as I can.)
The Underneath is darker than I expected — only a few chapters in, we’re learning about Gar-Face, the (mean, dangerous, possibly evil?) character who got his name because his father hit him so many times his jaw broke and it permanently messed up his face 😳, to give you an idea of what I mean. But Appelt’s writing is superb — poetic and flowing — and I get the sense that the darkness is a foil for friendship and love, if not outright redemption, and most importantly, my kids are into it, so we’re proceeding.
What books are you and your family reading right now that you’re enjoying? Anything you’d recommend to others?
(Board books, picture books, graphic novels, middle-grade titles, nonfiction, audiobooks, seek-and-finds — we’ve got all ages and no judgment here.)
I’ll be in the comments, adding to my always-staggering library holds list, which really can’t take anymore right now (so I am placing the hold and then immediately suspending it until mid-December, pretending all the while that I don’t have a problem…)
I’m reading Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin to my 3, 5 and 8 year old kids. They are loving it! We are big fans of the Circle Round podcast and this book has lots of fables inside of it, just like the podcast. Highly recommend!
My 8 year old and I also just had a “book club” - we both read the graphic novel El Deafo by Cece Bell and enjoyed discussing it together afterwards.
I’ll add The Underneath to our “to read” list - thanks for doing what you do!
My 3.5 yo has shown an interest in The Lorax, Mozart and Mona Lisa so we have a few library books checked out on those subjects. 😍 “Katie and the Mona Lisa” is a lovely little read!
I so hear you on those library holds, mine that are checked out keep automatically renewing and the shame is growing . . . my kids are grown but one of our all time favorites is Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, SUCH a great read for all ages, just scary and suspenseful enough without being too much, prequel to Peter Pan. Also, The Underneath is one of my personal favorites, the writing is brilliant.
A friend gifted us the book "The Word Collector" which has been such a fun read for my 4.5 yr old who is starting to identify small words and sound out letters!
This Christmas I am going to give each of my older kids a cookbook instead of fiction. We have a Harry Potter and Great British Bake Off which they love to choose foods to try. I found a Star Wars, a Disney, and a Super Mario cookbook.
When they were little we loved a good picture book that also included a recipe. Off hand I can only think of Stone Soup but I know there a lots more out there.
The Underneath is a gorgeous book. My girls and I loved it when we read it years ago. Right now my oldest grandson (almost three) is really into Shel Silverstein, specifically Peanut Butter Sandwich. He also requests Hello Door and Hello Tree by Alastair Heim a lot when he’s at my house.
My 9-year old and I just finished reading the first Skulduggery Pleasant, in honor of Halloween. (not Halloween-centric at all, but a main character is a skeleton, so I thought it counted.) He loved it! We actually laughed out loud together at parts - and there were parts I found legitimately scary for me, too!
I'm in a rut with my 6-year old. I think I am going to start The Wild Robot with him; it feels like it's time!
My daughter and I *loved* The Underneath - one of the most creative and beautifully written middle grade (or YA?) novels out there. We actually 'rescue' it every time we see a copy at the thrift store and give it to someone we think might enjoy it. WOW her writing!
We are currently reading - finishing today, actually - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Unfortunately I did not look closely at the copy (illustrated, hardcover) because it omits Part II! When I got to a certain point in the story, I stopped reading and said "wait! This is NOT what happens". I consulted my cheap copy and did a major facepalm.
Ah well...daughter asked for the cheap copy to be in her room last night so she could start on Part II! Son doesn't overly care, though I imagine he'd be horrified about Laurie's turn with the burdens....which only happens in Part II. Harumph. So much for the fancy cover.
My 2 yr old is obsessed w the Piggie and Gerald collection by Mo Willems, which is fun because my 4 yr old can basically read along those or be one character while I am the other. Sooooo funny and cute. My 4 yr old is all things Star Wars and I’ve yet to find one of those books I want to read, but he drifts to any book I am reading like a bee to pollen so he enjoys any of it! Last night for bedtime he picked two Leo Lionni books off the shelf (It’s Mine & The Extraordinary Egg) and we laughed at the silly frogs and their island adventures.
Creepy Crayon is the current favorite of two of the small girls in my life. This past weekend, the 8-year-old read it to the 6-year-old. It's fun to live in picture books from time to time, and see how little minds slowly discover new elements during each reading.
We’re reading Kate DiCamillo’s newest book, The Puppets of Spelhorst. Both my 8yo and 4yo are interested in it--it’s a new fairy tale and the pictures are fantastic. The chapters are short enough to keep my 4yo interested.
My boy just turned 1 year old and his favorite book has been '8 Little Planets' so we also took the sequel 'I Heart Pluto'. He loves putting his hands in the holes and turning the pages. Another favorite is the 'Peek-A Who?'. Again there are holes in the pages and he loves it when I make funny sounds when he turns the pages. My kids library is slowly growing but at his age he can't appreciate many of the books yet ^^
This week we’ve loved two new finds via Moonbow: The Dead Bird and How to Draw with Scissors. I insist upon a gorgeously illustrated children’s book! These two are stunners.
Ghost Book by Remy Lai with my 6 yo. My kids have been loving the book version of Bluey-Sleepytime (one of my favorite episodes, the illustrations are beautiful). The Together Tree by Aisha Saeed. I am reading My Murder by Katie Williams.
My 8-year-old and I have devoured the Nevermore series. I will say, it gets a little dark (especially in the third book, so definitely more for kids 8+), but I love it just as much as he does. The fourth book in the series comes out next year, and we can't wait.
My 5-year-old and I have been reading "Give Me Back My Bones" in honor of Halloween and it's pretty great, too!
Sheddad Kaid-Salah Ferrón: My First Book if Electromagnetism (The first book of his, on quantum mechanics, was the best ever on the topic)
Bethan Woollvin: Rapunzel (This Rapunzel has ideas!)
Sophie Blackall: Farmhouse (The author based this story on the crumbling old farmhouse she bought and made collage pictures of the house using salvaged bits from the house)
Ann Clare LeZotte: Set Me Free, sequel to Show Me a Sign (Deaf author, about a Deaf girl on Martha’s Vineyard, the island having so many Deaf that the entire population spoke sign language. Historical fiction but I think based on a true story?)
My daughter is 21 months and her favorites right now are Off to See the Sea by Nikki Grimes and Elizabeth Zunon, Little Island by Margaret Wise Brown, Sheila Rae the Brave (my copy from when I was a kid!) by Kevin Henkes, and Bear Counts by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman. I Spy books are always a hit too. Love seeing what everyone else’s kids are into right now!
I'm alternately reading Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey (very readable version, but the names and place names are killer to pronounce) and a compelling memoir by Mark Woods, Lassoing The Sun: A Year In America's National Parks, to my 15 yr. old. He's the one I read to every night. I also have a book for each 12 yr. old twin, but read to them sporadically - my wife is their regular reader. I'm reading The Summer Of The Monkeys by Wilson Rawls to one, and John Grisham's Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer to the other. And I'm always reading way too many books at once, but my main book is One Hundred Years Of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, and poetry, lots of poetry. I'm particularly enamored with the work of Jane Hirshfield these days..
I’m trying to think which of the books we’re reading aren’t recommendations from Can We Read? 😂 Some current favorites (that have maybe been recently recommended by Sarah?) are “Mystery on the Docks,” “Heckedy Peg”, and “The Seven Chinese Sisters”. My kids are also very into the Noodleheads series and anything by Raul the third so we have been having fun with those.
It’s always interesting to me to see which books my kids want to read on repeat. This week it’s: There Was Old Mummy Who Swallowed a Spider by Jennifer Ward, and Harry and the Terrible Whatzit by Dick Gackenbach.
We've just pulled out the Chris Riddell illustrated version of the Little Prince, after a visit to Busan in South Korea where we saw references to the Little Prince everywhere and the kids wanted to know who he was. I love all of Chris Riddell's work, and even if the Little Prince is a bit sad at the end, the kids loved it.
My 2 and 4 year old are still deeply obsessed with the Little Red Train books by Benedict Blathwayt (such detailed illustrations) and the Percy the Park keeper books, so those are the main culprits plus some Julia Donaldson and whatever random library books I pick out for a bit of variety. My 4 year old is very into music at the moment so we've been looking at quite a few story of the orchestra type books too.
My 7 year old is obsessed with the Dory Fantasmagory books, and so am I! They are truly, laugh out loud funny, kinda weird, and written by a former elementary teacher who really understands the first grade psyche. Number 6 just came out and we wish there were more!
Nov 1, 2023·edited Nov 1, 2023Liked by Sarah Miller
I read separately to my kids because they are interested in different things AND they definitely crave the one on one time...some nights it is exhausting but MOST nights I appreciate the little pockets of time with each one. I started this when I began Harry Potter and my younger child got too scared by the third book to continue reading with us! Anyway, right now we are reading Dogtown by Katherine Applegate and The Penderwicks in Spring by Jeanne Birdsall.
My son and I just finished the first three books in the Nevermoor series and the next book isn't coming out until fall 2024!!! We LOVE this series and so disappointed that the publication date has been pushed out several times...
My son loves Playtown by Roger Priddy with all the flaps and a sense of humour and I honestly want to hide it so we don't have to read it every night. He recently loved The Bad Mood and The Stick, Grace Lin board books, and Madeleine.
I read separately to my girls at night, although my eldest often listens when I read to my youngest (who goes to bed 90 minutes earlier). We had our Halloween books out for October, but I put them away today so we are back to the Brownstone Mythical Collection and another Joe Todd Stanton book called "A Mouse Called Julian". I need to track down more of his books, but my library doesn't have them. Both of my kids ask for the Brownstone Mythical Collection books on repeat.
Blythe and I are currently reading The Penderwicks on Gardam Street and with her dad she is reading The National Parks Mystery series book 2 (highly recommend - she loved the first book and it inspired a trip over fall break to Rocky Mountain National Park).
The best middle grade book I've read this year is The Labors of Hercules Beal. It's incredible and I can't wait to read it with Blythe.
Hello, my three year old has been enjoying her recent library pick of The Three Bears (an alternate telling of Goldilocks) and a Halloween book called Ghost Afraid of the Dark. I’m inspired by some of your posts (and a recent conversation with our neighbor who is reading Harry Potter to their 3 and 5 year olds) to start a chapter book for bedtime instead of the pile of picture and board books she picks from. Any tips to help this transition? Just start and see how it goes? I have AA Milne’s set of Winnie the Pooh books (my favorite as a kid) that are more sparsely illustrated that she’s used to, but I’ve been dying to start reading them with her.
I’m late to this as I just started subscribing but I did some random library books based on Halloween/Fall search terms and we found some great books. Some a bit beyond my 3 year old but I’ve tagged them to return to next year.
Witch Hazel by Molly Idle is a wonderful entry to the concept of memories and loved ones passing - too subtle for my 3 year old but he loved reading it
Every Night at Midnight by Peter Cheong was just ok but my little loves wolves right now and is learning what friends are, so it worked well.
When You Breathe by Diana afraid was lovely but went over my little’s heads - I’m always looking for books that talk about breathwork (also tried Six Healing Sounds, based on Qi Gong, by Lisa and Spillane which was well-received and hit better although there was some toxic positivity hints that left a bad taste for me)
The Dark was Done by Lauren Stringer part of a few books grabbed as my 3 year old is grappling with newfound fear around darkness) was a lovely concept (darkness retreats as it feels unappreciated) but I wish the author had workshopped the darkness seekers and their reasons a bit more - including a thief was an odd choice.
Mushroom Lullaby by Kenneth Kraegel is a sweet nighttime book as my little is getting into foraging.
In the Night Garden by Carin Berger hit Halloween/scary/darkness fix perfectly. Light text, collage-style illustrations
Beatrice likes the Dark by April Genevieve Tucholke was a nice concept but a bit heavy handed on what is dark/light ie I thought it went too into morality/goodness and I did not like the inclusion of mysterious boys in both the girls’ dreams - maybe an overthought - although I liked that she makes the point that the 2 characters don’t have to love dark and light but rather find some good in what they once didn’t like
Love these round-up discussion-y posts - I always find so many gems!
My 3yo wants Room on the Broom and Zog and the Flying Doctors on repeat (and I'm not mad about it, love those).
My 7yo is deeply in love with the Dragon Masters series - and I'm a little over it, to be honest. We loved The Magic Treehouse together but we've read them all and I feel like DM are a poor substitute (from a grown up reader's perspective - my 7yo is a happy guy. I also just read Fourth Wing which was basically Dragon Masters for adults, lol.). He picked up one at the Book Fair called City Spies (James Ponti) that I'm liking but is a little too advanced for him and I tried to start Henry and the Chalk Dragon (Jennifer Trafton) but so far it's not plot-y enough for him. Definitely seeking early readers (picture every 3rd page would be about perfect) that I can also enjoy, gotta just keep trying!
I am also excited to add to our library list! We just read the Unfortunate Life of Worms by Noemi Vola. My boys 8, 6, 4 loved it.
I’m reading Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin to my 3, 5 and 8 year old kids. They are loving it! We are big fans of the Circle Round podcast and this book has lots of fables inside of it, just like the podcast. Highly recommend!
My 8 year old and I also just had a “book club” - we both read the graphic novel El Deafo by Cece Bell and enjoyed discussing it together afterwards.
I’ll add The Underneath to our “to read” list - thanks for doing what you do!
My 3.5 yo has shown an interest in The Lorax, Mozart and Mona Lisa so we have a few library books checked out on those subjects. 😍 “Katie and the Mona Lisa” is a lovely little read!
My kids (3 and 5.5) are loving Acorn Was a Little Wild on repeat, a recommendation from our librarian.
I so hear you on those library holds, mine that are checked out keep automatically renewing and the shame is growing . . . my kids are grown but one of our all time favorites is Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, SUCH a great read for all ages, just scary and suspenseful enough without being too much, prequel to Peter Pan. Also, The Underneath is one of my personal favorites, the writing is brilliant.
A friend gifted us the book "The Word Collector" which has been such a fun read for my 4.5 yr old who is starting to identify small words and sound out letters!
This Christmas I am going to give each of my older kids a cookbook instead of fiction. We have a Harry Potter and Great British Bake Off which they love to choose foods to try. I found a Star Wars, a Disney, and a Super Mario cookbook.
When they were little we loved a good picture book that also included a recipe. Off hand I can only think of Stone Soup but I know there a lots more out there.
The Underneath is a gorgeous book. My girls and I loved it when we read it years ago. Right now my oldest grandson (almost three) is really into Shel Silverstein, specifically Peanut Butter Sandwich. He also requests Hello Door and Hello Tree by Alastair Heim a lot when he’s at my house.
My 9-year old and I just finished reading the first Skulduggery Pleasant, in honor of Halloween. (not Halloween-centric at all, but a main character is a skeleton, so I thought it counted.) He loved it! We actually laughed out loud together at parts - and there were parts I found legitimately scary for me, too!
I'm in a rut with my 6-year old. I think I am going to start The Wild Robot with him; it feels like it's time!
My daughter and I *loved* The Underneath - one of the most creative and beautifully written middle grade (or YA?) novels out there. We actually 'rescue' it every time we see a copy at the thrift store and give it to someone we think might enjoy it. WOW her writing!
We are currently reading - finishing today, actually - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Unfortunately I did not look closely at the copy (illustrated, hardcover) because it omits Part II! When I got to a certain point in the story, I stopped reading and said "wait! This is NOT what happens". I consulted my cheap copy and did a major facepalm.
Ah well...daughter asked for the cheap copy to be in her room last night so she could start on Part II! Son doesn't overly care, though I imagine he'd be horrified about Laurie's turn with the burdens....which only happens in Part II. Harumph. So much for the fancy cover.
My 2 yr old is obsessed w the Piggie and Gerald collection by Mo Willems, which is fun because my 4 yr old can basically read along those or be one character while I am the other. Sooooo funny and cute. My 4 yr old is all things Star Wars and I’ve yet to find one of those books I want to read, but he drifts to any book I am reading like a bee to pollen so he enjoys any of it! Last night for bedtime he picked two Leo Lionni books off the shelf (It’s Mine & The Extraordinary Egg) and we laughed at the silly frogs and their island adventures.
Creepy Crayon is the current favorite of two of the small girls in my life. This past weekend, the 8-year-old read it to the 6-year-old. It's fun to live in picture books from time to time, and see how little minds slowly discover new elements during each reading.
We’re reading Kate DiCamillo’s newest book, The Puppets of Spelhorst. Both my 8yo and 4yo are interested in it--it’s a new fairy tale and the pictures are fantastic. The chapters are short enough to keep my 4yo interested.
My boy just turned 1 year old and his favorite book has been '8 Little Planets' so we also took the sequel 'I Heart Pluto'. He loves putting his hands in the holes and turning the pages. Another favorite is the 'Peek-A Who?'. Again there are holes in the pages and he loves it when I make funny sounds when he turns the pages. My kids library is slowly growing but at his age he can't appreciate many of the books yet ^^
This week we’ve loved two new finds via Moonbow: The Dead Bird and How to Draw with Scissors. I insist upon a gorgeously illustrated children’s book! These two are stunners.
Ghost Book by Remy Lai with my 6 yo. My kids have been loving the book version of Bluey-Sleepytime (one of my favorite episodes, the illustrations are beautiful). The Together Tree by Aisha Saeed. I am reading My Murder by Katie Williams.
My 8-year-old and I have devoured the Nevermore series. I will say, it gets a little dark (especially in the third book, so definitely more for kids 8+), but I love it just as much as he does. The fourth book in the series comes out next year, and we can't wait.
My 5-year-old and I have been reading "Give Me Back My Bones" in honor of Halloween and it's pretty great, too!
Children’s books that I as an adult am enjoying:
Sheddad Kaid-Salah Ferrón: My First Book if Electromagnetism (The first book of his, on quantum mechanics, was the best ever on the topic)
Bethan Woollvin: Rapunzel (This Rapunzel has ideas!)
Sophie Blackall: Farmhouse (The author based this story on the crumbling old farmhouse she bought and made collage pictures of the house using salvaged bits from the house)
Ann Clare LeZotte: Set Me Free, sequel to Show Me a Sign (Deaf author, about a Deaf girl on Martha’s Vineyard, the island having so many Deaf that the entire population spoke sign language. Historical fiction but I think based on a true story?)
My daughter is 21 months and her favorites right now are Off to See the Sea by Nikki Grimes and Elizabeth Zunon, Little Island by Margaret Wise Brown, Sheila Rae the Brave (my copy from when I was a kid!) by Kevin Henkes, and Bear Counts by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman. I Spy books are always a hit too. Love seeing what everyone else’s kids are into right now!
I'm alternately reading Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey (very readable version, but the names and place names are killer to pronounce) and a compelling memoir by Mark Woods, Lassoing The Sun: A Year In America's National Parks, to my 15 yr. old. He's the one I read to every night. I also have a book for each 12 yr. old twin, but read to them sporadically - my wife is their regular reader. I'm reading The Summer Of The Monkeys by Wilson Rawls to one, and John Grisham's Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer to the other. And I'm always reading way too many books at once, but my main book is One Hundred Years Of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, and poetry, lots of poetry. I'm particularly enamored with the work of Jane Hirshfield these days..
I’m trying to think which of the books we’re reading aren’t recommendations from Can We Read? 😂 Some current favorites (that have maybe been recently recommended by Sarah?) are “Mystery on the Docks,” “Heckedy Peg”, and “The Seven Chinese Sisters”. My kids are also very into the Noodleheads series and anything by Raul the third so we have been having fun with those.
It’s always interesting to me to see which books my kids want to read on repeat. This week it’s: There Was Old Mummy Who Swallowed a Spider by Jennifer Ward, and Harry and the Terrible Whatzit by Dick Gackenbach.
We've just pulled out the Chris Riddell illustrated version of the Little Prince, after a visit to Busan in South Korea where we saw references to the Little Prince everywhere and the kids wanted to know who he was. I love all of Chris Riddell's work, and even if the Little Prince is a bit sad at the end, the kids loved it.
My 2 and 4 year old are still deeply obsessed with the Little Red Train books by Benedict Blathwayt (such detailed illustrations) and the Percy the Park keeper books, so those are the main culprits plus some Julia Donaldson and whatever random library books I pick out for a bit of variety. My 4 year old is very into music at the moment so we've been looking at quite a few story of the orchestra type books too.
My 7 year old is obsessed with the Dory Fantasmagory books, and so am I! They are truly, laugh out loud funny, kinda weird, and written by a former elementary teacher who really understands the first grade psyche. Number 6 just came out and we wish there were more!
I read separately to my kids because they are interested in different things AND they definitely crave the one on one time...some nights it is exhausting but MOST nights I appreciate the little pockets of time with each one. I started this when I began Harry Potter and my younger child got too scared by the third book to continue reading with us! Anyway, right now we are reading Dogtown by Katherine Applegate and The Penderwicks in Spring by Jeanne Birdsall.
My son and I just finished the first three books in the Nevermoor series and the next book isn't coming out until fall 2024!!! We LOVE this series and so disappointed that the publication date has been pushed out several times...
My son loves Playtown by Roger Priddy with all the flaps and a sense of humour and I honestly want to hide it so we don't have to read it every night. He recently loved The Bad Mood and The Stick, Grace Lin board books, and Madeleine.
I read separately to my girls at night, although my eldest often listens when I read to my youngest (who goes to bed 90 minutes earlier). We had our Halloween books out for October, but I put them away today so we are back to the Brownstone Mythical Collection and another Joe Todd Stanton book called "A Mouse Called Julian". I need to track down more of his books, but my library doesn't have them. Both of my kids ask for the Brownstone Mythical Collection books on repeat.
Blythe and I are currently reading The Penderwicks on Gardam Street and with her dad she is reading The National Parks Mystery series book 2 (highly recommend - she loved the first book and it inspired a trip over fall break to Rocky Mountain National Park).
The best middle grade book I've read this year is The Labors of Hercules Beal. It's incredible and I can't wait to read it with Blythe.
Hello, my three year old has been enjoying her recent library pick of The Three Bears (an alternate telling of Goldilocks) and a Halloween book called Ghost Afraid of the Dark. I’m inspired by some of your posts (and a recent conversation with our neighbor who is reading Harry Potter to their 3 and 5 year olds) to start a chapter book for bedtime instead of the pile of picture and board books she picks from. Any tips to help this transition? Just start and see how it goes? I have AA Milne’s set of Winnie the Pooh books (my favorite as a kid) that are more sparsely illustrated that she’s used to, but I’ve been dying to start reading them with her.
I’m late to this as I just started subscribing but I did some random library books based on Halloween/Fall search terms and we found some great books. Some a bit beyond my 3 year old but I’ve tagged them to return to next year.
Witch Hazel by Molly Idle is a wonderful entry to the concept of memories and loved ones passing - too subtle for my 3 year old but he loved reading it
Every Night at Midnight by Peter Cheong was just ok but my little loves wolves right now and is learning what friends are, so it worked well.
When You Breathe by Diana afraid was lovely but went over my little’s heads - I’m always looking for books that talk about breathwork (also tried Six Healing Sounds, based on Qi Gong, by Lisa and Spillane which was well-received and hit better although there was some toxic positivity hints that left a bad taste for me)
The Dark was Done by Lauren Stringer part of a few books grabbed as my 3 year old is grappling with newfound fear around darkness) was a lovely concept (darkness retreats as it feels unappreciated) but I wish the author had workshopped the darkness seekers and their reasons a bit more - including a thief was an odd choice.
Mushroom Lullaby by Kenneth Kraegel is a sweet nighttime book as my little is getting into foraging.
In the Night Garden by Carin Berger hit Halloween/scary/darkness fix perfectly. Light text, collage-style illustrations
Beatrice likes the Dark by April Genevieve Tucholke was a nice concept but a bit heavy handed on what is dark/light ie I thought it went too into morality/goodness and I did not like the inclusion of mysterious boys in both the girls’ dreams - maybe an overthought - although I liked that she makes the point that the 2 characters don’t have to love dark and light but rather find some good in what they once didn’t like
Also looking for fun books about dentists... 😬
Love these round-up discussion-y posts - I always find so many gems!
My 3yo wants Room on the Broom and Zog and the Flying Doctors on repeat (and I'm not mad about it, love those).
My 7yo is deeply in love with the Dragon Masters series - and I'm a little over it, to be honest. We loved The Magic Treehouse together but we've read them all and I feel like DM are a poor substitute (from a grown up reader's perspective - my 7yo is a happy guy. I also just read Fourth Wing which was basically Dragon Masters for adults, lol.). He picked up one at the Book Fair called City Spies (James Ponti) that I'm liking but is a little too advanced for him and I tried to start Henry and the Chalk Dragon (Jennifer Trafton) but so far it's not plot-y enough for him. Definitely seeking early readers (picture every 3rd page would be about perfect) that I can also enjoy, gotta just keep trying!
Yesss!!!! The Underneath is one of my favorite kids books of all time. I just finished reading Skunk and Badger and it was delightful.