Bedtime Reading: 3/21

I'd said I was going to do this once a week, and that's still my hope -- though it hasn't happened yet. I read some books with Thing 2 (the six-year-old) every night, though the quantity varies depending on how late it is and how much time he wastes. Lately, he's been picking the same few books over and over again (mostly Math Curse and Science Verse, which are wonderful but very long), so I'm trying to find things I haven't mentioned already.

The Dumb Bunnies by Dav Pilkey
My boys love this book (and the sequels). How much? Thing 1, who won't even read with Thing 2 and I at bedtime (the cause of regular consternation to Thing 2), saw that I'd read this, and grabbed it to read in his own room, saying "I still like to read Dumb Bunnies books and Captain Underpants books by myself -- Dav Pilkey is the best!" From the mouth of a nine-year-old, world...

It's a parody of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," in part, and a parody of the idea of "everyday life" kids books, too. It's extremely funny if you're a boy under the age of twelve, or can get back in touch with the one you once were. Oh, and the joke is: the bunnies are dumb. Really dumb. No, dumber than that.


Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner
Thing 2 likes this a lot; quite a bit more than I do, actually. It's the story of a Siamese cat with an overactive imagination who thinks he's a Chihuahua.

The best thing about it, speaking as a reading-books-out-loud parent, is the opportunity to do a lot of silly sub-Speedy Gonzalez Mexican accents. (And, when it comes to reading kids books out loud, I'm all about the funny accents.)

There's at least one sequel (we've got one), which is exactly the same thing all over again. That's OK, but if there's still "Skippyjon Jones" books coming out in twenty years, I will be miffed.


My Cat, The Silliest Cat in the World by Gilles Bachelet
And then here's one I like better than Thing 2 does. The joke, as you can probably tell from the cover, is that the narrator refers to this elephant as his "cat," and it's all about this elephant acting like a cat in the guy's apartment.

The art is charmingly detailed and energetic, with a slightly cartoony look. I love the art, and the story is fun and engaging. I always insist to Thing 2 that it's a cat, because that's what the book says, and he, of course, keeps correcting me.