Re: Movies
 

My nieces (9 and 4 at the time) and my sister all hated WALL-E in the theater. It is on my all time Top 10 for movies generally. My guess is that the 4 y-o was bored and that fact led to a non-optimal watching experience for all involved when sister and nieces went. Ratatouille was just okay in my opinion. On the non-Pixar front, I saw Bee Story on tv recently and really enjoyed some of the story details from that one. Lots of clever points to keep the adults entertained, I thought.

Re: General discussion - Mom and Dad Esq.
 

I just finished reading The Hobbit aloud to the wee Slothrop, and he really liked it. I'm not ready to start on The Lord of the Rings with him -- is there another Tolkien that an eight-year-old would enjoy (read aloud)?

Re: General discussion - Mom and Dad Esq.
 

Try Tolkien's translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The Source.

Re: General discussion - Mom and Dad Esq.
 

Have you already been through The Chronicles of Narnia? I haven't liked any of the other Tolkein books after Hobbit and LOTR but I didn't know about his translation of Green Knight. I've been meaning to read that one.

Re: General discussion - Mom and Dad Esq.
 

Leaving aside his translations (which I haven't read), there aren't really any finished Tolkien works other than LOTR and The Hobbit that are widely avaialble (that weren't "edited" by his son). And the Hobbit is kind of on its own as being appropriate for the little ones.

I found the Silmarillion interesting, in that it was the background myth underlying LOTR, but it would likely bore the wee Slothrop to tears.

Re: General discussion - Mom and Dad Esq.
 

I thought The Chronicles of Narnia was really awful when read aloud. It just doesn't have a good rhythm and sound, for some reason.

Ty, I've been reading the Rick Riordan books to Sidd Jr. -- the Lightning Thief, now on Sea of Monsters. He loves them.

It's certainly more modern than the Hobbit (which he also loved), but if the wee one is into that sort of thing he might enjoy it. I wouldn't read it to a kid who isn't in at least 3d grade, though -- not sure which of the Slothrops you're thinking about here.

Another Books-for-kids question
 

I'm looking for a few chapter-books to read to the Siddette. She's 4.5. We just read Fantastic Mr. Fox (the copy I had as a kid), which is really perfect for that age -- short chapters, good story, etc.

The Siddette has a little trouble focusing and concentrating. In contrast to her older brother, who would lay on the couch while I read to him even if the house was burning down (which, of course, could be a problem too). Reading a longer book to her is good for this, I think -- it has helped her to focus on a single story-line. But I don't have any great ideas for our next book.

Thoughts, please!

Re: General discussion - Mom and Dad Esq.
 

Songs for Philologists?

I know, not kiddy reading.

Re: Another Books-for-kids question
 

The Droon series was a hit around our place.

Re: Another Books-for-kids question
 

how old before Dahl's stories are right? Charlie and the Chocolate Factory/Matilda/James etc.? I think maybe a bit much for a 5 yo but maybe not.

Re: Another Books-for-kids question
 

There's a Fantastic Mr. Fox movie coming out in November, directed by Wes Anderson (!) with Clooney as the voice of you-know-who. Needless to say, that book was a strong inspiration to the young Atticus Grinch and inspired me to be the rakish, debonaire figure you now all know and love. Keep in mind that others of his species were depicted with less depth and sympathy. TFMF was the antidote to Br'er Fox and Mr. Tod and pretty much every other vulpine this side of Disney's Robin Hood.

I recommend every one of Dahl's chapter books for reading aloud, although a sensitive child might react to the peril of the Vermicious Knids (Great Glass Elevator) or the Cloud-Men (Peach) or what-have-you.

Re: Another Books-for-kids question
 

I love all the Dahl kid-oriented books -- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, James and the Giant Peach, Danny the Champion of the World..... I'm just worried that maybe they'll be too hard for a kid not yet in pre-K.

OTOH -- maybe I should just have at it and see. I could read them to her and her big bro together, perhaps.

Re: Another Books-for-kids question
 

there are levels to them- matilda migth be tough for her, but chocolate factory is pretty basic- then at 8 or so, the perfect topper being his autobios, Boy and Flying Solo, which you each MUST read to your kids- and Boy goes a long way to explaining the hateful adults that infest each of his stories-

Re: Another Books-for-kids question
 

I don't think I read Matilda.

My son had trouble getting into Chocolate Factory a few years ago, because it does start slow. He'd like it now, but my daughter will have a greater problem I think.

I think I may start with Giant Peach.

Re: Another Books-for-kids question
 

Are you kidding? The part where {spoiler alert} Charlie's dad loses his poverty wage job through redundancies at the toothpaste cap factory is the very best part!

The great thing about that book is that it's the only "perfectly miserable ordinary kid discovers he's a _________ (wizard, alien with magic powers, princess)" story that every frustrated kid wants to fantasize that isn't an accident of birth, but a result of patience and Boy Scout honesty. It makes kids believe that they can be made special through something other than mistaken parentage.