http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-...s_10054675.html


"London , May 30 (ANI): Books that tickle the funny bone are what catches the attention of todays kids, rather than fairytales and traditional childrens bedtime classics, reveals a new poll.

Classic authors like Beatrix Potter, Enid Blyton and the Brothers Grimm have now been replaced by Roald Dahl, Dr Seuss and modern writers such as Steve Cole.

While a steep change in reading habits has been observed in the recent times, the poll by the National Year of Reading discovered that almost 49 percent of parents read their children every day and one in 10 skipped through pages to reach the end faster.

This poll of 207 parents with children under 16 also indicated that currently the most common before-bedtime habit for children was to watch television, and that too after a recent discovery suggested that reading bedtime stories to children made them read faster.

Parents who were interviewed were also asked to remember if they read to their children when they were under 10. "

Brother Grimm tales a very dark, I'd rather read to or have my kids read Gary Larson or Dr, Suess. My oldest is reading her first series by L. Rifkin. It's pretty adult for a ten year old, IMO.

I read to my sons - 10 & 9 - every night of their life so far. I've read almost every type of kid's book to them over the years including the classics and Dr. Seuss (Whom I consider a classic!). We're finishing up the Harry Potter series now and then will move onto Chronicles of Narnia and then The Hobbit etc.

Too much good literature, so little childhood.

my daughter used to think Harry Potter was scary ( the one with the huge snake ) .. well she was 8 then . And she's a girl !

I like to read to my 4yo neice before she goes to bed (my sister or bro-in-law read to the girls every night) and last time I had her go select books, she came running back with two that kind of shocked me: Jemima Puddle-Duck by Beatrix Potter, and Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel. My sister says they're her two favorite stories. And they must be, because she recited them with me almost verbatim. What shocked me more (and it took me a minute to figure it out) the books were the same goll darned books my sister and I grew up with. My mother must have saved them and gave them to my sister. LOL

My daughter's all time favorite stories that I can remember were The Secret Garden and Anne of Green Gables.

I vaguely remember her liking Seuss when she was really little. She was able to zone in on the more sophisticated stories by the time she was 4 or so we abandoned the kids books.

I absolutely Love Ann of Green Gables, oops oh s**t I just tossed my tuff guy image again…dang it…

Pavot

I used to love to read that and the Little House on the Prairie series, sadly the boys just did not take to either, dang it. I think I need a little girl I guess since I still have both sets on my book shelves.
My stepson who is 14 loves to read Harry Potter books and a Series of Unfortunate Events books. My son who is 5 like to be read Dr. Suess, along with a few other funny kid books.

I've read to my son in some form or another pretty much everyday since he was maybe 2. He liked the Spooky Old Tree(I forget who by).. and those kinds of books back then. Now he likes joke books best I think. I let him read every night before bed and he loves it. And the practise has paid off.. he is best in his class at reading and just the other day he was the first in the class to get to read the more difficult books(he's yr 1.. 6yr). They then do a comprehension on the computer the next day(they take a different book home everyday).. Anyway the first time my son got 3/5.. then he got 9/10.. then he got 5/5, 10/10, 5/5, 10/10. His teacher talked to me the other day and said he was doing very well. And I said "he's got that sussed hasnt he'' and she said "sussed.. yes" and gave me an odd look.

But yeah, it was good the other night because he got a joke book from school and I could just hear him laughing away as he read alone.

I was serious, and I own the Ann of Green Gables Movie, and it squeal Ann of Avonlea and it was from where I learned how to drink my aunts grape curgel without getting caught or ripped…Man that Movie rocks…Hay If no one is looking here I fricken cried when the old guy had the heart attack, man, and the colors the shades of greens and man what a movie, and books...…Pavot

Awwww, I think that's sweet Pavot. I promise I won't tell anyone though...

It is a wonderful series of books, and the made for TV movies were very good as well. I always loved Colleen Duhurst. Just very good all the way around.

Fairy tales are really more for the people reading them than who they are being read too, most fairy tales are brilliant as far as literature goes the characters , stories and metaphors are so universal and archetypal that I don't think they'll ever lose their relevance.