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My in laws babysat my kids awhile back and let them watch Captain Underpants. I didn't have anything against Captain Underpants I just hadn't watched it with them because it looked stupid (sorry Dav Pilkey, I know better now). All they could talk about for days after the movie was Captain Underpants and all...the...fart...jokes.
Fast forward to a Costco trip not long after - my boy asked for a set of Captain Underpants book #1 and #2 and my oldest girl requested the Dogman set (both by Dav Pilkey).
We read all the books that day. We figured out what our names would be if Professor Poopypants renamed us. We wrote a letter to Captain Underpants regarding the name change.
The books have been re-read and the movie re-watched several times. And, yes, it's kind of dumb...but not really. The heroes of the series Harold and George are bright and creative. They often create problems but they also solve problems.
Most importantly of all....my kids love them! Because they love Captain Underpants they've done the following:
- my son dressed up as Captain Underpants with his underwear on the outside of his pants and acted as a superhero for a day
- my oldest daughter created her own Captain Underpants inspired superhero and created her own comic book
- all three listened for hours to sophisticated (descriptions, imagery etc.) language patterns while I read the book aloud thus increasing their listening comprehension
This year we read parts of The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling and enjoyed it. We delved into some high fantasy with the Dragon Chronicles Series by Susan Fletcher and the kids would beg for extra chapters at night...but the books that really captured us were...fluff.
Sarah Mackenzie, founder of Read Aloud Revival and author of The Read Aloud Family says this in her book, " Most of us would do well do realize that any time we spend reading with our kids is time well spent, regardless of whether the books are on particular booklists or meet a certain literary standard, Sometimes we forget this very important truth: the kids matter more than the books. The books themselves are important but only insofar as they nurture the image bearer before us."
If you have been reading classics aloud with your kids (which is great!) but you've noticed that maybe their love for reading is waning...try a fluff book. It's not a waste of time, it'll be fun, and your kids maybe feel inspired to learn more the brain "break"!
Check out our favorite fluff books!
As a kid, Trixie Belden, Animorphs and Babysitter's Club were my favorites.
I'm sharing mine...what were your favorite light novels?