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It鈥檚 critical to read to your kids 鈥� absolutely one of the most important things you can do. But there鈥檚 a catch. Assuming you like to read, you probably have adult tastes. Maybe you like Sports Illustrated. Maybe you like or .

Kids aren鈥檛 generally into the same literature as you 鈥� not at the beginning, anyhow. While that鈥檚 developmentally fine, it can pose a threat to your well-being. How many times can you read the latest installation in the Chuggington Station series without swearing off children鈥檚 literature forever? Without swearing in general?

Fear not, dads. Fear not, moms. There is great children鈥檚 literature out there that鈥檚 1) good for your kids and 2) easier on your sanity. Here鈥檚 an incomplete list:

鈥⑻鼶r. Seuss. I am not a hipster. I don鈥檛 care if this is an easy, earnest choice. I鈥檓 not trying to impress you with my counterintuitive takes. As University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers (correctly):

鈥淎s any parent will attest, Dr Seuss was not only the greatest childrens [sic] writer ever, but also better than next best by an implausible margin鈥�

He鈥檚 right. It is impossible to overpraise Dr. Seuss鈥檚 work, though . Seuss鈥檚 books strike the perfect balance of fantastic whimsy and emotional seriousness. Each one is steeped in surrealism and silliness. Most are also full of profound questions about how to think through the tough parts of being a kid (and an adult). , but you fixed it. Do you owe your mom an account of what happened? This is why people grow up loving Seuss. For all the goofy rhyming and verbal inventions, kids recognize that he鈥檚 probing really deep into important things 鈥� and doing so without talking down to them.

Also: the rhymes are hermetically perfect. There鈥檚 never a stray syllable. Never a mangled diphthong. This is useful for teaching kids to sound out words. Read with your kid. Read the rhyming words slowly, sounding them out, drawing attention to how 鈥渉op,鈥� 鈥減op,鈥� and 鈥渟top鈥� sound, how the only thing that changes is the initial letter sound.

And the pictures! Goodness, I haven鈥檛 even mentioned the pictures. Seuss鈥檚 artwork is singular. It tours in art exhibits. .

There are so many great Seuss books. You pretty much can鈥檛 go wrong. My kids love , , and , of course. I have a soft spot for . Read them all. Your kids will love it. You should too 鈥� you鈥檙e experiencing the work of a genius with them.

鈥� Mo Willems. Some people love his charming Elephant and Piggie early readers. And his Knuffle Bunny series is poignant and pitch-perfect for kids 2鈥�6 years old. But his best ones have to be the Pigeon books.

The Pigeon is a legend. Like any young kid, he just wants stuff. He wants . . . If your kid sometimes loses it when he/she doesn鈥檛 get things, the Pigeon is there for you. When the Pigeon begs you and your kid for permission , they鈥檒l gladly tell him no. Maybe they鈥檒l notice how annoying tantrums can be. Maybe not. But they鈥檒l definitely have a blast.

鈥⑻�. In books like and , Floca somehow manages to make historical nonfiction beautiful, accessible, and substantive all at once. The text is more poetry than prose; it reads like the script for a spoken-word performance about the construction of the transcontinental railroad (or the Apollo 11 launch). And the artwork is amazing. .

鈥⑻齅aurice Sendak. Like Seuss, Sendak has a knack for exploring the mysteries of childhood 鈥� kids are dreamers, but they use their high-octane imaginations to deal with the tough parts of growing up. Adults don鈥檛 always realize how hard it is to be a kid. You have so little control over so many basic parts of your life. You don鈥檛 usually get to pick your food. You get sent to bed on someone else鈥檚 schedule.

is a book about how it feels to be a kid, a normal kid who鈥檚 wild and messy without necessarily meaning to be. Max, the main character, gets caught terrorizing the house, and suddenly he鈥檚 stuck in his room. It鈥檚 not really his fault that he鈥檚 bouncing off the walls 鈥� he鈥檚 a kid 鈥� but it got him in trouble anyway. So he dreams his way off to a land full of unrepentantly wild creatures whom he tames with his own wildness, his own will to power. is another great book built around kids鈥� dreaming.

鈥⑻�, by Jim Tobin (illustrations by Dave Coverly). Michael, the main character, collects words. No, literally. Coverly鈥檚 illustrations power the book 鈥� Michael picks up word bubbles and stores them under his bed. Then, one day (inevitably), he picks up an inappropriate one. Now what? 鈥淢ichael could see there was something bad about it. But there was also something about it that he kind of liked.鈥� It鈥檚 great for kids鈥� vocabularies 鈥� and it鈥檒l give you a template for responding when your own kids bring home a couple inappropriate ones.

These guys also did , which teaches the vowels through songs and more outstanding pictures.

鈥⑻�. First: a question. What鈥檚 children鈥檚 literature for? Well, it鈥檚 there to help kids learn how to use books 鈥� how to read the text and understand the pictures. It鈥檚 there to entertain them 鈥� books are fun! But it鈥檚 also there to teach them, to develop their moral core. The usual model is heavily didactic. 鈥淪ee this boy here? See how he was a bully? It didn鈥檛 turn out well for him. Now he鈥檚 lonely and needs to fix his mistakes.鈥� Unsurprisingly, this approach is as ineffective as it is boring (and self-evidently lame).

Jon Klassen, meanwhile, writes and illustrates books that explore the morality of theft and sharing. In , a bear can鈥檛 find his hat. He asks everyone. When he finds it, he reacts, well, in a way that ought to surface a bunch of questions. gives readers a window into the mind (the soul?) of a mischief-maker. Klassen鈥檚 book with Mac Barnett, , is also top-tier goofy.

鈥⑻�, by Kate Beaton. There are innumerable interchangeable princess books in this world. Princess Elena of Avalor, Princess Sofia, Princess Pinkberry Unicorn, whatever. They鈥檙e ubiquitous. If someone can ever figure out how to use them as a fuel source 鈥� some sort of cold-fusion process melding them with cheap, pink, plastic toys, perhaps 鈥� it would solve most of our energy challenges.

Princess Pinecone, the heroine of The Princess and the Pony, stands out. She鈥檚 small, but she鈥檚 tough 鈥� and all she wants is some respect. She鈥檚 the best princess I鈥檝e ever seen in a children鈥檚 book. Better yet, she鈥檚 hilarious.

鈥�听听by Chris Van Dusen. Do your kids get bored in the car? Do they complain about your car? This is a book about escaping the tyranny of your minivan. When you鈥檙e done, have your kids design their own supercars.

鈥� Donald Crews. I can鈥檛 tell you exactly why kids love Crews鈥檚 and . But man, do they ever. The illustrations are clean and modern, and the books are dominated by bright colors. Truck has no words, so we slowly developed a narrative of our own. Freight Train is a great book for teaching color vocabulary 鈥� and it won鈥檛 take long before your kids will have memorized it and will be able to 鈥渞ead鈥� it themselves.

鈥⑻�听by Virginia Lee Burton. Like Jon Klassen, Virginia Lee Burton explores a range of tough moral questions without hammering kids over the head. How important is loyalty? What about nostalgia? Are people who seem to be mean necessarily irredeemable? 听is also great, for similar reasons.

Need more? Try:

• , Patrick McDonnell
• Chris Van Allsburg鈥檚 and and, shoot, everything he鈥檚 written.
• , David Wiesner
• , Andrea Beatty
• , Drew Daywalt
• Everything wrote
• and , Aleksandra Mizielinska,鈥� Daniel Mizielinski
• , Miroslav Sasek
• , John Vernon Lord and Janet Burroway
• and , David McPhail

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