My Daughter's Favorite Books

My 8 year old loves to read. I credit my husband, who began homeschooling her in 2020. We read to her often when she was little. It was so rewarding when she’d cuddle up, laughing at the funny parts and gasping at the exciting parts of the story.

Some of our favorites included Matilda, by Roald Dahl. Flora and Ulysses, by Kate DiCamillo, The Theodosia series by R.L. LaFevers., and Nala’s World, by Dean Nicholson and Garry Jenkins. That last one was originally something I was just reading by myself, but then she asked me what it was about. As it turned out, a story about a rescued kitten on a bicycle adventure around the world was right up her alley, so I started reading it aloud as a bedtime story.

She reads plenty on her own as well. I am writing this piece to give her an opportunity to share some of her personal favorites and also work on my interviewing skills. She said she doesn't want to be ‘internet famous,’ so for the purpose of this interview, I am going to call her ‘# 1 Daughter.’ Since she is my only child, I think it’s safe to call her that.

Leslie Writes: Who are your favorite authors?

#1 Daughter: Megan McDonald, Adam Gidwitz, and the guy who writes Calvin and Hobbes [Bill Watterson]

LW: Let’s start with Megan McDonald, since she seems to be your number one. What is your favorite book by Megan McDonald?

#1: “Judy Moody and the Bad Luck Charm.”

LW: What do you like about it?

#1: It’s just hilarious.

LW: What is the “bad luck charm” in the book?

#1: A penny that fell in the toilet.

LW: I agree, that is hilarious. I’m glad after reading that you didn’t start dropping pennies into our toilet. Have you read the whole Judy Moody series?

#1: Yes.

LW: How long did it take you?

#1: A couple of months...A year...More like six months.

LW: Are there any other book series by Megan McDonald you read?

#1: Stink.

LW: He’s Judy Moody’s brother, right?

#1: Yeah, he’s hilarious, but mostly gross.

LW: Is Stink his real name?

#1: No, but I can’t remember his real name.

LW: That happens sometimes with nicknames. What is your favorite Stink Book?

#1: “Stink and the Great Guinea Pig Express.”

LW: What’s your favorite part of that book?

#1: Squeels on wheels.

LW: That’s some funny word play. You like that kind of thing? You like puns too? Give me a good pun.

#1: Donut mess with me!

LW: I love it! Another favorite author of yours is Adam Gidwitz. What are your favorite books by him?

#1: Unicorn Rescue Society.

LW: And what do you like about it?

#1: The adventure. They try to rescue unicorns, but they end up rescuing other mythical creatures instead.

LW: What is your favorite mythical creature?

#1: A unigriffin! It’s a regular griffin, but with a black horn on its head.

LM: Did you just make that up right now?

#1: That’s what mythical is!

Now we take a doodle break to make some half and half creatures. If you’ve never played this game, I’ll explain.

1. Take a piece of paper and fold it in half.
2. Establish a midpoint where the waist will go, which is demarcated on both sides of the fold.
3. Pass it to the first player who will draw the head and upper torso of the creature. (The crazier the better).
4. When the first player is done drawing their half, they fold the paper backwards, so the second player only sees the blank half of the paper.
5. The second player draws the bottom half of the creature. It is important that you don’t communicate about what you are drawing, so you end up with a crazy combination.
6. The last step is to open the paper and laugh your butts off at what you have created.

And now back to our interview questions.

LW: Another Adam Gidwitz book series I’ve seen you reading is “A Tale Dark and Grimm.” What do you like about those?

#1: They’re scary, but, like fun-scary.

LW: A while back, Pop-pop gave you his Calvin & Hobbes collection because you were always reading them when you came over to visit. Wasn’t that nice? What do you like about Calvin & Hobbes comics?

#1: Calvin is just a mischief maker.

LW: Does Calvin inspire you to make mischief?

#1: Yes.

LM: Oh,no! (Thanks, pop-pop). So, what is your favorite Calvin and Hobbs comic?

#1: The one where he pretends to be a pterodactyl, ties a bungee cord to himself, and almost jumps off the roof, but his mom hears him thunking on the roof and runs out and stops him.

LM: Please don’t do that!

#1: Haha, Okay.

We conducted our interview inside the tire place while we waited for our car to be serviced. It was a fun way to pass the time without looking at screens. In addition to being a huge bookworm, #1 Daughter reads my vocal stories (the age appropriate ones). I’ve also shown her some of my favorite vocal stories by other authors, so it’s quite possible that #1 Daughter is a fan of yours too.