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Books have always been my happy place. For as long as I can remember, they were my escape from the world.

During grade school, my best friend Angi and I used to frequently stop at the library. Mrs. H used to set aside books for us and let us stay there during recess. It was a haven for those of us not in the popular crowd or who weren't very athletic.

At home, I used to sneak under the covers with a flashlight (I'm old enough that there were no cell phones or e-readers) to read. Today, I still read in bed instead of falling asleep at a reasonable time. Although I now read on my phone (Kindle app) and normally smack myself in the head twice while falling asleep before I finally call it a night.

My kids are now both readers, for which I'm thankful for. The youngest took a little longer to get there, but we finally found books that kept his interest and his love for reading grew from there.

Here are some of my kids' favorite children's books. Please comment below with some of your favorites!

How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? My kids loved The How Do Dinosaur books.

Some Ducks. This is great to read to toddlers.

The Knight and the Dragon. This is mostly illustrations, but it's great for getting them to use their imagination and tell you what is going on in the story. This was another favorite.

Shark in the Park.

Any and all Scooby Doo. There are so many fun holiday ones as well. I used to get the holiday ones and only bring them out for that holiday.

Geronimo Stilton. This series is the one that finally got my youngest reading. He had some troubles in the beginning and these books make each page fun to read. There is a wide range of reading levels as well.

I Need My Monster. Monsters under your bed aren't scary!

Where's The Dragon? I love the illustrations in this book and finding the hidden dragons is fun for everyone.

Library Lion. I loved this one.

Twas The Night Before Christmas Campground Edition. If you enjoy RVing, this is a great book. There aren't many Christmas books for RV life.

The Gingerbread Pirates. Christmas pirate cookies, what could go wrong?

I grew up on Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. My oldest liked the Hardy Boys, but the youngest never really got into them.

The Gruffalo. How a mouse outsmarted the gruffalo.

Jitterbug Jam. A different take on the monster under the bed.

How I Became A Pirate. We read this one a lot during the pirate phase.

Black Lagoon series.

Uncle John's Bathroom Reader for Kids. My oldest loves any kind of fact book, even now that he's a teen. He devoured these when he was younger. He's since moved on to the adult versions.

Franny K Stein. These one were a hit with the youngest.

Dogman and Captain Underpants were also big hits.

My Weird School series.

Plants vs Zombies comic books.

Max Einstein series.

Treasure Hunters series.

Last Kids On Earth series. Monster apocalypse.

The 13 Story Treehouse series.

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