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Ask Slashdot: Which Comic Books To Start My 3-Year-Old With?
JeepFanatic writes "I've never been one to read comic books, but I've always enjoyed superheroes. My 3-year-old son is really into superheroes (especially Spider-man) and I thought it would be a fun thing to do together to start reading comics to him. Any suggestions on comics that would be more appropriate to start him out with?"
Bazooka Joe is also good
My 3 yr old son is really into superheros (especially Spider-man)
Well then how about Spider Man?
xkcd of course http://xkcd.com/674/
I don't think there's any superhero comics with values appropriate for a child.
Besides the purile kids television america produces is basically the same thing - pointless violence, characters screaming at each other for no apparent reason all in the name of entertainment. I say let him watch the evening news, at least it will be real.
Issue #180 is a good place to start.
Watchman, of course: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDDHHrt6l4w
Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
Don't know kids very much, do you? The kid's just out of diapers (or not, depending on the kid).
I've been reading collections of the first years of Spidey, the Fantastic Four, Green Lantern and such. They're probably fine for young'uns.
But I'd also look into the Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comic adventures. The Duckberg folks go on a lot of neat adventures. They have great stories, great artwork, and it will help show that there's more to comics than superheroes.
Fantagraphics is producing a reprint series, and previous collections are readily available.
Just kidding!
There used to be a Shazam! comic, (DC's Captain Marvel) that was oriented more towards young kids. I don't know if it still exists.
Personally, I started my daughter, who was not much older than that, on Mage. If she didn't understand something, we stopped and talked about it. It's actually pretty amazing what kids can process.
When she entered her teens, Matt Wagner had finally come out with Volume 2. Daughter was really excited and wanted me to read it to her. I was a little surprised that she had remembered the first story.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
I've heard Owly is a great starter comic. It's about woodland critters, so appropriate. But there's no dialog, so he could flip through it by himself.
... will US Americans finally get it that superhero comics =! comics ... but only a tiny, tiny subgenre of comics.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
I don't know about comic books per se
But you can't go wrong with the ALA Caldecott winners and honorees. The ALA takes childrens books seriously so you can count on their recommendations to always be top notch. Many public libraries will even have a seperate display of caldecott winners to make it easier for parents to find them.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil. http://www.amazon.com/Shazam-The-Monster-Society-Evil/dp/1401209742/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336001988&sr=8-1/ For kids of all ages.
I second that. Some people may think three year olds should read. They are wrong. It is nice if he is able to. But. That is the exception to the rule. If you think otherwise your life might be disappointing.
DC has had a series for a while, Marvel has one now.
Here are some examples:
http://www.amazon.com/Avengers-Reader-Marvel-Heroes-Reading/dp/1423153987
http://www.amazon.com/Super-Friends-Flying-High-Reading/dp/0375852085
And these dovetail into the Fisher price hero line of toys.
At 3 years old he should be able to read himself - why do you need to read to him?
Oh, saaaay, that gives me an idea: Have him read Slashdot! He'll grow up with the benefit of thinking he knows everything without wasting his life doing things like asking questions and learning or asking questions about a topic he doesn't understand. You won't even have to worry about teen pregnancy!
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
Kids that age don't need superheros running around biff bam zonking bad guys.
Why not try Dora the Explorer or something.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Modern superhero comics are pretty much uniformly targeted at teen-to-adult age groups. In the quest to become more "edgy", the storylines are more violent and disturbing than ever before. This is not intended as a criticism... I likes me some edgy comics, and when I was college-aged supplemented my income doing lettering work on comic books... but don't be under any sort of illusion about the content the big labels are releasing. It's just not good material for someone as young as your son.
Most kid's TV is also either completely inane/stupid/mind-rotting, or inappropriate for 3-year-olds. There are a few shows out there which are just fine for young kids and which have a goodly bit of intelligence, worthwhile stories, and a meaningful positive "message", but I will leave it as an exercise to the reader to discover them. (Hint: one of them is a huge Internet sensation right about now.)
Everybody gets what the majority deserves.
n/t
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
I know dc has tiny titans
I learned to read with comic books as a 3 year old, so these are perfect. Why not take him down to a comics store and let him choose a few for himself? He's 3. He'll spot what he likes immediately. You can then mix in a few of your old time favorites. Naturally these comics will form the basis of his over-idealized belief system, so be careful to balance it out with regular age appropriate reading material. Otherwise, you may see him jump off the roof one day, or try to pick up a car. If he starts swinging from the rafters, hold on - you've really got something there... My favorites were Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Batman, Black Canary, Hawkman, Superman, Archie (with Betty, Veronica, Jughead, etc.), and all the Justice League stuff. No wonder the world is so confusing to me now.
Start here:
http://mycomicpost.com/?p=3707
The sooner you start the Space Marine training the better.
We wouldn't want to raise a xeno-loving, heretic girly-boy now, would we?
For the Emperor
I wish my three year old could read.
All she's been able to do so far though is code a few iPhone apps.
I was going to suggest this one as well. Great book.
Online, you can show him "Zip and Lil' Bit" (zipandbit.com), among others.
Everything you know is wrong, Just forget the words and sing along.
Its mature enough that you won't get bored, has tidbits of actual historical japanese facts, and the art work downplays the death.
Marvel and DC both have a younger reader line of superhero comics. I haven't read them though most are based on the cartoon versions of the heroes on TV.
Image has a nice comic called Invincible, but it might be a little more difficult later on in the series for younger audiences.
At 3 years old he should be able to read himself - why do you need to read to him?
Reading to your kids is a great experience for both you and the kid. I started reading to my daughter before she turned one year old. It helped her fall to sleep. To start with, since she wasn't actually listening, I read her whatever I happened to be reading. I wonder sometimes if that was a mistake, and she spent nights awake in her bed, listening for the hellish howling of a gigantic hound on the moors...
Later we went through every one of the Terry Pratchett stories and a lot of the Heinlein juveniles. This went on until sometime last year, when she became a senior in high school, and was too busy for me to read to her anymore. I regret that.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Oh, saaaay, that gives me an idea: Have him read Slashdot! He'll grow up with the benefit of thinking he knows everything without wasting his life doing things like asking questions and learning or asking questions about a topic he doesn't understand. You won't even have to worry about teen pregnancy!
Well.. that's embarrassing. Feel free to point and laugh, folks, I made a real ass of myself. :)
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
In 2012, I don't think there are any. 55 years ago there were, but even then, it was more starting at age 6.
Stick with "Hello, Moon", Dr. Seuss, etc.
"I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
I'll ditto the Shazam recommendation. Captain Marvel appealed to a younger set, and his alter-ego was a young teen. (As were those of Captain Marvel Junior and Mary Marvel, or whatever her name was.)
I bought a huge paperback compendium of "Shazam" comics a few years ago. B&W, but still good stories.
Ghost in the Shell manga. You can find scans of the whole thing.
At 3 years old he should be able to read himself - why do you need to read to him?
Oh, saaaay, that gives me an idea: Have him read Slashdot! He'll grow up with the benefit of thinking he knows everything without wasting his life doing things like asking questions and learning or asking questions about a topic he doesn't understand. You won't even have to worry about teen pregnancy!
Hmm... "son"... "teen pregnancy"... "son"... "teen pregnancy"...
I see what you mean about slashdot readers who fail to learn about topics they don't understand.
Arzach by Mbius
Verotika by Glenn Danzig
At 3 years old he should be able to read himself - why do you need to read to him?
I started reading to my daughter before she turned one year old. It helped her fall to sleep. To start with, since she wasn't actually listening, I read her whatever I happened to be reading. I wonder sometimes if that was a mistake, and she spent nights awake in her bed, listening for the hellish howling of a gigantic hound on the moors...
Hound of the Baskervilles, eh?
Well, having a daughter while you were still in 9th grade must have been pretty tough.
Try Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner -- read him A.A. Milne, with individual voices for Piglet, Pooh and all the others. You'll both have a ball. Keep him as far away from Walt Disney's insipid versions as you can.
and veronica
Comic Sans?
Spiderman*
Superman
Calvin and Hobbes
*haha, Nerd rage COMMENCE!
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
The end result will be the same: a socially inept dork. Just look at Big Bang Theory.
xkcd and cyanide and happiness?
Seriously though any of this should be good: http://marvelkids.marvel.com/
He's 3. Don't try to turn him into you. Superhero comics aren't for 3-year-olds. Give him age-appropriate stuff.
The first Saturday in May is Free Comic Book Day. There are plenty of kid comic books out there and the Marvels and DC's even have young versions of the top titles/hero's. Here in Las Vegas, we have some great owners who are very helpful and any good store should be able to find out what the kid likes and suggest a few to start. Maximum Comics woo hoo. (selfless plug).
Are any of the Disney Comics around? Scrooge McDuck with Hewy, Dewy, and Louie were an early face of mine. Also, what anout Richie Rich? There's also Impson comics but maybe notat 3 years old.
With my daughter, I introduced her to collections of old Super Girl and Wonder Woman at 4 years old. She's now into Young Justice, Teen Titans, Girl Genius and Dr. Horrible/Firefly.
I drank what? -- Socrates
I've seen Teen Titans based on the cartoon instead of the original more mature version, I've seen other kid targeted comics but three is young. Go to the bookstore and get the age range targeted books, trust me there's no shortage of hero hosted educational and kid specific books. You may want to move on to Captain Underpants next until he's ready for the more mature titles. Remember, the Comics Code Authority is dead now and the comics are written accordingly.
The preceding post was not a Slashvertisement.
Not really a superhero... but definitely aimed at kids. I still have all of my old Rupert books from when I was a kid, and I read them to my kids when they were little. They loved it.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
So I recommend Lost Girls.
Yes. I had just gotten The Complete Sherlock Holmes and had decided to re-read the stories. If I understand your comment, you don't have to be a teen to enjoy Doyle. I recently bought another, digital copy of the stories for my Android phone to read on the plane.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Definitely Cannabis indica, Cannabis sativa just isn't as mellow.
Teach him about the real world.
I see what you mean about slashdot readers who fail to learn about topics they don't understand.
One of them, are you?
Humans generally can't have pregnancy, teen or otherwise, without someone's son being involved at some point in the process.
Perhaps not perfect for a 3 year old, but worth looking at are Atomic Robo and Axe Cop.
Atomic Robo is very much a 'child appropriate' comic.
http://www.atomic-robo.com/
Axe Cop is created by a 30 something year old cartoonist and written by his 6 year old brother.
http://axecop.com/
END COMMUNICATION
The renditions, e.g., of Jules Verne stories are quite good. Hard to find though.
Whle it'd probably depend much on the quality of the translation, why don't you try reading some of the more popular sci-fi manga series? The range convered by manga is much broader than that covered by American comic books, at least as far as the "mainstream" is concerned.
I grew up on Tintin.
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
You should be asking what to read that will motivate him to (read). Comic books are fine but you need to add simple children's stories with a plot, especially for boys, Tolkien The Hobbit, An early Harry Potter book, any Ronald Dahl childrens' book, a few pages per night, when he asks you to go on say tomorow on start learning to read yourself.
The game is to get him to want to learn,
MFG, omb
Err .. could you elaborate? I don't understand what you're getting at.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
I that doesn't kill him, it will only make him stronger.
"When she's shambling 'cross the bedroom floor,
that's not your Mommy anymore.
When her voice sounds just like Daddy's snore,
that's not your Mommy anymore.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geek-kids/7-13-years/ea24/
Choose wisely. Children perceive the world in a more literal sense than adults. The daughter of a friend of mine had nightmares about not being able to put her arms down after reading a passage where Winnie the Pooh couldn't put his arms down for three days. (Or something like that.) There are plenty of stories where a small child dressed up like Superman has discovered he cannot fly after jumping off a ladder or bunk bed.
I still recommend A.A. Milne and Beatrix Potter carefully seasoned with Spiderman or other superheros but keep in mind he's probably too young for Peter Rabbit and the Panzerfaust.)
Your best bet is to take the kid to a store that specializes in comics and ask the owner about age suitable material and let the kid decide.
Read him spiderman since he likes it
I actually have most of those
It isn't really superheros, but it may be something he could enjoy. I don't recall if there was anything that would be inappropriate for for someone of his age aside from a little bit of violence.
It's NEVER too soon for Batman.
P.S. I'm Batman!
Spectra the Original Laser Superhero! http://www.physicscentral.com/experiment/physicsquest/past/pq09.cfm
I was a late bloomer, as far as reading went. I didn't feel the need as my intuitive rationale at the wee age of five was that it simply wasn't necessary; I can do what I want, function just fine without reading, so why waste time learning... ... then my mom brought home some comic books from the convenience store down the street, a Spider-Man and a Fantastic Four, and while I enjoyed the pictures, I really wanted to know what they were saying. The Fantastic Four had less exciting imagery yet an abundance of speech bubbles so I figured, these guys must be saying something important. This strongly motivated me to learn and I was reading rather large books by the age of 10 (my fifth grade teacher felt that that uncut version of Stephen King's The Stand was inappropriate at my age and was shocked, both positively and negatively, that I understood the context and ambiguities of certain scenes).
That all being said, it's my suggestion that you grab a stack of comics that range in terms of popularity, style and maturity and he'll be motivated by what he likes.
Perhaps check on eBay for used collections of comic books as they go cheap there. The classic comic books may have less violence and more of a moral high ground than current day comic books.
Damn, I'm showing my age again...
at 3-4, OWLY is fantastic. published by Top Shelf
Marvel put out a line of comics called MARVEL ADVENTURES with much more "kid appropriate" comics with the big icons of the Marvel U. They can be found in the digest sized format.
Chris Eliopolous also put out a marvel comic based on Franklin Richards of Fantastic Four fame, it reads like Calvin and Hobbes with Franklin as Calvin and H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot from the 70's FF cartoon as his Hobbes. Delightful. digest format as well.
Your local comic shop should also have either Essential Collections or Marvel Masterwork tradepaperback collections of the early Marvel Comics of the 60's. Amazing Spider-man 1-20 for $20 in black and white. or 1-10 in color. might be a little early for a lot of that stuff.
Fantagraphics is publishing the complete Carl Barks library right now. vol. 2 is due out shortly.
Fantagraphics is also publishing the Complete Peanuts. 2 years per volume. They are in the early '80's right now.
Lastly, use your local library if you can. You'd be amazed at how much is being purchased by librarians right now to keep kids reading. 741.5 is your dewey decimal. Also, your kids/teen room will usually just have a whole shelf of graphic novels now a days. free looking.
Lastly part two. Let your kid be a kid as long as possible. Don't force violence at them before they're ready. Most of the above recommendations are way over the head of a 3 year old. Let alone an 8 year old.
Enjoy. my now 16 and 13 year olds have 2 bookshelves of classic Marvel and DC books. They're also huge fans of Bone and Mouseguard and other great age appropriate stuff...
Calvin & Hobbes
There are tons of beautiful illustrated books with excellent stories. Anything from Oliver Jeffers like Lost & Found, or Olivia the Pig by Ian Falconer or any book illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. I love comic books but my children prefer illustrated books.
If you are looking for comic books try looking for Belgian/French authors translated to English. They tend to write stories very different from what you find in America, sometimes with very deep stories and characters.
And keep it unwrapped too
DC has a line of comics aimed specifically to kids called DC Nation. http://dcnationcomics.kidswb.com/. Young Justice, Superman Family, etc.. You can even read some of the comics free online, to see if your kid will like them before you start buying issues/TPBs. My son is 2, and I hope that he will have a similar love of comics that his old man does.
It's better to burn out than to fade away
The kid is 3. Do things that a 3 year old should be doing. Comics isn't one of them. In time it will be but for today it isn't.
Axe Cop, the stories of a 5-year-old through the pen of his 30-year-old brother.
But also Disney comics and the Smurfs
Scott Christian Sava has deliberately kept the content of his sprawling CG comic kid friendly. It's free online, or you can buy the books. He also has an iPhone app called iKids Comics that contains other works that are kid friendly. Basically, his motto is that if he can't show it to his seven year old son, it can't go in the comic.
Occasionally living proof of the Ballmer peak.
I have to say that Elephant and Piggy (which are very basic, but funny, "comic books" for kids) helped my son become an early reader. Since there's two characters, the kid can pick who he wants to read as, while the parent reads the other character. There's a lot of them, too!
Mo Willem's website
An artist named Andy Runton has a series of simple comics called "Owly". They use the visual language of comics, but don't require literacy. When the characters rarely speak, they do so in pictograms. The stories and jokes are simple enough for young kids to follow without seeming condescending to adults (i.e. it's not Dick & Jane type stuff). My daughter started on them around that age before she could read and liked them. She's almost 7 and is a great reader, but she still enjoys them. I'm sure there are other good comics out there for pre-literate kids if you ask around. I know the comic stores I frequent usually have a lot of kids books available on Free Comics Day. Stop by and take everything you think might be interesting to your boy and see what sticks.
Once your son begins reading, there are a lot more options: Jeff Smith's "Bone" series, Kazu Kibuishi's "Amulet" Series, Disney Comics (esp. the Carl Barks Duck Adventures). Superhero comics are a bit tougher to get into. Kids are drawn to the costumes and the setup, but the plots and language can be a lot more opaque than you'd expect, especially as they've become oriented towards more sophisticated adult readers over the past 30 years.
Good luck, he's gonna have fun!
I have a question for Gates McFadden...I've got an artesian well on my property and the water pressure is lousy. Any suggestions?
I get comics for both my kids, but I do limit their choices.
For my 10-year old, she can read most comics (I won't let her read my Fatale) but she generally wants to read the older kids comics to the younger teen comics. She likes Young Justice and Teen Titans. She also likes Supergirl (mostly pre-relaunch.)
For my 5-year old, he prefers the kids comics like Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Earth's Mightiest Heroes: The Avengers(I think that's the title of the kids version). Scooby-Doo comics are pretty popular with him, and there is a series of DC Superpets books that he likes.
We'll let either of them get graphic novels aimed at older kids, but only after we've looked through them.
Marvel and especially DC both have "kids comics" labeled on their websites, so you can find ones that are likely to be appropriate for a younger kid. Archie and Disney also make comics for kids, but those are going to be less "Superhero," unless you count Darkwing Duck.
I agree that the mainstream comics may be more mature than you want, especially for a 3-7 year old, but there are still some good options. Graphic Novels make a nice addition if you want to get a little more variety because you can preview in the comic shop and decide if that particular story-line is appropriate for your child. (Unless your local comic shop is a strict "No Reading" shop, in which case I suggest you find a better one.)
I have a three year old son as well and there are many good age appropriate books to read at your library or local book store. I personally find comic books a little too mature for that age. But the important thing is to use your judgment and be ready to put things in context. Whatever comics you read will be better then parking him in front of the TV watching those same comicbook characters. Enjoy the reading, its a great passtime to share with your kid.
...Chester the Molester. It's what he'll end up as anyway.
I don't think they use it anymore, but you can still get the trades. I actually think that the spiderman was better than regular 616 spidey, but the iron man was less interesting (they played him as Steve jobs, turtleneck and all) but they can all still be interesting enough for adult readers to stay enthralled as well as their kids. These versions are also very close to the tv cartoon superheroes, allowing some continuity for children to recognize their favorite heroes on screen and off. This has the added bonus of being a segue into the marvel movies as well, which are often near bloodless except in specific circumstances, which you can gradually introduce to your kids as they grow older.
Apologies if this has already been mentioned
Watchmen
Why comics? What is wrong with actual books that are both entertaining AND educational, especially at age 3.
it's both simple and engaging, and something that you would probably like too.
You want your kid to grow up with social skills, right?
Reading to your kids is a great experience for both you and the kid.
Meh. Might be nice for the kids, but I never enjoyed reading to them, (or the grandkids). Some people just gush about it like its a given that any human with a heart would naturally enjoy this, and you are a totally bad parent not to do so. Its taken as gospel and is pretty much an unassailable belief these days, and woe be to anyone who questions it.
I view this as just the current fad, and building something together with Legos, or letting the kids help paint a wall, or type on your computer, is far more educational.
. /me ... goes away hanging head in shame...
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
I suggest you dig up reprint volumes of classic Silver Age comics. The original Spiderman stories, the original Iron Man stories, etc.
In those days, the comics were striving to not violate the "comics code" and they contained very little death, no actual swear words, and generally had a lighter tone than modern comics.
These days, comics are marketed toward teen males; horrible things happen as the comics strive for edginess, and language can be coarse.
So, I would read classic comics to a 3-year-old, but with modern comics I would carefully vet each issue before reading it. This could be a problem if he gets interested in a storyline and then the next comic comes out and it's horrific! The classic Stan Lee scripts from the 60's are all pretty suitable for a 3-year-old.
As someone noted, even in classic Spiderman, Peter Parker's uncle is killed... but that's really it for the death. Spiderman fights the Sandman, Doctor Octopus, the Vulture, the Green Goblin, etc. etc. without anyone being seriously hurt.
Try him on classic Doctor Strange! The original Stan Lee comics of course.
Hmm, I just checked Amazon and it seems that the search phrase to use is "Marvel Masterworks". Here's a link to the first volume of classic Spiderman:
http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Spider-Man-Vol-Marvel-Masterworks/dp/0785136932
P.S. Bless you for this project. I know this isn't a superhero comic like you asked, but may I suggest that you read this book to your son? This was the first science fiction book I ever read, and it still has an important place in my heart. It's out of print, but trust me, it's worth finding a used copy and buying it. It's probably worth it to buy a hardcover; the mass-market paperback was printed on very cheap paper that is turning brown these days. The story: a family has been living on Ganymede, but will now move to Earth. But shipping is expensive, so they plan to sell their robot and leave the robot behind. Hating to leave the robot, the boy runs away; the boy and the robot have adventures as they try to get to Earth together. It's a tale of adventure and loyalty and love, absolutely a good story for a 3-year-old. The title: The Runaway Robot by Lester Del Rey.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Runaway-Robot-Lester-Del/dp/B000DZDQD0
steveha
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
then you put in an ILL (Inter-Library Loan) request ... but typically, most libraries have a budget for getting requested books, and if they think the book will be of general interest (and c'mon, it's an award winning children's book), they'll just go and buy a copy.
And if you're really set on comic books, ask if the children's librarian can make a recommendation. Even a small library (6-8 librarians) will typically have a dedicated children's librarian. (or just look through the 'E' section, and you'll find lots of good stuff)
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
As some people have said (amidst all the trolls deliberately recommending age-inappropriate comics), modern comics are aimed at either teens, or adults who used to read comics when they were a kid. There's just about no comic book that's actually intended for children.
Since he likes Spider-Man anyway, Marvel has been reprinting Spider-Man starting at the beginning, and those were suitable for 1960's kids.
Essential Spider-Man #1 ($20 for over 500 pages, but in black and white)
Paperback Spider-Man Masterworks #1 (272 pages, in color): should be $20, for some reason it is overpriced on Amazon--try a book store)
With a father like you, he'd grow up to be socially inept with or without comic books.
He'll grow up with the benefit of thinking he knows everything without wasting his life doing things like asking questions and learning or asking questions about a topic he doesn't understand.
Actually, it seems to me like Slashdotters in general ask questions more often...
Monster High? :-)
Our children love the Baby Einstein series. My 5yo daughter is, like some of her friends, into "Monster High", but she plays the most with her "little mommy" sets and her (almost 2yo) brother's Fisher Price Trio (recommended).
As for books: Charlie & Lola, Numberof/Bond books (fantastic illustrations), and Scholastic books on animals (sadly, some are out of print).
Perl Programmer for hire
Atomic Robo is an absolute riot and there's zero swearing as far as I know!
He needs to start on his nightmares now, so this way by the time he grows up, it'll seem normal.
Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
It won't turn them into murderers (just like TV and video games won't).
They may use the question mark, but they're not asking questions. They're setting up the next debate. If more people here actually used the question mark properly there'd be a lot more discussion around here and a lot less debate.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
His first book, Donald Duck Adventures #9.
He didn't get it. It looks a lot like the type of kids books he likes to read, except it was all floppy and had too many words.
They're using their grammar skills there.
'nough said.
I've got five kids. They all were reading before age 3. Perhaps they are not representative of the population at large. We did, however, read to them extensively from a very early age. Not from comic books.
Why not just get them for free from Project Gutenberg? (Genuine question)
Reading to your kids is a great experience for both you and the kid.
Meh. Might be nice for the kids, but I never enjoyed reading to them, (or the grandkids). Some people just gush about it like its a given that any human with a heart would naturally enjoy this, and you are a totally bad parent not to do so. Its taken as gospel and is pretty much an unassailable belief these days, and woe be to anyone who questions it.
I view this as just the current fad, and building something together with Legos, or letting the kids help paint a wall, or type on your computer, is far more educational.
. /me ... goes away hanging head in shame...
It depends. Some people find it difficult, and some don't have any talent for it. My wife has tried to read to my daughter, but she reads right at the national average (about 250 words a minute) and has difficulty producing a narrative that one would actually want to listen to. I read almost four times that speed, and my brain can read ahead a paragraph or so ahead of my voice, which gives me time to plan out how I'm going to speak the lines. Besides a more flowing narrative, I also get to "do the voices". (Pratchett's "Death" hurts my throat a little.)
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
I've gone through this with my kids (two girls, nearly 3 and 5). You're going to see lots of suggestions for golden age comics, but they don't work. Golden Age stuff had some seriously tedious dialog boxes and genuine weirdness that kids can't comprehend. Not to mention a tendency for some odd 50s-60s-era sexism. They just don't hold up well.
Tiny Titans has been the Superhero stuff that my kids have latched onto. It's the DC comics heroes as elementary school kids. There's no fighting. Lots of genuinely funny, goofy stuff. Tons of in-jokes for a comics-aware parent. Multi-Eisner award winning. They're genuinely great.
Another thought is to just avoid stories. My older girl at 3 happened into my office when my back was turned, and just happened to pick up and start looking through an Alex Ross art book. Probably the one "safe" book in the place. Art books tend to lack any graphic violence or intensity. We spent hours just talking about who the superheroes were and what they're powers are. At three, kids' brains don't really retain story chronology, so looking at and discussing pictures is just as rewarding and interesting to them. A DC or Marvel Encyclopedia would probably be a lot of fun.
"Walking Dead" - you can never start the preparations and training early enough.
Why not just get them for free from Project Gutenberg? (Genuine question)
Good question. It's not like Doyle needs the money, being dead.
I guess it was a matter of convenience. Back in the Palm Pilot days, Project Gutenberg was my friend. I read all of Burroughs and Dumas on the Pilot.
But... see I have Kindle on the Android phone, and it's just too convenient to pay the minor download price (and there are free titles also) in order to keep all my books in a single place. And yes, I know you can side-load the Kindle app -- I had to do it for the Officer's Pocket Guide to Oregon Law (every citizen should have a working understanding of state law -- else, how could we be expected to act lawfully?) but it was a complex and annoying process which I would not want to do often.
Apropos of another recent thread, (regarding video downloads) if the price is reasonable, I have no problem paying it, even if my only motive is convenience.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
I'll second that, it greatly assists comprehension, which tends to get overlooked sometimes with kids. Sure, they can read the words but understanding story is another thing for some. Reading to my daughter also gave me an opportunity to re-visit books that I loved as a child myself. Roald Dahl and David Walliams go down well at any age, try books for a few pages to see if they keep interest, if not then re-attempt in a few months. At 5 she was ploughing through the Narnia series and really enjoying it.
Task Mangler
Courtesy of my Dad and my uncles, I grew up with hundreds of Phantom comics around me. I probably started reading them around 5-6 and I still read them to this day.
The Phantom is a Batman-esque "superhero" in the sense that he is a mere human - no superpowers - who is out to stop crime. There are hundreds of different stories, many of them are suitable for children - violence is usually limited to the occasional punch in the face, and gunplay is almost always non-fatal (one of his skills is being able to shoot the guns out of the hands of criminals, so the worst thing you can really say about it is it gives a massively inaccurate portrayal of how easy it is to hit targets :)
I suspect it's probably hard to find in the US, but if you go to a comic store and look for the old copies you'll probably find a few. There are also annual releases and regular reprints of the great old copies you can pick up for a few bucks.
I don't think it is very big outside of Australia and parts of Scandinavia, but it's a great read that I think is awesome for kids to get into - they're fun, they generally have good themes of good triumphing over evil, and I think they'll encourage reading more than trying to dump books in their laps.
My son is just turned 4 and also loves Spiderman. I got him the I Can Read Book 2 Spiderman books and he loved them. They're pretty age appropriate and really caught his attention. He also branched out into the Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman books from that same line.
yes, horrific. And yet, it's the first thing that popped into my mind as well LOL
So expensive if you want to start at the beginning, like multi-millionaires have a hard time affording it expensive.
For the price of 1 years of comics you could just get the original X-Men and Batman animated series on DVD and prolly a few movies for yourself too.
No, I haven't. I thought it might be . . . you know, "muppet babies." But from what you say it sounds nifty.
I'll DVR a few episodes.
Stick with what the kid likes. If you try to push what you like or what is recommended instead onto him, reading will become a chore. So just start with Spiderman, and then go for whatever comic books are tying into Spiderman at the moment. Yes, comic books aren't really focused at 3 year olds, there are going to be several words you will have to explain the meaning of, it's going to be above his reading level, etc. - but that's a GOOD thing, because not only will he have fun, he will be learning, and growing a lifelong love of reading and learning.
My toddler LOVES Oliver Jeffers:
http://www.oliverjeffers.com/picture-books/lost-and-found
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPTigw_CNZk
I suppose they're not technically comics, but with the artwork you can almost consider his books graphic novels. Start with "Lost and Found" linked above.
Lost and Found is also available as a short animated film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaOqMuOTsOc
Because it's a great way to spend quality time together, and it usually presents opportunities to learn the meaning of new words (for both of you, maybe, depending on what you're reading) and to discuss what is going on and how they are in line or not in line with your moral values.
A segment on kid's show Yo Gabba Gabba, Super Martian Robot Girl is entirely age-appropriate for a three year-old.
But it's not a comic book, it's an animated segment with comic book values.
Letting a kid type on the computer is useless unless you are also teaching them to read. But just building with Legos or just painting works if all you ever want them to be able to do is hard labor jobs.
Most comics are aimed at older audiences but there are a few all ages comics that are being printed.
Let see...
DC Comics have a few, mostly based on animated shows. Green Lantern Animated, Scooby-Doo Where Are You?, Superman Family Adventures and Young Justice.
Marvel Comics have 3, also mostly based on animated shows. Marvel Universe Avengers, Marvel Universe Ultimate Spider-Man and oh! a Toy Story miniseries. Disney now owns Marvel and they are starting to publish Disney's properties and unfortunately no one else does. Disney in their infinite wisdom decided to cancel the licensing of their properties to other comic publishers in the US after they bought Marvel.
Kaboom! (former publisher of Disney comics) now has Adventure Time.
Archie has Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man.
In looking up comics I found this site that should help you. http://www.kidscomics.com/
If 'HE's" getting pregnant, his reading material is the least thing of importance. Dad's gonna get rich on the royalties for the story alone. Slashdot Geekboy get's pregnant!!! Blames Cmdr. Taco!!! Read All About It!!!
This guys a bigot against folks born of parthenogenesis!
Seriously. It's the cutest thing ever.
There's plenty of evidence that reading to kids and kids seeing their parents read leads to kids that read, though. Formal reading instruction is a load of bs, and kills the love of reading. If all you want is a kid that can pass the standardized reading test, then fine, school will teach them to do that (though with quite a bit more work than the kids that are already reading). If you want a kid that loves reading and learning and has many more doors open to them because of that, you should take a look at why your own attitude is what it is.
Where on earth do you get "being helpless" from? Not enjoying reading makes them much more helpless, especially in today's world where nearly everything requires reading.
Stuart: . . . if you’re dead set on a comic book, try this.
Penny: Oh, Hellblazer. What’s this about?
Stuart: A morally ambiguous confidence man who smokes, has lung cancer and is tormented by the spirits of the undead.
But really, I agree with a commenter above - pick one that's based on one of the tv adaptations, that way they can follow along with the show. There are several TV - comic tie ins. Avatar: The Last Airbender, Superman the Animated Series, Marvel Super Hero Squad Show, etc. The Marvel Super Hero Squad Show was particularly aimed at the little tykes.
I made a rule for me and my kid when he was 4 or 5 that I would read lots of things with him, but comics he had to read himself. I think the comic medium is just really bad for reading TO somebody because it has some essential nonlinearity--Do you read the thought bubble first, or the sound effects, or the narrator text? Then, do you describe what you're seeing in pictures with no text or just stay silent. Blah! For me it was no fun and so I decided that comics were one incentive to read to himself, and we could enjoy different stuff together.
That might just be me and my kid, of course.
If you do want to find comics, I'd also suggest a comic-book shop. Good ones have kid-friendly sections and knowledgeable folks and you can browse. I know Marvel at least has more kid-targeted versions of its comics with less darkness than the ones we grownups read, but the same characters.
...
In soviet Russia comic books read you..
The adventures of pedobear.
I'm sorry, one ticket. I'll have a window seat.
I read them to my three year old. For awhile I would elide the drug smugglers and occasional appearance of guns, but now I don't; possibly I'm scarring him, but, I don't know, it doesn't seem like it. He sits there, completely riveted, for forty-five minutes at a time while I read them. "The Castafiore Emerald" and "The Shooting Star" are good, non-violent ones.
Also, do the voices. The voices are key.
If I got to ask Gates McFadden a question, it wouldn't be about artesian wells.
Seriously? We have a post about 3 yeard olds wanting to read comic books?
1. Buy a comic book
2. Give it to him
3. If he likes it I guess thats good enough for him.
Learn to Google it
Are you one of those people who agnoize over details and suffer from Analaysis paralysis?
Reading to them prepares them for what? Being helpless?
There is no believable evidence that reading to kids gets them reading sooner or better than formal reading instruction.
I suspect you don't really get it. That's not why one reads to one's kids. Not everything is 100% mercenary.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Letting a kid type on the computer is useless unless you are also teaching them to read. But just building with Legos or just painting works if all you ever want them to be able to do is hard labor jobs.
Hmm? My daughter "just paints". Oils and acrylics. She's about to graduate from an art magnet school, and is signing up for an art business course. Or perhaps that's not what you meant?
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
OK, your kid(s) might still be a bit too young, but in not too many years they should be ready for the Cartoon Guide to (the History of the Universe | Genetics | Chemistry | etc. etc.)
http://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-History-Universe-Vol-Pt-1/dp/0385265204
Hell, I learned more history from that trilogy than I did most of High School. Probably because they skip through most of the sexy parts.
My other favorite as a kid were The Way Things Work by David Macaulay.
http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Way-Things-Work/dp/0395938473
And yeah, I second someone else's suggestion of TinTin, since it's nearly universal, and the hero is mostly an ordinary young guy with no real special powers, which I young impressionable mind could strive to become.
Make sure your kid is actually interested in comic books. As a child I did not enjoy cartoons or comics that were not supposed to be funny. I still do not to this day. I would take my dad's BC or Doonesbury comics and read myself silly, and by the age of 9 I had learned to appreciate sarcasm in Garfield. Although your kids will most likely enjoy them like you, just be aware that not everyone likes them and don't push too hard.
I did this with my son. Just make up your own story with his help. Ask if he were being tickled what would he do? And draw that and write the words. Why give him someone elses creative ideas when you really want him to develop his own. The key is to make it as silly and fun so you both enjoy it. And if you can video tape it you will love watching it when s/he is older. How do you think winne the pooh got started?
...how can I avoid having grandkids?
Reading to your kids is a great experience for both you and the kid.
Meh. Might be nice for the kids, but I never enjoyed reading to them, (or the grandkids). Some people just gush about it like its a given that any human with a heart would naturally enjoy this, and you are a totally bad parent not to do so. Its taken as gospel and is pretty much an unassailable belief these days, and woe be to anyone who questions it.
I view this as just the current fad, and building something together with Legos, or letting the kids help paint a wall, or type on your computer, is far more educational.
. /me ... goes away hanging head in shame...
Current fad? All other activities you name are more current than reading books to children (or really any people at all). And believe me: It can be great fun. Perhaps you should try to find a more forgiving audience to get the taste that could give you an incentive to become a better reader.
I'd say the majority of children cannot read at 3. Heck my 3 year old doesn't even know basic numbers much less addition, etc. Reading is not on the agenda at this time. My other daughter didn't start reading til she was 5. Reading at 3 or younger is the exception rather than the rule. I started reading at the age of 2, or so I am told, so I had expected my children to start reading at a young age. Based on my personal life, 5 seems really late, but in the population in general 5 seems to be in the gifted category.
/* TODO: Spawn child process, interest child in technology, have child write a new sig */
The Abominable Charles Christopher
http://www.google.ch/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=the%20abomninable%20charles%20christopher&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCQQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.abominable.cc%2F&ei=Lj6iT4XtM82M4gTrqoiuCQ&usg=AFQjCNHdn6G5WaJ-iYyMEvtVh8UExWiDGA
Good for all ages, I'd say. The drawing is amazing.
You could cross the pond and teach him about Rahan.
How about 50's - 60's DC Comics' classics like Captain Marvel [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Marvel_(DC_Comics)] or even... Superman [no need to link]. Maybe something newer, yet classic, like Jeff Smith's Bone [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_(comics)]
I would recommend Tin Tin, as well as Asterix and Obelix at that age as a good start.
When I was young the PBS show Electric Company had a Spider-Man segment. Marvel produced a companion comic for young readers called "Spidey Super Stories". I still had a couple of issues when my son was ready to learn to read. After we graduated from Dick and Jane and he could read to me, I broke out my Spidey Super Stories and he loved them. To supplement my meager supply, I picked up most of the issues on eBay really cheaply. Both my son and daughter are great readers with high lexiles, and part of that is due to Spidey Super Stories.
Mouse Guard! The stores may well be over his head, but the art is fantastic. and with Any luck you will be able to draw him intto he the RPG :)
Before even finishing your post I though, "For some reason kids really love SpiderMan." Your's is no exception. You could lead him down the road to hipsterdom with Hate or Love and Rockets.
Personally, I hated having comics read to me. How do I remember this? Not sure -- maybe it's a memory that was preserved by seeing younger siblings get stories read to them.
Anyway, the point is that it was all rather disjoint, and just pointing to the speech bubbles didn't make up for the series of undifferentiated voices.
Once I'd started to read, though, I loved comics. But it was the silly little comics that were a collection of one or two page stories that I read in the early days -- when I was about 8 or 9 we started getting the Transformers in the house, the first "serial" comic I'd ever been exposed to.
Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
I also don't recommend reading HP Lovecraft to her...
Comics themselves are a bit too busy for a 3-year old.
My son had a bunch of beginning reader books which were re-tellings of bits of the Spiderman movies and they were far more approachable for him.
When the kid can be trusted w/ spending money, then he can buy Marvel Adventures comics and other age-appropriate things (you'll need to _always_ check this in this post Comics Code Authority age).
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
Kids like to read about things that capture their imagination. Few things do that like characters with whom they can relate who are thrown in to extraordinary circumstances. The best characters tend to be a few years older than the reader, because they capture that cool grown up kid-type intrigue. Given that he's three, I think The Walking Dead is what you're looking for. It comes out monthly, has nearly 100 issues already, and one of its protagonists is "Carl," a young boy thrust into a strange new world, who internalizes many important teachings and develops into a bright young boy over the course of the series so far.
If you really want to capture his attention, use this comic as a bedtime story. Kids like pictures, so be sure to ask him to focus his attention on their eyes...they can be quite emotive in this series.
Reading to them prepares them for what? Being helpless?
There is no believable evidence that reading to kids gets them reading sooner or better than formal reading instruction.
It should amaze me how far people will go to justify being lazy with their kids, but sadly it's no surprise to me. Perhaps maybe it's just worth doing it to bond with your child? Getting involved with your children's learning shows him that the activity is important to you much more than if your interaction is restricted to glowering at Johnny's bad grades.
my son is almost 4 and he sounds a lot like your son. I was never a big comic book reader, but I was disappointed when I went to a local comic book store that there was almost nothing I would let him read right now. We did however find a series of short storied at barns an noble all about super heroes. The web site on the back is marvelkids.com I know that DC comics also has a similar series because we have some batman books upstairs. He loves them and I read him at least one story from the series each day. The stories are not episodic like most comic books.
Start him with X-Men, Fantastic Four and Iron Man they are age appropriate then when he gets older switch him over to Spawn little more adult based.
http://thetechnologygeek.org/
Owly is a comic targeted at that age group. Wonderful stories about nature and friendship, and no words.
SpyDock: Scientific Python in a Docker container
While too young for Skull Kickers...
My Daughter greatly enjoys Tiny Titans. It's essentially the Muppet Babies version of Teen Titans. There are a couple anthologies.
Superheroes.. moral, positive message.. sounds like we need to go back in time a bit...
to Sweden in the seventies...
Pippi Longstocking!
If Pippi and Spider-man were in combat, she'd drive him to tears with a few well-placed jokes, I'm sure of it! (and afterwards invite him over for tea).
To be, or not to be: isn't that quite logical, Slashdot Beta?
I've recently faced the same question. I found the Marvel Adventures Spider-Man is perfect. Some of it is still a little bit over the head of my 4-year-old, but that's fine. Some issues are available for electronic purchase.
They are fun books to read together, though I do need to explain some of the jokes.
* Tintin
* Asterix and Obelisk
* Calvin and Hobbes
Since you are clearly a typical Slashdotter you may not know much about the birds and bees, but suffice to say girls need a boy (or man) involved to get pregnent, and if you are a responsible parent you probably don't want your son getting any girls pregnent when he is a teenager.
especially in today's world where nearly everything requires reading.
I thought everything was on YouTube these days. Who needs to read when you can only find the instructions you need in a video?
Try sonic the hedgehog. The downside is a 1 / 20 chance of turning him into a furry
I find it hard to believe that she just paints. I went to an arts school from 6th grade on, and we had to keep our grades (and knowledge) up in ALL subjects, and had to have high grades and lots of knowledge in all subjects to even be considered for admittance. Nearly every state has a law that children in k - 12, no matter the type of school, must learn at least a minimum of all subjects.
How did she manage to fill out the forms to sign up for the art business course without reading or writing? Did she paint what she wanted the form to convey and have someone else "translate" it?
You already realize that by "paint" in that comment I was talking about painting walls (as the person I replied to said), not oils and acrylics. There is great value in both those types of painting, and great value in learning to type and use computers, and great value in playing with Lego. But when any one of those things is ALL a child can do (and without being able to read, typing is more button-mashing than typing, and there isn't as much value in that), that's a problem. When a child can read and enjoys doing so, the whole world is open to them. They can learn whatever they wish to learn, they can find their passion in life rather than just doing what their parents feel they should do. If your daughter is dedicated enough to go to an art magnet school and sign up for an art business course, I'm assuming she tried many things and realized art is her passion. This is quite different than a person becoming a wall painter because it is all they ever learned to do, since their parents thought it was all they needed to know to get through life.
Instead of letting your child see someone else's visualization, read the Redwall series of books to him. They are written with short chapters, perfect for a bedtime story that let's you do the reading and your child do the imagining. There's action, character, and morality in the stories without being condescending to what a child can absorb.
They are authored by Brian Jacques.
We introduced our children to reading and storytelling this way, as well as numerous relatives and friends.
giving them a comic book is a good way to ensure that they will never have any companionship outside a star trek convention. I hope you have a nice basement for them to live in till you die.
Getting to youtube and finding the video you want requires reading.
I'm going to second David Peterson's MouseGuard. http://www.mouseguard.net/ They give out samples for FCBD. Also Jeff Smith's Bone series are great for kids. You can revisit the classic Marvel comics ie. Amazing Spiderman, Fantastic Four, Captain America. All the big companies have kid versions of their heroes. Just pop into the comic shop of choice or hit a Barnes & Nobles.
Wow, despite the wide range of views here, I didn't think *anyone* on Slashdot was so backward as to think a teen pregnancy is not the boy's problem as well.
Spider Ham is the way to go. It has all the elements of a good hero comic plus humor directed towards kids, and everyone in it is some type of animal. Peter Porker is a Pig.. ect.
I've got two kids. We read extensively to them as well. We have just in the last month gotten our 4.5 year old to actually say his alphabet much less recognize characters. Our 2.5 year old is keeping pace with his brother now that his brother is interested. Even given the relatively small set of toddlers I've been around, I've observed since having children that they widely vary in developmental levels and interest levels. I think that is probably the biggest problem with public schools, we haven't really figured out how to deal with children who vary from the baseline.
Super Dinosaur is a fantastic read. I read it, my 9 yr old reads it and I read it to my 3yr old. A boy and his best friend who is a T-Rex in power armor. It's well written and drawn by the team that brought you Astounding Wolfman. And Robert Kirkman writes fantastic stuff for adults. The letter's column in the back of the book is the hilarious with all the pictures kids draw and send in that get published. I highly recommend it.
You don't read comic books to a 3yr old, you read books to them. Books appropriate for their age, or for slightly older ages. I did that to my kids, a lot, and now the oldest is getting his PdD in Astrophysics.
no, I don't have a sig
My son is 6, and thoroughly enjoys the Dragonbreath series by Ursula Vernon. They're not strictly comic books - there will generally be a page or so of text followed by a "comic" page. The comic isn't an illustration of text, but rather has word bubbles and actions that aren't included in the text of the book. I'd think they'd be a great fit for a 3yo, though not precisely superhero. The best part is, my wife and I both found them enjoyable to read both to our son and separately.
I know the entire series is available on Amazon, and our local library has them, as well.
Wow, long rant. Sounds personal.
I was pointing out that there's more to painting than painting walls. I'd also like to point out that there's more to playing with legos than learning how to snap them together. I worked with a kid who made very intricate lego structures at a very young age. Testing indicated that the child had an amazing degree of spatial awareness -- show her a structure from one angle, and she could draw it accurately from any other angle. I'm thinking there's a set of marketable skills there, at the proper time.
I'm not exactly sure what this all has to do with reading to one's child.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Mainstream comics have been geared to an older audiance for quite a while now (there are some, but few), but If you walk into a Book store there's a bunch of "my first books" involoving various heros, such as "My First Superman Book" and a personal favorite of mine is "The Complete Calvin and Hobbes" .
Because that's what good parents do. Don't forget to change your kid's name to little bobby tables.
I also don't recommend reading HP Lovecraft to her...
Funny you should mention that...
Daughter has been an artist from a young age, and I recognized some of the figures she was drawing around fifth and sixth grade. I swear I had not read her any of the Cthulhu stories at that time. It was a mystery.
We eventually learned that one of the older kids at a homeschool co-op she attended from third through eighth grade played the computer game "The Call of Cthulhu" at the house where she was homeschooled. So we *think* the images came from there. But geeze... to say it was disconcerting is an understatement.
But what the hell -- if you can't fight it, just embrace it. I got her a Cthulhu plush for Christmas around fourth or fifth grade. She slept with it every night for years.
I guess we're not a normal family.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
My parents read Madeline L'Engle, CS Lewis, etc., for about an hour every day in the evening. It was absolutely wonderful.
You make an interesting point about maybe it wasn't as fun for them, but I suspect they enjoyed it just as much. I'll ask them.
I know I'll enjoy reading to my daughter when she's old enough... but then again I like DMing in D&D as well.
Why don't you start with "Good Night Moon" or "Tumble Bumble" or any other standard kids fare. Dr Seuss is good, but much longer to read out loud. Unless you are ok with long readings, it's best to do that later after he's able to read some himself or you've practiced reading out loud enough that you don't lose your voice towards the end.
I recommend "Tumble Bumble" since it has a catchy rhyme which is fun enough for your child to follow. It's been many years since I've read that book to my kids, but I can probably still recite most of it since I reread that one so many times.
Modern superhero Comics are complex for the little tykes to grasp. They'll lose interest when the words are incomprehensible.
How about Asterix: http://www.asterix.com/ ?
Did you read the comment I replied to? Yes, there's more to painting than just painting walls, but I was talking about JUST painting walls. The person I replied to was saying that instead of reading to children, we should just, for example, let them paint walls. My point was that yes, there is value in painting (and typing and playing with Lego) but unless you're doing various things including reading to them, you are severely limiting them in life. Why are you jumping into conversations you don't understand? You are the one turning this personal... though admittedly, I was going under the assumption that everyone wants their children to be happy and knowledgeable rather than just marketable (and I won't get into a conversation about how marketable physical labor skills will be in the next generation, as more and more things are automated and outsourced...).
Not as well known as it ought to be, but you can find it at your better comic shops. Printed in hardcover. Will seem very weird initially, which is usually not a problem with kids. May blow your mind. The visual style is evocative of 1930's animation, especially Betty Boop/Fleischer Studios. I second the previously mentioned Tintin and reprints of the Carl Barks Scrooge McDuck stories, and comics-code era superhero comics.If you can find reprints of the old Captain Marvel comics from the 40's, that's some of the best superhero stuff ever created - great art and really fun, imaginative stories (although there's some overt racism towards the Japanese that doesn't sit too well today.)
Get some action figures and play superheros. That way you control the narrative.
I cut my teeth reading Charlie Brown books (I never liked calling them Peanuts, and neither did Charles Schulz).. moved to regular comic books when I was a bit older. "Peanuts" sported a pretty mature vocabulary at times, I learned a lot of words that way; I'd read a new word and ask my parents what it meant. The one caveat though- Charlie Brown can be freaking depressing! When I found myself starting to identify with him, it was time to move on.
Like a poster said early on, the comic books will probably come on their own.
Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
Asterix by Goscinni & Uderzo.
If you are lucky, you can find the really good British translation copies in your local library (US translations are awful).
No, not really.
We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion.
I'd take a look at Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog or Megaman comics. I'm 27 and read them, but they are definitely age appropriate for a 3 year old. Archie sells paperback compilations of the issues as well, which should be easier for your kid to read than actual comics that can rip.
I would rate Tom Strong as a series child friendly-ish Moore adventures. Check out Vol 1 for his origin and a few intro stories, if you read them together with your child they are also quite enjoyable for the adult reader.
A bunch of commenters are saying that superhero comics are too grown-up now. That's an obvious real trend but Marvel at least--and probably DC, though I don't know for sure--knows there's a market and aims at it. So there are versions of Marvel comics aimed specifically at younger kids which have more funny stuff, less angst and less blood and grittiness. But they still have the same characters.
Your best way to test these is to go to a local comic shop (if you have one). There will likely be a kid's-comics section and helpful, knowledgeable folks, and you can browse a few different ones.
That said:
1) I think the superhero comics aimed at the kids are total schlock (but my 8-year-old loves them).
2) I think comics are a read-to-yourself medium, not a read-to-your-kid medium, and would stick to reading other kinds of stories to your kid.
Search Amazon for "Regis Faller polo". They are a delight for the imagination.
How about "Pogo" by Walt Kelly? It reads at many levels so while he's young he will enjoy the talking animals, and as he gets older he will understand the commentary more: http://www.raggedclaws.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/walt-kelly_pogo_sunday-april-23-1950.jpg
My Dad had the complete collection, including almost everything else from Don Martin and others from Mad. I read them all. The Mad Adventures of Captain Klutz - I remember them well. Silly, and certainly something a 3 year old can understand ;-)
And old Peanuts too.
Someone already mentioned Owly. I'll add Agnes Garbowska's work - at 3 you can probably do Yogurt the Ogre, then later on You, Me, and Zombie and her other books. Bone is a huge book that'll be good in a couple of years. There's also Comics in the Classroom's lists.
It's possible we got off on the wrong foot. I dismissed the poster to which you originally replied as someone who wanted to justify in his own mind his decision not to read to his kids. There's no helping that. People have a huge capability to rationalize the actions they want to take or not take. My wife does this all the time, justifying in odd ways the reason why she shouldn't do this or that for her daughter, when we all know the real reason is that she doesn't want to get out of the chair. But I digress.
Some time later I read your posting, (the one that begins "letting a kid type") and -- go back and read it -- taken out of context (admittedly) it probably doesn't say what you were actually trying to express. My kid started using a computer (loading her Disney storybooks and playing them herself) long before kindergarten, and (I often work at home) when I was working she'd crawl up in my lap and type on the keyboard. Nothing coherent, but who cares? Emails to family would often include:
And now, daughter would like to say something:
23089ythoeuitgahjrvmt wn458ghf 08tyqhe0aag3gj9aj9
And at worst, that's fun, and at best it introduces her to keyboard as an input device. (Now, at seventeen, she has her own logmein account and provides technical support for her less computer literate friends.)
But I agree with what I think you're saying, that kids benefit from all kinds of experience, and shouldn't be confined to just one or two things. Am I getting it right now?
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
WOOOOOSH!!!!
Created specifically for kids by Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard, who typically work on more grown-up books, but wanted to create comics appropriate for their kids, Super Dinosaur sounds like it might work for you. Disclaimer: I have read about the book, but haven't read the book itself.
Calvin and Hobbes
Garfield
Silver-age Comics
Slice of Life (e.g. Azumanga Daioh, Yotsuba&!)
Shoujo (e.g. Magic Knight Rayearth)
Shonen (e.g. Hikaru no Go - haven't completely read this but I think its content is OK)
One of my oldest memories (Granted, I'm a young'n.) is of Larry Gonick's Cartoon History of the Universe (http://www.larrygonick.com/titles/). I have read the series several times over the years, and it is quite fun. As I child, I focused more on historical oddities and bad puns in the text, but I suppose it could still be blamed for planting in me the seeds of historical interest. Most of its information is even pretty good for the time it was written!
Anyway, I can probably see the occasional argument for world history still being too much for a 3 year old, but my parents didn't seem to think it a problem and I like to think I turned out well enough. YMMV.
-IS
My kids are really enjoying Peanuts right now from Boom/Kaboom... mix of old and new material, but most important for a 3 year old many of the strips can be "read" without reading (such as Woodstock/Snoopy stories), or with just a little help from parents/siblings.
Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland is fun. Maybe when he gets a bit older, Nausicaa is one of the best "comics" of all time.
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Little-Nemo-Slumberland-Vol/dp/0930193636/
http://www.amazon.com/Nausicaa-Valley-Wind-Vol-1/dp/1591164087/
My kid also likes super-heroes, so DC's Super-Friends is pretty good (and emphasizes non-violent problem resolution, which is actually good). Marvel's Super-Hero Squad is for slightly older kids, but still accessible and cartoony enough.
We also go through Scooby Doo and other DC Kids titles.
Free Comic Book Day is coming this Saturday, so it's a great time to take your kid to the comic store and pick something out. Lots of free promotional comics!
However: this Saturday is "National Free Comic Book Day" in the US and parts of the world. Be sure to visit a local comic book store. Or a library - some have special events. One year, our local library actually had some of the Top Shelf authors/artists on-site. They made recommendations based on interests and age, and even signed the issues they were handing out.
Yeah, I enjoy it although by now I'm mostly only reading to my younger two kids (12 and 6). I read to the older two until long after they could read themselves.
chuk
Tiny Titans should be right up his alley. Greg
It is the 21st century and the time for Klax has passed.
who can't get laid, much less father children?
Mod up insightful.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
On L'Engle, daughter and I went through all the Murry family stories (wrinkle in time, etc) and she loved them. I skipped over House like a Lotus because I couldn't bring myself to read the attempted rape scene and sex scene to my daughter. (I guess I'm a coward.) I assured her that it was a good story, one of the best of the Polly O'Keefe stories, but she'd have to read it on her own. She hasn't yet, and I regret that a little. She loved Arm of the Starfish and Dragon in the Waters. She thought An Acceptable Time was a little boring and repetitious.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
You used to be able to get a free subscription from Lego Club. You can probably pick up collections on Amazon or eBay. These are good to get now for when he's about 6. http://bionicle.lego.com/en-US/dtv/default.aspx
Junior superheroes with a lot of kid-oriented humor and no edgy violence. Chris Giarusso is the creator for both. :D
Have you tried "Gon"?
One of my oldest memories (Granted, I'm a young'n.) is of Larry Gonick's Cartoon History of the Universe
(http://www.larrygonick.com/titles/). I have read the series several times over the years, and it is quite fun. As I child, I focused more on historical oddities and bad puns in the text, but I suppose it could still be blamed for planting in me the seeds of historical interest. Most of its information is even pretty good for the time it was written!
Anyway, I can probably see the occasional argument for world history still being too much for a 3 year old, but my parents didn't seem to think it a problem and I like to think I turned out well enough. YMMV.
-IS
Also, sorry for the late post. For some reason I couldn't get the interwebs to work earlier.
The first Saturday in May is Free Comic Book Day. It's a great time to sample a variety of comics and styles for all ages. Expose your son to a wide variety of options and gauge his reactions accordingly when making further buying decisions. This year's collections include multiple Spider-Man titles, the first issue of Superman Family Adventures (which is a STRONG candidate), Atomic Robo (one of the best, and truly "all ages"; think Pixar on the comic book page) and more. Every reader is different, so find out on May 5 and cater to him.
- W. Blaine Dowler
http://www.bureau42.com
Classics Comics. (mythology)
They are DC's attempt at comic books targetted to kids. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiny_Titans
It's universal, timeless and changed the way comics were written. There are lots of reprints out there.
Others have posted about the Disney Duck stuff too.
My 8 year old has really enjoyed them. He's also read all the Captain Underpants, any Calvin & Hobbes I have.
I grew up reading early because of comics. I did read appropriate ones with my children, but also read a lot of novels to them (Harry Potter for instance.)
It felt strange to find that their favorites were not mine. I did find that smaller publishers did better with them than Marvel and DC.
My daughter loved titles like "Elf Quest" by the Pini's.
My son liked "Dynamo Joe"
You are lucky that many comics are available cheap or free on the internet, but appropriateness varies sharply. I have quite a few in the iPad Comixology app, which has deals with both DC and Marvel as well as others. (You can get more freebies in Marvel and DC's own apps however.)
With electronic comics, there is no collectible, but it usually is cheaper. And you can share without worry about anyone destroying a paper collectible.
And of course, you can get huge collections on the cheap via ebay and Craig's list.
Bob McLeod is the real deal, a comic artist for the last several decades who worked for all the big books, drawing X-Men, Spiderman, Superman, and so on. He wrote and illustrated SuperHero ABC specifically for the age group in which you're interested.
http://www.bobmcleod.com/abc.html
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.comicsalliance.com/media/2010/08/the-watchmen-babies-15411-1236292714-6.jpg
How does that make you feel?
APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?