Reading with our moms and dads has to be one of the sweetest, most joyous memories from our childhoods. Just like how hearing a certain song or smelling a certain food can bring you right back to a specific moment in time, a certain book can do the same. Maybe it brings you back to your kindergarten years in school or when you started proudly being able to read on your own.

Maybe it reminds you of the bedtime routine you had with your parents and siblings or how your Grandma used to put on silly voices when she dove into a good book with you.

Whatever your memories may be of reading as a child, I think its safe to say that rereading some of our favorites now to our own children is well… trippy, amazing, mind-boggling and magical.

To #TeamMotherly, one of the greatest privileges of parenthood is the gift of reading to our kiddos. Here are 25 of our childhood favorites we love to share with our family.

  1. Goodnight Moon “I loved it as a kid and now I love reading it to my boys. I have it memorized.”
  2. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day “I was sarcastic even from a young age! “
  3. The Monster at the End of this Book “This is still funny even today!”
  4. The Polar Express “I loved it as a kid and tear up now when I read it to my son.”
  5. The Very Hungry Caterpillar “Such a classic and still a favorite.”
  6. A Light in the Attic “I still have my original copy.”
  7. The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter “I remember trying to read these stories to my little sisters, and now I read them to my girls.”
  8. One Morning in Maine “Now as an adult, the dad strikes me as a bit of a jerk. “
  9. The Paper Bag Princess and
  10. Swamp Angel “Two fun, feminist books.”
  11. The Eloise and Madeline series “I feel like rereading these now, I can still hear my mom’s voice, her inflection, and the exact way she’d read them to us as kids.”
  12. The Amelia Bedelia series “My fave!”
  13. The Cat in the Hat “It was the first book I ‘read’ (because I memorized it).”
  14. The Berenstein Bears series “My mom hated when we asked her to read these because they had so much text! I feel her pain now.”
  15. The Babysitter’s Club series “When I was older I read these. I always thought Stacy was so cool because she was from New York.”
  16. Charlotte’s Web “I think I’ve read it eight times.”
  17. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom “I remember my mom reading this, saying ‘boom, boom!’ so loud and in such a funny voice!”
  18. The Giving Tree “I loved this book! But now it is so sad to me.”
  19. Where the Wild Things Are “I remember my librarian reading this during story time at my elementary school. I’d love when she turned the pages after Max declares, “Let the Wild Rumpus Start!” I love the artwork and the concept behind the book. I still feel that little magical spark from my childhood imagination when I read it to my son.”
  20. The Boxcar Children series “My brother used to tease me mercilessly.”
  21. Love You Forever “To this day I still cannot get through it without crying. “
  22. The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series “My babysitter bought me the books when she was watching my sister and I for the weekend while my parents were out of town.”
  23. The Fantastic Mr. Fox “I loved Roald Dahl so much I once “wrote” and illustrated a book that was basically just ‘Witches’ and sent it to a publisher. I think I have their kind rejection letter somewhere at my parents’ house.”
  24. Harold and the Purple Crayon “This is my husband’s favorite. He bought all the Harold books for the kids.”
  25. Anything by Dr. Seuss “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!!, In a People House!, Green Eggs and Ham!, Hop on Pop! So many good ones.”

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