New Chapter in Reading

Lately, Leo has really been enjoying longer books. He has always been an enthusiastic reader, but only recently has he really asked for these types of books that take several days (usually...on rainy days we've read one in a single day) to read and have few or no pictures.  His Uncle Julian gave him a Roald Dahl treasury and so far we've read The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Twits, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  He does still enjoy shorter books - picture books, even board books, which is good because Zoe still wants us to read those over and over (and over and over).

It's been awesome curling up to read these longer stories with Leo.  These days he's all jumping and climbing and talking a million miles an hour - so slowing down to cuddle and read is especially nice. Since, these books do NOT usually hold Zoe's attention, it's tough to find time (aside from her nap time or when she wants to nurse) to really settle in to reading with him. We've certainly been making good use of the bookmarks he got for his birthday (Thank you Maya and Lydia!).

The last book we read was Charlie and Chocolate Factory.  My absolute favorite moment during that book - or possibly ever - was when we were reading the part when charlie is slowly opening the wrapper hoping to find a golden ticket.  At that moment, as I read, Leo quickly covered his eyes and exclaimed, "I can't look!"  There wasn't a single picture on the page - he was just so overcome by the story.  It was freaking amazing.

After we finished the book we had a weekend double feature viewing both the Gene Wilder and the Jonny Depp movie versions.  Leo picked out EVERY little difference between the book and each movie.  From major changes - like, "Why doesn't he have a dad in this movie?" to strangely small things like, "In the book he used the word ___ instead of ____."  If it wasn't for the novelty of it being the first time we watched a movie based on a book we've read I might have asked him to can it after a while.

I'm looking forward to reading more and more chapter books with him, though I'd like to diversify a bit.  This list is a good start - though Roald Dahl does hold three of the top then spots, so I guess we are on the right track.  What chapter books do you enjoy reading aloud?