My Daughter's Favorite Books: Part 2

About two years ago I sat in a tire place interviewing my eight year old daughter to pass the time. I wanted to know about her favorite books. Back in those days, Judy Moody and Calvin and Hobbes were among her favorites. Since then, she has grown and the world around her has changed. I thought it was about time to check in and see what stories are capturing her imagination as an older and wiser preteen.

Leslie Writes: Last time we did one of these interviews we were waiting inside a tire place. Today we are in our living room. Do you think that will have any effect on our interview?

#1 Daughter: Maybe. Because in the tire place I felt kinda trapped because we couldn't go anywhere.

LW: Are you thinking of escaping?

#1: (Flashes a sly grin) Nooo…

LW: Okay, just to refresh your memory, in our last interview, your favorite authors were Megan McDonald, Adam Gidwitz, and Bill Waterson. The guy who wrote Calvin and Hobbes. Do you have any new favorite authors?

#1: James Patterson, the guy who writes Cat vs. Dog. Jeff Kenny who writes Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Lemony Snicket for A Series of Unfortunate Events

LW: Any new book series? How about stand alone books?

#1: Loki: A Bad God's Guide to Being Good

LW: What was interesting about that one?

#1: It follows Loki, the god of mischief while he causes mischief. He plays ding dong dung where he collects poop from people who don't pick up their dog’s poop and puts it on their front porch. Then when the owner steps out of the house they step on the poop.

LW: Does Loki learn how to be good?

#1: (She smirks) Not really!

LW: How do you choose a good book?

#1: I just start reading it and if it has a good hook then I get it. I like it when it starts off in the middle of the book and tells you how it got there.

LW: How do you feel about flashbacks?

#1: They are confusing in a book, but good in a show.

LW: What is a good example of a book to film adaptation, Harry Potter? Did it match what you imagined while reading the book?

#1: Not at all!!

LW: Okay, what’s a better example then?

#1: Wild Robot! It’s very animal heavy.

LW: You like animals in your stories.

#1: Yes. If there’s no animals in a book I'm not going to read it!

LW: Okay. How did you feel about the wild robot adaptation?

#1: (unintelligible sounds)

LW: What do those sounds mean?

#1: Book was good. Movie was better. It made me cry so much!

LW: What about books for school?

#1: Hate ‘em. I don't do forced reading.

LW: You choose your own books, right? How do you feel about restrictions, like book bans?

#1: I hate them. I hate that people can't read what they want. People can't learn. Evil people want to make everyone stupid so they can't rebel.

LW: Have you read any banned books?

#1: No. I don’t think so.

LW: (Googles list of banned children's books pointing out the ones #1 has already read). Harry Potter. Charlotte’s Web. Winnie the Pooh. Chronicles of Narnia. You’ve read those.

#1: Woah. Look at the reasons! (We go down a rabbit hole of ridiculous claims about the most cherished children’s literature). The Lorax was banned because they thought it would turn children against the logging industry, but like shouldn’t we be against the logging industry?

GREEN EGGS AND HAM WAS BANNED? (Both of us laugh)

According to Wikipedia:

It has been reported that the book was banned in China from 1965 to 1991 because it supposedly contained themes of "early Marxism"— that is to say, Soviet-style socialism (which was at odds with Chinese socialism). Allegedly, the breakfast was interpreted as a metaphor for Soviet socialism, with many initially rejecting it but eventually coming to enjoy it after "trying" it.

LW: That seems like a stretch, but yeah, governments like to ban books that make you question the rules. They do it to control people. If you were to recommend a book to another ten year old what would it be?

#1: Diary of a Wimpy Kid because it’s really funny and realistic fiction. Like it technically could happen, but it’s pretty unlikely to.

LW: Do you prefer realism or fantasy or a combination?

#1: Combination. But I like realistic fiction because it is relatable and funny.

LW: Thank you for answering my questions. You can escape now.

#1 gets up from the couch. Seconds later I hear the sound of video games coming from the other room.

Here is our first interview from two years ago.