Calvin and Hobbes Rocks for Kids and Parents
It's been about a year since my wife and I discovered the magic bullet (for our kids anyway) to create voracious readers. Comics. Starting with the daily funnies in the local newspaper, we created a mini morning read-along. Each of our boys would pick out a strip or two for one of us to read to them in between bites of cereal. The usual favorites wouldn't be surprising to most parents; Family Circus, Peanuts and Garfield.

Oh that Garfield. TJ and Jason took quite a liking to the fat orange cat. Before we knew it, we were overwhelmed with every Best-of-Garfield book ever printed. Ten editions and counting last I checked. Both boys began choosing a Garfield book each night for our evening reading. At this point my personal Garfield meter began to enter the red zone.

Even if you are the biggest Garfield fan in the world, which I'm not, reading Garfield comics out loud for 30 minutes can be absolutely mind numbing. There had to be a better way to keep up the kids enthusiasm for reading, without driving myself nuts in the process. Then one day, my wife brought home a collection of Calvin and Hobbes from the library.

Our kids, like any, were reluctant to let this new intruder comic take up any of their dedicated Garfield time. But after a little prodding, they acquiesced and let me sneak in a little C&H toward the end of our reading one night. And an amazing thing happened as we read, I started lauging out loud as I was reading. At one point, I was absolutely cackling and had to put the book down to collect myself.

The boys meanwhile, were totally feeding off my reaction and having a great time. I knew they were hooked when the questions starting pouring out. "Dad, why does Hobbes look alive sometimes and sometimes not?" "What does Calvin mean when he tells his dad that he's not doing well in the polls?" "Why won't Calvin look under his bed?"and on and on and on.

It didn't happen overnight, be C&H eventually usurped Garfield for the top spot as the comic of choice. The boys have checked out every C&H collection in the Seattle Public Library system, probably 3 or 4 times by now. (Note to Bill Watterson - Please come back!) An open Calvin and Hobbes book will draw my kids to it like a nail to a magnet. And they would keep their noses in that book for hours at a time if we let them.

What sets C&H apart as a great family read. First, I think it sets the gold standard for creativity in its storylines and development of relationships between Calvin and others in his world. His ability to jump in and out of fantasy, "The adventures of Spaceman Spiff!", is truly entertaining. But I think what sets C&H apart from some of the other comics, is its ability to entertain both parent and child on two different levels, which is saying quite a lot considering that Watterson achieves this in 4 frames while Hollywood spends millions trying to achieve the same effect in a 90 minute movie.

What better validation is there for the kids, when they can watch their parents laughing their heads off? Talk about positive reinforcement. In the meanwhile, my kids kept reading. And reading. And reading. A year later C&H still holds a special place in their hearts, but they have sought out new and more challenging material (Harry Potter anyone) and are well on their way towards literary bliss.