Gary Ross: 10 Kids' Books I Love

Gary Ross says: ”Yes, this can be read by English Majors in college, and yes, the social satire may be lost on sixth graders, but this book is fundamentally about freedom and loyalty, and every kid gets that. Who wouldn’t want to float down the Mississippi on a raft? Huck may the best adolescent protagonist ever.”

Read more from Gary Ross about his own new children’s book, Bartholomew Biddle and the Very Big Wind in EW’s Family Room

Gary Ross says: ” ‘Went to sea in a beautiful pea green boat.
They took some honey and plenty of money
Wrapped up in a five pound note…’
Why is every great children story about a journey? Maybe that’s because we are always on one. The rhyme still sings in my head decades later. I loved this as a child and I loved this now.”

Gary Ross says: ”Most children’s verse books are about rhythm and here, the rhythm is jazz. It’s off the beat, it surprises and excited the way a great sax solo does. And it’s a window into a wonderful smoky world that’s thrilling and a little dangerous at the same time. By the way, your kids will love this too.”

Gary Ross says: ”What can you say? It’s the most monumental achievement of children’s literature, Wizard of Oz included. The world, the themes, the maturation of the characters the detail, the delight… all of that would be hard to sustain for a single volume, let alone seven. Harry Potter created a generation of readers in an era when kids could have disappeared into the depths of the Internet. That’s no small feat. Every book series owes J.K. Rowling a debt of gratitude.”

Gary Ross says: ”Okay, talk about a debt of gratitude. Most modern science fiction went to school on Dune. Even Harry Potter with its ‘boy protagonist who has not yet grown into his destiny’ shares a common theme. When I read it for the first time, I felt like I had learned another language, mastered a new culture, adopted a new religion. For two weeks I was the Mua D’Ib. Who could ask more from a book than that?”

Gary Ross says: ”Most people don’t know this book even though it won the Newbery Award. I probably read it 10 times as a kid. A Jules Verne-like civilization exists on Krakatoa prior to the famous explosion. They harvest diamonds, which exist in abundance due to the volcanic conditions of the island. But of course, it’s dangerous on Krakatoa, so they are ready, at a moment’s notice, to escape the island by the use of dirigibles, which every citizen must know how to fly. I get happy even thinking about this.”

Gary Ross says: ”Another Mark Twain (I know), but this is such a great book for young readers. Twain’s satire about a modern capitalist who gets conked on the head and wakes up in medieval England is as funny today as it was when he wrote it. As a child my mother read it out loud to me and when we started discussing the political satire, she figured it was probably time I started reading by myself.”

Gary Ross says: ”Okay. Obvious disclaimer. I love to fly, so maybe I’m a bit predisposed to anything from this author. His book Nightflight, about a plane delivering mail in South America, is also amazing. There is just something so timeless and enchanting about the illustrations and the story. It shrinks the universe and broadens your mind. The image of this boy standing on a tiny little planet is one that you’ll always carry with you. I just love it.”

Gary Ross says: ”I’ve lumped my three favorite together because I just can’t pick one. I don’t even remember the number of times I read this as a child and with Dr. Seuss, it’s hard to tell what’s better, the rhyme, or the astounding illustrations. I can still recite huge chunks of these and the gorgeous palate of McGelligott’s pool is so stunning you want to paint a room like that: Aquamarine, Creamsicle Orange, Lime Green, Lavender. Ultimately, so much Dr. Seuss is about empowerment. He invites us to disappear into our imagination and then blows the doors off what that can mean.”

Gary Ross says: ”Okay. A major admission: I probably read more Peanuts as a kid than anything else. My kids did too when they were little. The relationships are so complex, the characters so rich. Lucy is trapped inside her own bossiness, yet longs for Schroeder’s love. Linus clings to his security blanket, yet is in many ways the most secure. Snoopy is an embodiment of every kid’s imagination (absent adult interference, because he is a dog!). Schroeder is the ultimate misfit, but is secure in that, because he has found his passion: Beethoven. And then Charlie Brown… We all have him in us: sad, a little isolated, decent to a fault, oddly at peace with himself. Charlie Brown embodies the aspiration and pain of human existence. Many great novels don’t achieve the complexity or depth of Peanuts.”

Read more from Gary Ross about his own new children’s book, Bartholomew Biddle and the Very Big Wind in EW’s Family Room