At GeekDad we are committed to helping you raise geek generation 2.0, and we believe few things that you do are more important than reading to your kids early and often. The social science is in, vocabulary is a major predictor of cognitive development in your children. Reading to them is a great way to get them using the language centers of their brain. Plus some of the best times we have had with our children have come while watching their eyes glisten as Harry looks in the Mirror of Erised or listening to their giggles as they discover the joys and absurdities of Shel Silverstein’s poetry. Reading aloud to your kids can be a blast. So what books should geeks be reading to their kids? What books are essential to the geek experience? Well, that depends on the parent, and that depends on the kid. Some kids can handle the long slog to get Frodo to Rivendell where The Lord of the Rings finally takes off and becomes a rollicking adventure; many kids (and adults) cannot. So rather than creating a single list of recommended books, we decided to let members of the GeekDad team create the list of books which they enjoyed reading to their hatchlings as they progressed through their beta period. Consider these the staff picks at your own personal geek library:

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