Have you ever noticed that pretty much every good children’s book or movie begins with getting the parents out of the picture? Disney often kills them off in the beginning, like in “Bambi” or “Frozen” , or sometimes the child just doesn’t do do what she’s told, like in “Moana.” “The Boxcar Children”,  “A Series of Unfortunate Events”, and many more popular series tell of adventures that kids have, on their own, no cell phone or GPS trackers, no parent hovering and warning of danger or strangers. Why is this literary device of removing adult supervision used so frequently? Well, it’s not a very interesting story to follow an 8-old-year’s real life now, with someone making their breakfast (don’t want them to burn their fingers on a Pop-Tart), handing them their backpack with their homework (that diorama took Mom forever!), buckling them in their car seat, chauffeuring them to school, handing the teacher their lovingly packed bento box, and on  and on…..every moment managed, directed, controlled by an adult.

So there are a million books about kids doing things on their own, but we thought we’d share a few suggestions if you are looking for something new!