Happy Read Across America Day! Which just happens to fall on the birthday of the late great Theodore Seuss Geisel -- a.k.a. Dr. Seuss. Yes, today is all about kids and books and literacy and the government reminding us that, hey, Reading Is Fundamental.

Right about now you're probably thinking, "Oh, man! Seriously, now I gotta read to this kid? I just gave it a bag of Doritos an hour ago! This job never ends! What's in it for me?"

Actually, there are several surprising perks for parents who read to their children -- and I'm not just talking about all that stuff "good" moms are supposed to flip over like smarter kids and stuff.

Happy birthday to Theodor Seuss Geisel, AKA Dr. Seuss! He was born today back in 1904, and his books still speak to readers of all ages. It's hard to find a family bookshelf that doesn't have at least one Dr. Seuss, whether it's Green Eggs and Ham, Hop on Pop, or Oh! The Places You'll Go.

Dr. Seuss books were my favorite books to read to my son when he was a little guy -- not least because they're so much fun to read aloud. "Far away in Berlin a musical urchin named Gretchen von Schwinn has a blue-footed, true-footed, trick-fingered, slick-fingered, six-fingered, six-stringed tin Schwinn mandolin." That's from Oh Say Can You Say.  Why else did I love reading Seuss to my kid? Let me count the whys.

When my kids were still in the "Read me ANOTHER bedtime story, Mommy!" phase, I'd say we owned at least 8,542 Berenstain Bears books. And that's a conservative estimate. As a parent, there were two things I liked about the series: First of all, they made me nostalgic for my own childhood ... my mother read me some of the very same titles when I was a kid.

Second of all, no matter what developmental phase my kids happened to be going through, there was always a Berenstain Bears book to help tackle the issue head-on (but still in a colorful, kid-friendly, anthropomorphic animal kind of way). Bad dreams? Stranger danger? First trip to the dentist? Too much junk food? Sharing toys? Those bears had the answer.

So I was sad to hear about the passing of Jan Berenstain, the children's author who co-created the Berenstain Bears with her husband Stan: She passed away on February 24th at the age of 88.

But certainly, the Berenstain legacy will live on for generations to come ...

If you missed Stephen Colbert's interviews with children's book author, and legend, Maurice Sendak, you must first watch part 1 and part 2 to immediately make your day. Go ahead, I'll wait. Are you back? Good! Because you are now primed to hear the announcement that Stephen Colbert did find a publisher for his children's book, I Am a Pole (And So Can You!), and it will be released on May 8.

So what can we expect from the author of I Am America (And So Can You!) as he delves into kid lit?

For over a year now, my toddler has been obsessed with Dr. Seuss books. It started with Hop on Pop and now he has a compilation book that's almost bigger than he is that goes to bed with every night. Personally, we were thrilled that he picked these books over, say, "My Little Pony Goes to Ballet School in a Fluffy Sweater." As any parent knows, it's super fun to read Dr. Seuss and can be as entertaining for adults as it is for kids. 

What every parent doesn't know, but now we do, is that these clever, rhyming lessons are actually super leftist propaganda. And I, for one, am thrilled to get these words of truth drilled into any kid's head on the early side.

I loved Stephen Colbert's interview with Where the Wild Things Are author Maurice Sendak. I knew the writer was kind of a crank, but I didn't realize he was such a droll and charming crank. We share similar political views, apparently, and how delicious that he says he doesn't even write for children. I think it's made his books more fun for the adults who read them to their kids.

My favorite Sendak book is In the Night Kitchen. We've read it so many times now that we almost can't say the word "milk" without adding "for the morning cake!" But the book is probably best known for being banned in libraries all over the country -- including our local library when I was growing up.

Leave it to a word nerd like me to get a little huffy around the holidays. When hot toy lists get all our attention, is it any wonder our mission to raise a reader goes out the window for the month?

I've made it my mission to make sure there's at least one new book in the pile of goodies under my family Christmas tree every year, and so far it's been a hit. Want to get in on the action? I've come up with a list of can't-fail hits for your tots. After all, each one is a favorite of one of the writers on The Stir staff!

If there's one reason why I'm glad to be a mother at this particular phase in history, it would have to be this: Finally it's starting to be okay for parents to tell it like it is. Whether it's a sitcom like Up All Night or a "children's book" like Go the F**k to Sleep, at last we're admitting that parenting is messy, hard, ridiculous, hilarious, and just plain bizarre.

That's why I love this version of "The Alphabet Song" by Bad for Kids.

A! "A" is for Angry/B! "B" is for Boring/C! "C" is for Cutting Your Sister's Hair When She's Snoring ...