Tom takes a nostalgic look back at some of the children's books that, with great regret, he is allowing his almost-teen twins to discard from their bookshelves, in the hope that some other children may enjoy them as much as his kids did, back in the day....

Michelle and I had been dating for only six months or so, but we could tell it was something special. A few months into our relationship, she introduced me to her kids, a pair of precocious 4-year-olds with whom I had quickly started to bond. As our first Christmas together approached, I looked for a variety of gifts that I thought would appeal to them. One present, chosen at a whim while browsing through a selection of children's books, was Cookiesaurus Rex, written by Amy Fellner Dominy and Nate Evans and illustrated by AG Ford.

Wolf and Annabelle took turns opening presents under the tree, and Wolf picked up this one. When he saw the book, he immediately started to cry. "I must have gotten someone else's presents!" he wailed. As I quickly realized, 4-year-old Wolf liked trains and only trains, and anything else was a complete disappointment.

Well, one night a few weeks later, I was reading to the kids before their bedtime. I picked a couple of books to read, mostly ones that I knew they enjoyed. And I picked up Cookiesaurus Rex, too, just to see what would happen. And I read to them about a sentient, T-rex-shaped cookie who has quite a lot of opinions about how he, as "the king of all cookies," should be decorated. Green frosting was good ... until he saw other cookies getting sprinkles and stars and gumdrops.

Wait one stinkin', stompin' minute!" the cookie roars. "Why do they get all the good stuff?"

He demands a do-over. And he's quickly transformed into a ballerina, which he doesn't like and quickly scrapes away. Then he's decorated like a baby, which makes him even angrier. He does his own frosting, turning into a superdino, but the mischievous imp with the frosting cans turns him into a duck. A flurry of decorating options follow, from ninja to circus clown, before he manages to load himself with tons of icing and candy decorations. He looks quite regal, but do you think a child can resist such temptation? Nope. He's quickly licked down to the bare cookie.

It's a simple story, but it's cute, and when I read it aloud with a funny, angry dinosaur voice, the kids always laughed. Soon, it was a perennial bedtime favorite, read over and over and over again.

That's the sign of a good children's book. I bet your young kids would enjoy it, too.