Once a year, my daughter’s elementary school hosts a movie night. Kids come, all excited, some in PJ’s with sleeping bags, to eat pizza and popcorn and watch a movie. Their parents drink wine, eat cheese and hang out in the back. All in all a great night for the entire family. So far, we’ve seen Ponyo and The Lego Movie (not bad, right?) and now it’s time to choose the film for this year’s shindig.

Here’s what I might screen, were I the person in charge (which thankfully I am not):

The secret World of Arrietty is a modern Japanese anime take on the beloved novel The Borrowers by Mary Norton. The main character is an adventurous girl, which is always a good thing, and the action takes place in a tiny imaginary world inside of our normal one that, to this day, makes me wonder whenever a thimble goes missing.

The Iron Giant is one of my all time favorite movies. It is an old-school feeling cartoon that rails against the military industrial complex while celebrating the individualism and compassion that makes this world of ours truly great. Plus it stars a giant robot that you can ride on. What’s not to love?

And while we’re on the topic of cultural criticism, Wall-E, an action packed love story of two robots who manage to help bring humanity back to the human race after a seven century hiatus from Earth, might be one of the most profound films your kid will see… at least while they’re still little.

Song of the Sea tells the otherworldly story of a mother and daughter who live between our world and the mystical world of the Selkies– mythological creatures who live primarily in the sea. It is kind of like entering the most beautiful lava lamp/Escher drawing combination imaginable… you may never want to leave their world once you’ve experienced it…

In the spirit of The Lego Movie, Big Hero 6 is one of those films that looks like it’s going to be one of those lame one-dimensional kid action animated films but is actually thoughtful, intelligent and grapples with complex issues (grief, healing as more powerful than hurting, loyalty) with finesse. Actually, Common Sense Media says this is for ages 7+, and they may be right, but I couldn’t help putting this on the list. I mean, these kids are New Yorkers. They can handle it.

My friend Bibb is homeschooling her daughter and as such is even more vigilantly on the hunt for quality kids books than I am (who knew that was possible?) I try to get my hands on whatever she recommends… especially if it is out of print and/or by some exotic author that I haven’t heard of before.

Such is the case with British author Enid Blyton’s The Faraway Tree Collection, a series of three books about three siblings who move from London to the English countryside and spend their free time in the nearby forest which happens to be enchanted.

Which means that it is filled with magical creatures, that the animals can talk, and that the centerpiece is a massive tree called The Faraway Tree which leads up and up to a whole rotating series of different worlds, each with some kind of crazy theme (Birthday Land! The Land Of Take What You Want! Topsy Turvey Land!)

All kinds of interesting folk live in this tree, and our young heroes befriend just about all of them– especially a fairy named Silky (see above) and a round headed humanoid creature called Moon-Face. There is something of the Land of Oz in this universe with it’s psychedelic characters and situations, but it also feels very English, with tea happening like clockwork no matter where our friends find themselves. The first book was also written in 1939, which just seems like it was a time more conducive to kids being allowed to run off into the forest for days at a time and mothers taking new friends like Moon-Face and Saucepan Man in stride.

Which I’m sure is what I’d do if my three children, all under the age of 11, strolled into the house after an all-nighter with some weird old man covered in pots and pans. Oh no wait…

The d’Aulaire family has given us hands down the best kids’ versions of the Greek and Norse myths in print. So it stands to reason that their Pocahontas would be equally compelling.

And it is.

I have always been particularly drawn to the story of Pocahontas… Maybe my own Native American heritage has something to do with it. Or the fact that my grandparents lived on Powhattan Avenue, which made the kid version of me feel somehow directly related to her illustrious family.

I first discovered Ingri and Edgar d’Aulaire’s Pocahontas at a yard sale and have since spent many hours reading it with my daughter, talking about how it must have felt to have strangers move in on the land you considered your sacred home, what it’s like to fall in love with a person of a different race, how it must have felt to be a princess and a leader, what it was like to meet the Queen of England… and just enjoying the illustrations and the story. We must have gotten the book when my kid was 4 and we’re still captivated by it years later.

If being obsessed with princesses is an inevitable phase in a girl’s life, Pocahontas is a great way to go.

Blueberries for Sal has been one of our family’s favorite books for years. It’s got berries, time spent outdoors in the sunshine with mom, a cute bear, all sorts of other random animals, and great black and white illustrations including a drawing of an old fashioned kitchen (so one can compare appliances and wistfully wish we lived in a time when life was all about making blueberry jam.)

And yet I knew nothing about One Morning in Maine, another Robert McClosky’s classic, until my friend Kim mentioned it to me when we spoke about my upcoming family vacation to a little island off the Maine coast (9 days and counting!) This story is about the same little girl named Sal, albeit a bit older now, hanging out with her father and little sister, digging for clams, losing a tooth and heading to town on a boat for supplies and ice cream. I bought it immediately and am excited to settle down with my daughter to read it and compare the Maine of Sal and little Jane to the Maine we know and love ourselves.

Because in less than 2 weeks, we’re going to have to get in a boat to head into town for a scoop of ice cream too…

For the first 3 odd years of her life, my daughter spent exactly no time in front of a screen of any kind. Except for the weekend her older cousins came to visit, and she watched a bit of a Barbie movie which (thank goodness) she wasn’t interested in at all.

But then the flood gates opened, and a true love affair with the silver screen began. Much to her dismay, screen time is still limited to 30 minutes a day on school days, but on the weekends and during vacations, we will often settle down to (gasp!!) an entire movie. And this summer promises to be filled with all sorts of opportunities for more.

Which means I have my homework cut out for me as I attempt to steer the ship away from Cinderella 3 and towards movies with a bit more substance like… The Princess Bride. (As you can see, I am not against fairy tales, I just want the stories to be told with some skill.)

Here are seven I’m hoping to watch this summer– some are old favorites and some we’ve yet to see. I’m sure there will be more lists as the summer progresses…

The horrible Cruella De Ville wants to turn 99 insanely cute dalmatian puppies into fur coats, but (of course) they are rescued by their loving parents and a gang of helpful farm animals. A classic from way back in the day that even the youngest kids can get into. 101 Dalmatians, 1961.

A drunk Carol Burnett, a dancing Albert Finney, a beturbaned Geoffrey Holder and a houseful of singing orphans from the 80′s put the recent version of Annie to shame, IMHO. Annie, 1982.

A beautiful black and white film about a Brooklyn kid who finds himself left to his own devices in 1950′s Coney Island. Home Alone from back in the day. The Little Fugitive, 1953.

Just in case there was any doubt as to Bob Fosse’s choreographic genius, there’s this 60′s tale of a window washer’s rise to the top. Step aside, Mad Men, and let these folks show you how it’s done. How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, 1967.

A beautifully animated film about a kid in Maine who discovers a huge alien robot and tries to protect it from the evil US Government agents who want to destroy it (because they think it’s some kind of Russian spy… sound familiar?) Based on a book by Ted Hughes. The Iron Giant, 1999.

I think all I have to say is The Princess Bride (1987), and you’ll know to drop everything and watch this right away. Kids or no kids.

Costco (or a company just like it) has taken over the world and completely trashed it, so all earthlings have been sent into space to await the clean up that never happens. 700 years later, it’s time to return, but humanity has devolved into blobs that sit in front of screens all day and night. Can two rogue robots save the day? This was my daughter’s first movie and it stays in regular rotation even now… Wall-E, 2008.

In my role as mother and final-sayer-in-what-media-we-consume-as-a-family, I have tried as hard as I can to ensure that the stories we read or watch are as enjoyable for the parents as they are for the kids. Sometimes I am triumphant (Hello Dolly, The Fantastic Mr Fox, A Wrinkle in Time) and sometimes less so (Ice Age 2, Fancy Nancy) but as my daughter has gotten older, I have been very happy to discover lots of books for “older kids” that I would be happy to read on my own (and sometimes I do read ahead a little, but don’t tell anybody…)

The Thing About Luck by Cynthia Kadohata is one of those books. I discovered it while browsing in Books of Wonder, which might be my all time favorite bookstore, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that it only sells books for children. I made the purchase knowing nothing about it save the rave reviews of the store’s staff, the fact that it won a National Book Award, it’s main character is a twelve year old Japanese-American girl who’s family works in Kansas (may as well be Mars) as wheat harvesters, and, well, that this particular volume was signed by the author.

I won’t go into the story in detail, but it’s moving and instructive and funny (there were times when I laughed so hard I had to stop reading and collect myself) and complex and nervewracking and beautiful all rolled into one. And we came out the other end thinking about how a family tries to assimilate it’s original culture into our American style (or not), about first crushes, about struggling with being different, about the many and various ways people find to express their love for each other, and so much more.

In other words, it got us talking about life. Which is the best kind of conversation you can have as a family, if you ask me.