By all counts, 2009 was a huge year for animated movies. There were big crowd pleasers like Up, The Princess and the Frog, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, but for our money, the most entertaining was Wes Anderson’s stunning stop-motion tale Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Based on the book by Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), it’s the story of a fox who plots the greatest (chicken) heist ever. With an all-star cast of voice talent like George Clooney, Bill Murray, Meryl Streep, and Owen Wilson, this is a film you’ll want to see over and over, whether or not the kids are around.

When do you have the best bonding experiences with your kids? For many, it’s the quiet times just before bed or a lazy Sunday afternoon where you and your kids can get lost in a story together.

Now, what if you never got those moments? For parents who travel frequently or relatives who live far away, it can be tough to build that special bond. That problem led one dad to create Readeo, a new site that offers a shared reading experience called BookChat. The service lets friends and family read stories together no matter how far apart they are.

Once you become a Readeo member, you get access to their library of quality books (along with their video chat system) that lets you share storytime anywhere in the world. They’ve launched with about 30 titles in their library, with more being added every day.

But please, be responsible: use Readeo when you truly need to be away; reading bedtime stories from a bar isn’t a good look.

For years, kids have delighted at the work of Mo Willems. The prolific author/illustrator, best known for Knuffle Bunny, The Pigeon (Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!) and Elephant and Piggie (There is a Bird on Your Head), has a knack for diving into kids’ minds. He’s talked about how his books are filled with the same pure emotion that kids constantly feel: joy, anger, and jealousy.

His new series is Cat the Cat, and it’s a kinder, gentler Mo Willems. The two new books (Cat the Cat, Who is That? and Let’s Say Hi to Friends Who Fly!) are clearly aimed towards the younger set.

As always, the art is great to look at, and it makes a nice introduction to the Willems universe for 2-4 year olds. Enjoy it while it lasts. Before you know it, they’ll be ready for the really funny stuff.

Gever Tulley knows how to make learning fun.

Five years ago, he founded Tinkering School, a camp where kids are encouraged to build all types of wild contraptions. Think, make, tinker reads the motto. Now, along with fellow Tinkerer and wife Julie Spiegler, he’s assembled Fifty Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do), a collection of projects and activities for junior thrillseekers.

Conceived as a collection of “‘dangerous’ things that are interesting, eye-opening, enlightening or just plain fun,” the book was rejected by at least 16 publishers, likely due to potential lawsuits. Why all the worry? With chapter titles like “Lick a 9-volt Battery,” “Break Glass,” “Make a Bomb in a Bag,” and even “Play With Fire,” it’s bound to make a few parents nervous.

Each of the 50 activities include a “how-to” guide, appropriate warnings, and some scientific factoids. There’s also a “Field Notes” section, where kids can write down their observations, and ideas on how to improve the project.

Despite all the controversy about the book, what’s overlooked is that it provides a great opportunity for families to spend quality time exploring the world together. And to blow stuff up.

Two years ago in New York City, Lenore Skenazy handed her 9-year old son a subway pass, twenty bucks, and said good-bye, leaving him to take the subway back home. Is this the heartbreaking story of a child’s abduction? Nope. Her son was fine—in fact he loved it. But when Skenazy wrote about the experience, angry parents wanted to see her locked up for child abuse, and she was dubbed “America’s Worst Mom” by the media.

Cut to 2010, and Skenazy has become the “Generalissimo” of the Free-Range Kids movement, which she calls “a common sense approach to parenting in these overprotective times.” We recently spoke with the always funny and outspoken Skenazy.

The Dad List: You talk a lot about parents needing to give kids time and space to explore.

Lenore Skenazy: In our desire to help our kids, we’re outsourcing their childhood to ourselves. “Let me help you with this, let me fix that.” And who’s the one that’s just sitting there like a blob? It’s your kid. One mom wrote me a fantastic note that summed it up: “self-confidence is not parent-assisted confidence.”

TDL: So, when did this transition happen where parents started to find the danger in everything?

LS: I would say it’s been in the past 15 to 20 years. A big factor is that there’s more media, and when the media is competing, they have to get you to pay attention. The story that keeps people glued is an abduction. “Entertainment” shows have picked up on that too, so the same stories that you see on CNN, you’ll see with a ghastly twist on “CSI” or “Law & Order” or all the other ones. They find the most compelling story they can—kidnapping—and they bring it to us day after day.

TDL: What are some first steps for raising a free-range kid?

LS: You want to always look for ways to increase kids’ independence. When they show you that they’re capable of crossing the street safely, and know to never go off with a stranger, then I certainly think a 6 or 7-year old can walk down the block and knock on a friend’s door without it being an international incident.

For older kids, try unplugging for a day so they can’t call you and tell you exactly where they are. Once, I got a call from my son asking if he could have another piece of banana bread, and I thought, “you’re 10!” In another era, he’d be a silversmith apprentice, and here he is asking if he could have another slice of homemade, healthy banana bread because he’s hungry.

I thought (laughing), this is a terrible moment for both of us, because somehow I’ve trained him that he needs to ask, and somehow, he’s listened to me! So, one way to help your kids grow up is to just not take your cell phone with you, since they’ll never leave theirs at home!

Lenore Skenazy is the author of Free-Range Kids, and speaks regularly around the country.

Do you have fond memories of sitting next to your orange Fisher-Price record player, listening to story albums like “The Rescuers” or “The Story of Star Wars” over and over? Now kids can relive the experience, thanks to a few children’s storybook collectors who’ve archived a vast amount of out-of-print records from the 1950s, 60s and 70s and made them available as free mp3s.

With hundreds of titles to choose from, there’s stories for all types: classics like “Snow White,” “The Wizard of Oz,” and “Alice in Wonderland” are covered, alongside Disney faves like “The Jungle Book” and “Bambi.” If your little ones want something a little more modern, there’s plenty of Star Wars and Superman stories too. With most stories clocking in around 15 minutes, even young ones will be able to make it to the end.

In case you’re worried that listening to stories is just a lazy form of reading, it turns out that audio books actually have a lot of benefits. They’ve been proven to help children develop their imagination, improve their concentration, and increase their vocabulary. Plus, the narrators are professional actors. They do a great job every time; you won’t hear them get tired of reading a book for the 100th time.

And sure, it can be tough to invite someone new into your routine, but your kids will still want you to read to them… just not all the time.

For new and about-to-be Dads, there’s a whole crop of books that offer monumental statements (“It’ll be the greatest adventure of your life!”) mixed in with a few funny Hey-I’m-doing-the-best-I-can stories. While the overall quality of these new guides is pretty high, there’s one piece of advice from The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Being a New Dad that stands out.

Ready? Think back to your childhood and make a “Pro” and “Con” list of things you associate with your Dad. What’s on your “Pro” list? Is it about getting some toy that you threw a fit about? Probably not. Those early-evening games of catch or hiking trips hold a lot more weight. Study those positive memories and strive to bring those into your family life.

And what if your Dad wasn’t that great of a guy? Then have a close look at the “Con” side and focus on not making the same mistakes. It’s easy to fall into the familiar patterns of our parents without even realizing it, so if you’re able to stop just one of those bad behaviors, you’ve already become a better Dad.

Don’t worry about trying to be perfect; instead, treat this as a chance to re-examine your own relationship with your Dad, and to pass along those one or two things that your kids will treasure.

It’s never too early to get kids to appreciate good design, so why not start them off with their very first alphabet book. Alphabeasties and Other Amazing Types is a wildly original take on the old “G is for Giraffe” stand-by. Illustrated and designed by Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss (of design firm Werner Design Works), the 56-page book is a charming collection of animals made entirely out of letters.

Chronicle Books’ website has more details:

“From an alligator made of aaa’s to a zebra made of zzz’s, the alphabeasties in this book are ingeniously built out of multiple typefaces. Adults and children will be engaged and delighted with the flaps, which lift to reveal “beasties” for each letter of the alphabet.”

The only problem is that it’s not always easy to spot the Alphabeasties out in the wild. Since its introduction a few months ago, the book quickly sold out of its first printing. More are coming soon, but serious book collectors might want to pick up two copies: one for your little reader, and another for the coffee table.

Two years ago, Po Bronson made a big splash with his article “How Not to Talk to Your Kids” in New York magazine. In one of those everything-you-know-is-wrong moments, Bronson argues (with the research to back it up) that parents’ never-ending praise — “Great job, Timmy!” — is actually hurtful for a number of reasons. For one, kids don’t learn to take pride in their own accomplishments, because Mommy and Daddy are always there to tell them what a terrific job they’re doing. Even worse, kids become less likely to try out new things since they’ve become afraid of even the slightest appearance of failure.

Now, Bronson has teamed with fellow author/parent Ashely Merryman to write Nurtureshock: New Thinking About Children,” and it’s filled with plenty more eye-opening revelations. Bronson and Merryman examine topics like why kids lie, sibling rivalry, the myth of racially diverse schools, and even the dramatic difference that an extra hour of sleep can make.

Nurtureshock uses a similar style as Malcolm Gladwell (The Tipping Point, Blink), sharing stories alongside research to make its’ points, but always keeping the tone light and readable. Don’t worry though, you’ll learn a lot without ever feeling like you’re back in school. Even The Onion calls it “the least touchy-feely parenting book ever.”

And hey, since you’ll be a more informed parent, maybe your kids won’t ever write a tell-all book about you.