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> not wanting to read books that parents would buy for 4-year-old kids

Similarly, children's books can be great for learning a foreign language, except that they're children's books. It's hard to find simple language books to practice with.

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Children's books are usually horrible for learning foreign language. They're full of all sorts of cutesy bullshit that's really strange. Some children's books aren't but if you read a lot of them you find they actually often contain quite bizarre language and scenarios.

They're fine if you can sample a large number at the library to find ones that currently work for you. It'd be an inefficient strategy ordering from, say, Amazon, before around the Harry Potter level.

Maybe this is why The Little Prince is the most translated book outside the Bible. It's a children's book, and it uses relatively simple language, but it has a story and theme that even adults find profound.

Not really. They're boring for adults and the language can be highly idiomatic. You're better off watching films with subtitles in your target language.

Depends on the book. My kids (4 and 6) enjoy a lot of books that are full of puns that I catch as an adult that my kids don't get at all. They get a very different story than me or my wife, but the result is we can all enjoy it - if for different reasons.

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