Exclusive: Josh Gad Says He Loves Bonding With His 2 Daughters Over Books and Movies: 'Fulfilling to Watch'

Josh Gad has the perfect way to bond with his two girls, Isabella Eve, 11, and Ava Tanya, 14, whom he shares with longtime wife Ida Darvish: reading and watching movies together!

"I've decided to do a summer viewing program — and a summer reading program with my girls! When it comes to certain books, I realized that my oldest daughter has never read anything by Mark Twain. I made her download The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn on the Kindle Kids. I can't wait to blow her mind. My plan is to read it with her. I also introduced them to Say Anything and Minority Report. It's so fun to watch them watch these movies that are so seminal for me. That's the best part of getting to be a dad — I get to share my own influences, some of which they love, some of which they don't. They think some are cringe, but it's always fun and exciting to look over at them and see what they are smitten with," the 44-year-old star, who is partnering with Amazon to announce the first-ever Kindle Kids Backseat Book Crew, exclusively tells Morning Honey.

So far, the Frozen star was shocked when his youngest daughter looked at him after Minority Report, "a dark, complicated film," and said, "That was one of the best movies I've ever seen!"

"I am a diehard Steven Spielberg fan, so anytime I can introduce her is awesome," he says, adding that they are also reading all of the Harry Potter books.

"They are finally at Deathly Hallows — getting to experience the shocking twists and turns of that series is really exciting. It's always exciting to not only see them read certain books that you've read years ago, but also use it as an opportunity to revisit books that you otherwise wouldn't have read," he adds. "I am not sure if other parents do this, but every time my daughters bring a book home from school, I find myself opening up the book and tearing through it again — like A Raisin in the Sun or To Kill a Mockingbird. It's this amazing opportunity to just revisit the classics."

The dad-of-two has a strict rule: he will not let his kiddos watch the Harry Potter flicks until they finish the books. "That is a mandate!" he says. "One of my biggest regrets is not reading Game of Thrones before watching the series. I always want to start with the book to see what the author's intent was. Sometimes you go back and you're like, 'Oh, they left all of this out!' To me, reading is still the greatest form of entertainment because so much of what you get out of it is left to your own imagination. In our home, we try to have them use their active imaginations."

"They are able to engage on their own terms, creating worlds, envisioning environments, bringing characters to life. When I watch my kids get lost in a book, there's nothing more thrilling and exciting than that," he gushes. "My oldest is now writing music, and the more she reads, the more she's able to use more terminology and vocabulary. She's also pulling from so many resources and expanding her knowledge and utilizing those skill sets in a creative manner like songwriting. It's enormously fulfilling to watch."

Though Gad has a tight bond with his girls, they don't always think he's cool despite being in one of the most beloved Disney movies of all time: Frozen!

"The way I am cool is who is on my contacts. So, if I get a phone call from somebody that they deem to be cool, then it's like, 'Woah!' They were stunned that Ariana Grande has anything to do with me. I don't think they respect her for it, but I think they're shocked. I think they think I'm faking it. She and I will occasionally text, and they're like, 'Why does she know you?'" he says. "They are like, 'Do you also know Taylor Swift?' I am like, 'It doesn't work like that.' Just because I know one singer, doesn't mean I know them all."

Though he plays Olaf in Frozen, Gad says that doesn't seem to gain him any more points. "I'll get stopped a lot when I'm at their school by kids in their classes being like, 'What can you tell me about Frozen 3 or Frozen 4?' When they see that, then I start to have a cool factor with them!" he quips. "But to have Josh Gad as your father, I think they're more filled with dread about how I am going to embarrass them than what I do."

Since the Hollywood star is an "avid reader" himself, his partnership with Amazon to announce the first-ever Kindle Kids Backseat Book Crew made perfect sense. Kindle Kids is launching the Backseat Book Crew to cultivate a love of reading for children during the summer while they’re traveling, near or far.

"My kids and I have different tastes in literature, although some overlap, and when this opportunity presented itself, I got to experience firsthand the Kindle Kids product, and I was absolutely blown away by it because it actually incentivized my kids to read more than they actually did. I think part of it is the novelty of having a bunch of books available at any given time. I'm sure a lot of people can relate to this: they don't want to read one book at a time; they want to bounce back and forth, especially because we do a lot of travel during the summer," he explains.

"It's also this amazing opportunity because instead of packing the usual five books for a road trip this summer — we're going to Malta and Vancouver — they can now do it all on one device," he continues. "It makes it really enticing to them. This is the kind of screen time that my wife and I can actually get behind. On average, a child who reads on a Kindle Kids reads at least an hour a day, which is unbelievable! It's an unbelievable opportunity to get the kids even more passionate about reading. I also love that there's sort of this book club that comes with Kindle Kids called Kindle Kids Backseat Book Crew. It's this really fun and enticing way to have their own book club. I love the idea that kids can be all over the place and still do this with each other. I was like, 'Where has this been my whole life?' My kids are floored by it!"