Home What are your favorite children''s books?

[Allisonfaye]

Both of my daughters (who will be 3 and 5) have birthdays coming up and we are always looking for good books. I hate spending hours at the book store hoping to find good stuff. Can anyone give me some favorites?

 

[diamondfan]

I think that Rosemary Wells is nice, and I also think Angelina Ballerina might be nice for your older daughter. I have boys so it is hard to say, but those seem good to me!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

I LOVED Amelia Bedelia when I was your older daughter''s age. That series is awesome fun for a little one. So silly and then you can go over everything she did wrong, because kids LOVE to point out what someone didn''t do right (funny trait we pick up early...).

 

[neatfreak]

Sam''s Sandwich is a really fun book, unusual too. Great for both sexes:

http://www.amazon.com/Sams-Sandwich-David-Pelham/dp/0525447512

 

[katebar]

Shirley Hughes entire Alfie series and Dogger are wonderful treasure books. Stories about kids do normal things but I find that children really relate to this and they are full of fun and humour.The Journey Home Imagine and Magic Beach by Alison Lester are beautiful as well . Again ordinary normal kids stuff but then they get transported into 5 minute adventures .There is also a fun series with titles such as Tessa Snaps Snakes (Tacori you must get this! The snakes are lolly snakes and its so cute) and When Frank Was Four and others.
Janet and Allan Ahlberg really cute books the Jolly post man have tiny little letters and things in them and are really so fanciful for kids.
Another favorite was Love You Forever by Robert Munsch its about a mother putting her baby to bed and my 17 year old still has it in her bedside draw!
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and of course Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak are perennial favorites and stories that kids just seem to connect to rather than the Disney and fairy tales.
I think Barnes and Noble or Amazon would have most of these titles too.

 

[AGSHF]

Allisonfaye,

I worked off the NYPL list of 100 picture books every person should know for ideas when my daughter was the age of yours. They are all classics, but some were as enjoyable for me to read as they were for her to listen to; here are some of my favorites among them:

Madeline, by Ludwig Bemelmans, and its related books
Caps for Sale, by Esphyr Slobodkina
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, by Bill Martin, Jr.
Click Clack Moo, Cows That Type, by Doreen Cronin
The "George and Martha" books, by James Marshall
Owen, by Kevin Henkes
Strega Nona, by Tomie de Paola, and its related books
Swimmy, by Leo Lionni, and all of his wonderfully drawn books
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf, by Jon Scieszka (a subversive genius)

And, a special recommendation for books either by Susan Stevens Crummel and her sister, Janet Stevens:

Cook-a-doodle-doo
Tumbleweed Stew
And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon
Jackalope
City Dog, Country Dog (a riff on two French dogs named "Henri" and "Vincent")
Tops and Bottoms (hysterically funny)

Even if you don't end up buying these, they are great for library visits, etc.

Thanks for the walk down memory lane!

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Books I loved when I was 5

The very hungary caterpillar - the pics are beautiful
The night before Christmas - I am not sure if the grandma moses version is still in print
The Pollar Express - Christmas is close, right????
Than I remember the Mister and Little miss series (little miss sunshine ect)

 

[dragonfly411]

the paper bag princess, No more jumping on the bed, Madeleine, Clifford books, Anything Dr. Seuss, The Girl who Loved Horses, Goodnight Moon, Little Bear, The Velveteen Rabbit, The Teddybear Picnic, Make way for Ducklings, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Where the Wild Things are, The Polar Express, Whinnie the Pooh books, Love you Forever, Before you were Born, There are so many others I can''t think of right now...

 

[Miranda]

My all time favorite is Oh, The Places You''ll Go! by Dr. Seuss. I still read it to my big boys (12 and 14). I give this book to all friends and family graduating college or HS. I gave it to a good friend for college graduation. She read it frequently during her very bitter divorce. It is a great book across the board.

My DD is 5 and some of her faves are any of the Fancy Nancy books, Barbie books, Disney Princess books, Shell Silverstein poetry, Eric Carle books, Where the Wild Things Are, any Dr. Seuss, anything cat or ballet related. Oh gosh, I could go on forever. I don''t think there is a children''s book that ISN''T my favorite.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

If you''re looking for chapter books to read to your five year old. . .Charolotte''s Web is great. Also, The Magic Treehouse Series is very exciting for young kids. . .My older son is reading them and is up to book 38! He insisted I read one, so I''m reading "Blizzard of a Blue Moon," and already read 8 chapters in 40 minutes. lol These are great series books for both boys and girls. They may be appropriate for a bit older children, but they are great books to stock up on if you can find them at used books stores. Reading one chapter a night gives your child something to look forward to the following night. Lots of suspense and creates a FUN reason to go to bed.

AGSHF recommended Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and I second that. My younger child just got his first scholastic order and was asking for that book because it''s read to him in kindergarten all the time.

 

[diamondsrock]

If you Give a Pig a Pancake, or the corresponding If you Give a Mouse a Cookie, If you Give a Moose a Muffin, are really cute and funny. The pig is the best (the pictures are so cute!)

 

[Allisonfaye]

Thanks and keep em coming! I am looking at them on Amazon.com.

 

[Lorelei]

I love some classics - Little Women, Good Wives, Jo's Boys and the Anne of Green Gables series, these might be suitable for when your girls are a little older.

 

[oobiecoo]

I LOVED golden books when I was little as well as Bernstein Bears.

I took a children''s literature class a while back and found a couple of really great books:
Squids Will Be Squids- hilarious and probably good for your 5 yr old
Millions of Cats- by Wanda Gag. Probably good for both of your children

Also anything by Steven Kellogg is really good. We read those when I was in 1st grade, and my teacher took one of my projects to a teaching conference that he was going to be at. He liked my idea and actually incorporated it into one of his books!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Have you tried the library at all? As my kids have grown older, I''ve found that we have collected too many books and now that my older son is reading $6.00 chapter books every other day, it would break the bank if we keep buying all his books, plus we''d run out of space.

Also, libraries are a good way to "test" out books. Check out a few of them and see if your kids like them, THEN buy them.

Oh, I have to add, one of my 5 year olds favorite books is called "Bad Kitty," by Nick Bruel. That was one book we had checked out and he liked it so much we bought it. He''s memorized it and "reads" it to me now.

http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Kitty-Nick-Bruel/dp/1596430699/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222287698&sr=8-1

 

[moremoremore]

OK..Bad kitty is actually a favorite book of MINE mc...LOL...I bought it for my nephew and didn''t want to give it!

AGSHF....Doreen''s books are great! She''s actually a friend of mine who I met in law school....

 

[qtiekiki]

This thread is awesome. I wasn''t living in the US until I was 11, so I don''t really know a lot of the classic children''s books. Now I has this list to go off of, instead of me just looking over books in the bookstore.

 

[AGSHF]

moremoremore,

How interesting! I do remember that Doreen Cronin started out as a lawyer. It was a great "side fact" of interest for my daughter (as I''m a "recovered lawyer" but not as cool as being able to write such a hysterically funny book).

There is a "sequel" of sorts also: Duck for President -- which is appropriate for this season.
Another one by her: Giggle, Giggle, Quack.

For anyone else looking for good picture books, the Caldecott Book Award books (medal, honor books) are all good. Those are the books the American Library Association chooses each year as the outstanding picture books and usually find their way into Elementary School classrooms.

I miss reading to my child. Who knows what wonderful new story books I''m missing now!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Date: 9/24/2008 11:02:02 AM
Author: Miranda
My all time favorite is Oh, The Places You''ll Go! by Dr. Seuss. I still read it to my big boys (12 and 14). I give this book to all friends and family graduating college or HS. I gave it to a good friend for college graduation. She read it frequently during her very bitter divorce. It is a great book across the board.

My DD is 5 and some of her faves are any of the Fancy Nancy books, Barbie books, Disney Princess books, Shell Silverstein poetry, Eric Carle books, Where the Wild Things Are, any Dr. Seuss, anything cat or ballet related. Oh gosh, I could go on forever. I don''t think there is a children''s book that ISN''T my favorite.

That book is a classic for ALL ages, Miranda. I have that book and still read it, just for a pick me up and to remember yesteryear and all that.

Great book.

And who can beat a Suess colored page???

 

[akmiss]

Olivia by Ian Falconer

then there is Olivia Saves the Circus, Olivia forms a band, Olivia helps with Christmas..............
The illustrations are great!

My father used to read The Just so Stories by Rudyard Kipling for us

And my mother would read Pippi Longstockings

Great fun

 

[monarch64]

Cicely Mary Barker--gorgeous illustrations of fairies--there are several hardcover pop-up books on the market that are just gorgeous. My mother purchased a couple for my niece, I can get the ISBN numbers for you if you''re interested in that type of thing. The books are just phenomenal, imo.

 

[monarch64]

I guess I neglected to include my personal favorites. Dragonfly''s list totally jogged my memory--Caps For Sale, Swimmy, etc. I just bought Where the Wild Things Are for my niece (before she was born, actually!)...Maurice Sendak has a few other children''s books (one is banned for nudity, I think, lol)...I love Beatrix Potter, anything by Shel Silverstein, any of the Babar books.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 9/24/2008 7:16:37 PM
Author: moremoremore
OK..Bad kitty is actually a favorite book of MINE mc...LOL...I bought it for my nephew and didn't want to give it!

I just found out that there's a new one that came out last month: "Bad Kitty Gets a Bath." Can't wait to read it

 

[Miranda]

Date: 9/25/2008 10:39:11 AM
Author: monarch64
Cicely Mary Barker--gorgeous illustrations of fairies--there are several hardcover pop-up books on the market that are just gorgeous. My mother purchased a couple for my niece, I can get the ISBN numbers for you if you''re interested in that type of thing. The books are just phenomenal, imo.

I love her! In fact, I love her so much that I decorated DD''s nursery in a Flower Fairy inspired theme. I still have a few FF pics in her big girl room because I cannot get rid of them. Her baby book is the Flower Fairy baby book. I have a bit of an obsession.

 

[OUpearlgirl]

Amelia Bedelia
Encyclopedia Brown
Miss Spiders Tea Party
Goodnight Moon
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

 

[AmberWaves]

I have to second the If you give a Mouse a Cookie (and the corresponding pig/pancake moose/muffin) books, in fact, I just bought the collection of all four of the author''s books. In the book it has all four stories, recipes for the items given to the animals, and songs and activities to do. I gave the book to my niece for her 5th birthday and she loves them.

 

[mrssalvo]

my girls are 6 and 4 and love all the Disney Princess books, Fancy Nancy books, Lily''s Purple Purse, Olivia (the pig), and the Magic Treehouse books. They also love books written by Mercer Mayer..."there''s a nightmare in my closet" is a hoot. And Eric Carle is a classic child author.

 

[monarch64]

Date: 9/25/2008 2:21:01 PM
Author: Miranda

Date: 9/25/2008 10:39:11 AM
Author: monarch64
Cicely Mary Barker--gorgeous illustrations of fairies--there are several hardcover pop-up books on the market that are just gorgeous. My mother purchased a couple for my niece, I can get the ISBN numbers for you if you''re interested in that type of thing. The books are just phenomenal, imo.

I love her! In fact, I love her so much that I decorated DD''s nursery in a Flower Fairy inspired theme. I still have a few FF pics in her big girl room because I cannot get rid of them. Her baby book is the Flower Fairy baby book. I have a bit of an obsession.

Wow, I would love to see pics of your DD''s nursery if you have any...I bet it was spectacularly beautiful. My mom is totally obsessed with the fairy theme for my niece, too. My SIL is not into having "girly stuff" for the baby at all, so mom has taken it upon herself to see that this child is in touch with her feminine side, ha ha.

 

[AmberWaves]

Another great book (or series, can''t really remember the author) is Bread and Jam for Frances. I used to baby sit 16 years ago, and the little girl just LOVED that book, and the other ones around Frances.

 

[Elmorton]

I took a children''s lit class in college and my favorite finds were

Olivia (and any in the series- my goddaughter is 4 and LOVES these)
and
Knuffle Bunny (I just got my goddaughter the second one, where Knuffle Bunny gets lost at school) - that''s by Mo Willems and I love all of his stuff - it''s a mixture of photo/cartoon drawing

I love The Old Turtle and The Next Place I Go for more spiritual books, both are beautifully illustrated

Kitten''s First Moon (I think that''s the title?) won a caldecott a couple years ago - pretty good, great pics for a b&w book - it''s another that I remember from Children''s Lit

Tuesday and anything by that same author - awesome, awesome illustrations

DH loved The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and all the others by that author

A girlfriend of mine teaches kindergarten and loves The Great Kapok Tree

Hmmm...I wish I could remember more! Will add if I think of anything