Favorite Children's Books
Our Family's Top 12 Children's Books
Every parent should read children's books to their kids. They say that just fifteen minutes of reading to your child each day can help them build up their reading skills. Here's a list of our children's favorite books - books that are destined to become classics if they aren't already. These books are appropriate for babies through preschool.
- Goodnight, Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown - This classic children's book is a wonderful way to bid "goodnight" to your day. The sweet story will help your child to wind down so that by the time the "quiet old lady" whispers "goodnight," your child will be nearly asleep. Your child will be reassured by the way the story predictably says "goodnight" to each item in the room. By the time our son could talk, he was able to "read" the book with us.
- Guess How Much I Love You, by Sam McBratney- I knew even before we read this book that we would love it! The pictures are adorable, the story is sweet and you and your child will enjoy seeing just how much the daddy rabbit loves his son.
- Goodnight, Gorilla, by Peggy Rathmann - Our son used to say "goo'-night" to each animal and would be yawning by the end of the book. I love the sneaky little gorilla and watching the mouse and his antics with the balloon and banana. There aren't many words, but the pictures have so many details that you could spend as much time studying the pictures with your little one as you might spend reading a more wordy book.
- I Love You Through and Through, by Bernadette Rossetti Shustak - As you can tell by the title, this is sweet book that will assure your child that you love her no matter what - silent, talking, running or walking. The illustrations are bright and colorful and you and your little one will enjoy watching the little bear as he reflects the little boy's mood in each picture. My son still pulls this one off the shelf for us to read.
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, by Eric Carle - No "favorite book" list would be complete without at least one book by Eric Carle. We love all his books - but for a younger child, this is definitely a favorite. The rhythm of the words are soothing and have that predictable quality that little ones love. This book can help your child learn his colors as he enjoys Eric Carle's unique illustrations.
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle - Who can forget the story of the very hungry caterpillar? This silly story of one caterpillar's journey to becoming a butterfly is a great introduction into the world of Eric Carle. Many of his stories (such as The Grouchy Ladybug) are a bit long for younger children, but The Very Hungry Caterpillar is just the right length to hold your child's attention. As a bonus, your little one will learn some counting skills and learn that junk food can give you a tummy ache.
- Curious George, by H.A. Rey - Every child loves Curious George. The original children's book by Margaret and H.A. Rey should be on every kid's shelf. They are a bit lengthy - especially for young children, but we always read a few pages at a time and our kids love the silly little monkey. There are newer adventures of Curious George, too, and while they don't have the same "classic" feel as the original books, they are just as entertaining - and quite a bit shorter.
- Where's Spot?, by Eric Hill - Who doesn't love "lift the flap" books? The simple illustrations and story lines in the "Spot" series are appealing to little ones. My son has always loved Spot and his various adventures and I'm sure your child will too.
- Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss - Dr. Seuss is another one of those authors who's written so many great children's books that it's impossible to pick just one. His wacky illustrations and fun rhymes make all his books fun to read for all ages. We like this one the best, though - not only is it fun to read, but it teaches your child that she won't know if she doesn't like a food until she tries it. Whenever our son doesn't want to try something, we remind him of Sam and how he didn't like the green eggs and ham until he tried them.
- Are You My Mother?, by P.D. Eastman - We have the board book version as well as the full version of this book. The board version is a shortened version and is easy for younger children to pay attention to. This sweet tale of a baby bird who falls from his nest and then goes looking for his mother is sure to capture the attention of your children.
- Corduroy, by Don Freeman - This children's book is already a classic. Who doesn't love the little bear who is missing a button and the sweet girl who loves him despite his flaw? She gives him a home and reminds children that home is where your loved ones are.
- 10 Minutes Till Bedtime, by Peggy Rathman - I can't tell you how many times we've read this book with our son. Just like Goodnight, Gorilla, this children's book doesn't have many words, but the pictures have so many fun details that you could literally spend an hour looking at it with your child and still not see everything. You can even see the animals from the zoo (in Goodnight, Gorilla) walking through the zookeeper's yard in the background and the mouse's balloon floating away. My son's favorite task each night was to find the soccer ball - it appears on each page. Have your child find each of the numbered hamsters as the boy's dad counts down the minutes until bedtime.
Published by Kathy Carr
I've been happily married for eight years. I'm the mother of a sweet boy and twin daughters. View profile
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7 Comments
Post a CommentWOnderful list and so many that are well loved favorites in our house!
Great list! We adore Goodnight Gorilla. There's a recent spoof on Good Night Moon called Good Night Goon that my kids enjoyed too. Great topic!
I read many of these as a child and loved them. Still do. Another, not to be forgotten is "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" First and classic among the series.
Great list.
We read Green Eggs and Ham twice a day for 8 months. I am Sam. Sam I am:) Geat list!
fantastic list and I am just now getting ready to start a pre-school reading class at my daughters day-school.
This is a wonderful list of children's books. I remember reading "Are You My Mother?" to my own grown children and happy to see it included in this list.