Top 10 Books I like to Read to My Young Children

My kids are in grade school with the oldest in 1^st grade. Here is a list of 10 of our favorite books we currently like to read together. Many of these books my 1^st grader is able to read to me but there are a few that are a little harder or longer than she would like to mess with right now but she sure loves to listen to the stories!

BrownBear by Eric Carle is a great book for toddlers up to 1^st grade. It really helps the kids learn their colors as well as helps them learn to read. This book was introduced to my kids pre-school and was also a favorite in kindergarten. The words in the book are song rather than read and I think this helps the kids remember the words in the book. In our school, it is required that in kindergarten the children learn their colors not only learning which color is which in a crayon box but being able to identify the word for each color and spelling them as well. This book has beautiful animation that really keeps the children's eyes focused on the book.

LittleBallerina by Sue Harris was given to my girls as a birthday gift. It is one of the most adorable books that really get the kids involved in the story. The story is about a little girl in ballet class that wants to be the lead in the dance school production of The Nutcracker. Each page tells more about the story but there are extra envelopes on each page that has a cute little pull out note that goes along with the story. It's like a little hidden surprise on each page with a real surprise at the end of the book. It is really fun to read.

Chicka Chicka 1-2-3 by Bill Martin Jr, Michael Sampson and Lois Ehlert is a popular book that we like to read that has been very helpful in teaching the kids their numbers. This is a good book for kids up to 1^st grade.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault is a fun book that teaches the kids about the alphabet, which is great for toddlers to 1^st graders.

The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss is a favorite for all ages. And of course we adore Green Eggs and Ham along with all other Dr. Seuss books. The kids love the silly stories and the rhyming. By the middle of 1^st grade my oldest daughter was able to read these books by herself for the most part.

The David book series by David Shannon are some favorites of ours. The kids love the silly animation in the books and they are easy enough for a pre-school/kindergarten kid to read. No, David is our favorite but we also like David Gets in Trouble and David Goes to School.

Picky Mrs. Pickle by Christine M. Schneider is a favorite of mine to read. It's about a lady who loves everything pickly and everything green and doesn't like to try new things. I have read this book a lot to my youngest daughter because she is the most pickiest eater I have ever known. She only eats a handful of foods and won't try anything new. So I read this book because the main character is much like her.

Tell Me Another Scary Story...But Not Too Scary by Carl Reiner is a fun book to read around Halloween. I actual read this book to my kids a few months ago and was so happy that I did. In this book, a man gets hurt and a little boy ends up finding him, sees blood, calls 911 and saves him. There is a lot more to the story but I don't want to give too much away. Well not more than 2 weeks later I had an incident at home where I was bleeding so bad and couldn't stop it and had to call 911 and go to the hospital. My youngest daughter saw the whole thing and when I got home later that evening she said mommy I wasn't scared because I knew that 911 would help you like it helped the guy in that book. I was relieved that she wasn't traumatized by the incident because of the story we had read together.

The Ugly Pumpkin by Dave Horowitz is a great book to read in the fall. It's got a cute story with really nice animation.

How The Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss is such a great story we read it year round. I know I have already talked about our love for Dr. Seuss books and could probably make my whole list of just Dr. Seuss books but wanted to give more of a variety of books that are our favorites. This book however, had to have its own place on the list. It's such a fun story to read and a great Christmas show to watch. It embraces the true meaning of Christmas!