I have been thinking a lot about children’s books lately, and it seemed like a good time to post that list that my six year old daughter and I have been working on. The List of Most Bestest, Amazing, Wonderful Books.
But first, a disclaimer:
The Disclaimer
The books on this list are a selection of children’s picture books, that I have read with my kids, and really, really liked. We compiled this list purely by deciding which books we enjoyed reading the most. It is not meant to be a definitive guide to the best kids’ books around, just a jumble of personal favorites.
Also, we did not want the list to be too long, so we left out a few obvious books such as Goodnight Moon, Llama, llama Red Pyjama, The Cat in the Hat, and Harold and the purple crayon (and many more) because, well, everyone knows that they are great books.
Also, we found that there were many books that I loved, that the kids did not find engaging, and many books that the kids loved that were, to put it plainly, boring for me to read. The selection below are books that we all enjoyed reading. Maybe you will enjoy some of them too….
The List
Where is the Green Sheep? – Mem Fox and Judy Horacek – Has a great rhythm to it.
A Boy and his Bunny – Sean Bryan – Insanely silly fun.
The Daddy Mountain – Jules Feiffer – A perfect father’s day read. Simple with really nice illustrations.
The Tiger who came to Tea – Great illustrations of 1960’s London. A classic.
It looked like Spilt Milk – Charles G Shaw – Encourages kids to use their imagination…and cloud watch.
Dog and Bear – Two’s Company – Laura Vaccaro Seeger – Very cute short stories for tots with short attention spans.
First the Egg – Laura Vaccaro Seeger – The timeless chicken or egg question. The starter of many philosophical musings in our household.
How will we get to the Beach? – Brigitte Luciani, Eve Tharlet – Great for playing memory games.
Emily’s Balloon – Komako Sakai – Happy, simple and beautifully illustrated.
Suki’s kimono – Chieri Uegaki – Another beautifully illustrated book about being proud of your cultural identity.
Quiet Bunny – Lisa McCue – Designed to help with early speech development, fun to read together with a toddler.
Too Small for Honey Cake – Gill Lobel – Sweet therapy for jealous older siblings 🙂
The Red Hen – Rebecca and Ed Emberley – A funny take on a classic tale, with funky, bold illustrations, and a good cake recipe.
My Japan – Etsuko Watanabe – Fascinating, packed with interesting facts about Japanese culture. I loved this.
Hug – Jez Alborough – No text – great for honing story telling skills.
Wave – Suzy Lee – Same as above. The illustrations are gorgeous.
There’s a Wocket in my Pocket – Dr Seuss – The most fun to read.
Gorilla – Anthony Browne – The kids loved spotting the gorillas in each picture.
Miss Lina’s Ballerinas – Grace Maccarone – Math problems with a ballet twist.
The Little House – Virginia Lee Burton – A classic tale about time and change.
I really want to eat a Child – Sylviane Donnio – Just incredibly cute.
The Jolly Postman – Janet and Allan Ahlberg – Like opening a treasure box – only for kids older than five.
The Red Lemon – Bob Staake – Beautifully illustrated by a graphic designer, and very funny.
What are your favorite children’s books? I would love to know.
The Tiger who came to Tea – I remember that one! Lovely book
When I read it I always imagine the tiger speaking in Christopher Plummer’s voice!