(s)
Husband and I enjoy a good book or 117. I am constantly trying to pare down our book collection so that it will fit into the 4 bookshelves we have, rather than buying more and more real estate in which to park our beloved volumes (did that sentence even make sense? All you grammar queens have got me freaking out these days…).
That said, Anja has a fairly small library thus far. I get sick of reading her the same books over and over. Do any of you have suggestions for good children’s books*? Seriously, give me 20 titles. I’ll check them all out! Some things I look for/particularly like:
- Beautiful illustrations (this is the initial draw…the inside has to have a little content)
- Decent storylines or interesting characters
- If it’s a Christian book, sound theology (none of this “Jesus loves everyone, we’re all going to Heaven–yay!” stuff)
or
- Complete and utter silliness (sometimes these books are just great for sparking the imagination), accompanied by one or more of the above
Authors I love: Jan Brett, Arnold Lobel, Roald Dahl, Brian Jacques, Joan Aiken…many more…
I also love Quentin Blake as an illustrator, if you couldn’t tell from the above list.
Suggestions, please!!
*”Hilary’s legs are being digested!”
Minnesota Mom 
a good children’s book we received as a birthday present I would have to recommend is called Archy the Flying Dolphin.
My son loves this book. It’s like his blanky. He takes it everywhere.
And honestly, it’s one of those books that you don’t mind reading over and over! Trust me I have to do it on a nightly basis!
My favorite book to read to my girls is “Turtle Time” by Sandol Stoddard. http://www.amazon.com/Turtle-Time-Sandol-Stoddard/dp/0395851572
My all time favorite is “A Mama for Owen.” The illustrations are beautiful, and it’s a true story. I also am absolutely in love with “Aliens Love Underpants.” My boy’s collection is currently housed on his dresser, which is 6′ long. It’s ready to spill off any moment. HOpefully the hubby can get to creating the new bookshelf soon! I get my Discover cash back bonus award in Borders gift cards. We’re also enrolled in the Imagination Library, and love our free books, but they’re not always my favorites. I’ll have to look through our collection and see what others I’d recommend.
Funny:
Alice the Fairy, David Shannon
No, David!, David Shannon
Duck on a Bike, David Shannon (pattern? what pattern?)
Knuffle Bunny, Mo Willems (my 15-month-old will make me read this to her at least three times straight every time we get it out)
Pretty:
Little Bunny on the Move, Peter McCarty (Hondo & Fabian, by same, is really cute too–his illustrations are really soft and ethereal)
Cute:
Nap in a Lap, Sarah Wilson
I will have to think on this and come back. I used to have a whole blog devoted to children’s books, so you’d think that I’d have tons of titles on the tip of my brain, but I don’t. Then again, I haven’t finished drinking my morning tea, yet, so…
My four kids (and I) have all loved Sandra Boynton. She has a great line of board books that will withstand drooling, teething, and general baby abuse. Her books rhyme, but not in an annoying way. They have a rhythm that is irresistable; my older kids still gather ’round when we’re reading them. It’s not “beautiful art,” but the two-and-under crowd love her drawings.
In the non-board-book sector, all my kids (2, 4, 6, and 10) love Laura Numeroff’s series (If You Give a Pig a Pancake, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, etc.). Harvey Potter’s Balloon Farm by Jerdine Nolen has great imagery. A Christian book with beautiful art is The Creation Story by Norman Messenger.
You must, must, must get some of Max Lucado’s children’s books. His Hermie series has gorgeous illustrations and great messages, and his other books appeal to older children and have wonderful stories.
Hope that helps!
For when she’s ready to learn her ABCs, a must-have is “Chicka-Chicka Boom-Boom.” It was my favorite when I was little and is so much fun to read to my niece and nephew (they LOVE it!).
Wow! Thanks for the suggestions, peeps. I have some web-searching to do (and maybe I can squeeze in a trip to B & N!). Keep ’em coming! Anja will thank you someday!
Oh, SO pleased to meet another Roald Dahl fan. Nobody else comes close.
Favorites for the very small:
The Little Fur Family
Goodnight Gorilla
Owl Babies
Favorites for the slightly larger:
Everything I know about Pirates
anything by Bill Peet
anything by Richard Scarry
Harold and the Purple Crayon
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
Parts by Tedd Arnold
the Little Bear series by Else Holmelund Minarik
Have fun reading!
My kids and I have always loved all the Eric Carle books. I didn’t realize how many he’s written/illustrated until we checked out the library. They’re just beautiful!!
~Brea
Dropped by via Jenni at One Thing… you always leave such nice comments there.
Around here we very much like Mary Anne Hoberman’s Seven Silly Eaters. She has several good ones but this is the favorite. We also like “The Color Kittens” by Margaret Wise Brown of “Goodnight Moon” fame and Hush, Little Alien by Daniel Kirk.
A super-easy way to pick books that are entertaining to look at and read is to buy books that are Caldecott winners, especially the older ones. Books like “Blueberries for Sal,” and “Make Way for Ducklings” are timeless classics that all of my students enjoyed reading and listening to. If you have a Books-A-Million in your area, they have the Caldecott books in their own section. You can also just use Google for the list. Robert Munsch writes excellent books, and the Little Critter books by Mercer Mayer were favorites of mine when I was a child.
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