Motherhood Mondays: 10 favorite bedtime stories
Let's talk about books! This past year, Toby and I read tons of bedtime stories, and he gravitated toward a handful of special favorites. (He's very opinionated!) Here are ten books we've love reading most...
1. Mama, Is It Summer Yet? (Beautiful.)
2. Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! (Hilarious.)
3. Goodnight Moon (Classic.)
4. Catch That Baby! (Realistic!)
5. Pat the Bunny (Fun.)
6. Brown Bear Brown Bear (Graphic.)
7. The Runaway Bunny (Tender.)
8. The Monster at the End of This Book (Suspenseful.)
9. Olivia Saves the Circus (Cheeky.)
10. Good Night, Gorilla (Soporific.)
Which children's books would you recommend? Did you have any favorites as a child? I'd love to hear. xoxo (Children's books make great baby-shower gifts, too, especially when wrapped with baby pajamas.)
P.S. There's always this book...
P.P.S. Your book recommendations when Toby was bald and teeny.
(Photo of Toby at library storytime)
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270 comments:
1 – 200 of 270 Newer› Newest»That is the most precious photo!!!!!
my 15 month olds favorite book these days is Oh David, by David Shannon. She will somehow get everyone in the family to read it to her before bed.
These are some of our favorites to read as well, but my all-time favorite has to be Bark, George!
So sweet! My niece loves Brown Bear, Brown Bear too...it's my go-to gift for new mamas :)
thanks, melissa! and paula, bark, george looks so cute :)
The Forgetful Bears, Bedtime for Frances (and all the other Frances books), and Swimmy are some of my faves!
Good ones! My just-turned-two-year-old twins have to have these three books in the rotation every night--Green Eggs and Ham, Chugga-Chugga-Choo-Choo, and Night Night Little Pookie. They say many of the words right along with us, and I adore the end of Night Night Little Pookie (as do they--they wait for their kisses and the good night rhyme sway). It's always our grand finale. Love bedtime story routines!
Strangely enough, a lot of my beloved children's stories I have only become acquainted with as an adult (the result of baby-sitting friends' children and working in a bookstore).
Favourites include: the Skippyjon Jones series (these are a great read aloud), 'Quick as a Cricket' by Don and Audrey Wood, anything by Kevin Henkes, and I am completely enamoured with Sandra Boynton's illustrations and snappy verbage.
P.S. Toby's sweater is rockin'!
Joanna, have you checked out "Knuffle Bunny" by Mo Willems? My 1 year old loves that book. It's fun to read, too.
In addition to Brown Bear, there are a bunch of other sequels. My daughter loved "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" when she was younger.
Sandra Boynton books are also a great gift. "Moo, Bah, La-la-la" is a classic. I highly recommend it.
Every night we read Peepo! to the point that we all knew it off by heart and could recite it on car journeys. Another Ahlberg classic is Each Peach Pear Plum. Daughter is now almost 8 and rather miss reading them.
I don't know why but I loved the Stinky Cheese Man book. But my favorite books now to give as gifts (I also have copies of my own for my future little ones ;)are You are my I love you & Fancy Nancy books.
I can't wait to be an aunt, just so I can introduce my nieces and nephews to the relentless beauty of books! =) Thanks for the starter suggestions!
One of the first books I bought my nephew was Owl Babies. He loved it so much that at even barely 4-6 months old, he'd smile when he saw the cover, and when you propped him on your lap to read, he'd look up at you and make sure you were reading and enjoying it too.
my older daughter never had a favorite toy, only books!
at that age we especially liked:
My Friends by Taro Gomi
Ten Minutes til Bedtime also by Peggy Rathmann
All of Leo Lionni books- great stories with good messages, beautiful illustrations- my son loves them, and they can be read over and over without making you want to go insane. Swimmy, inch by inch, An Extrordinary Egg, Matthew's Dream, Frederick...I loved them growing up, and so does my little man!
Iggy Peck Architect by Andrea Beaty (such an artistic book!) and Press Here by Herve Tullet (such a novel idea!)
You should also check out 'I Love You Through and Through' if you haven't already. :)
Love this!
A few of these are our favorites, so I'm looking forward to discovering new ones from your list!
Thanks bunches.
The Monster at the End of this Book was my FAVORITE childhood book. I've given it as a gift to each of my friends babies :) He has great taste ;)
i always loved pooh bear, dr. seuss, the bernstein bears, and if you give a moose a muffin! (the moose one is hilarious and theres different variations of it, one with a mouse :)
I LOVE Astrid Lindgren's books and my all time favourite is The Six Bullerby Children. My mum used to read it to us three ( me my sister and my brother) as a bedtime story over and over again and then I used to read it every Christmas by myself. It's such a happy book! Although it's more of a children's book than a baby one:)
i grew up reading robert munsch books as a kid and can't wait to read them to my new niece!
some favourites include:
the paperbag princess
mrumel murmel murmel
and
mortimer (a story about a little boy who doesn't want to go to sleep!)
some other great books with great illustrations:
the balloon tree (my all time fave!)
&
jillian jiggs
by author/illustrator phoebe gilman
Toby has great taste... I loved some of these books when I was little!
I absolutely LOVED The Monster at the End of This Book ! I think I still have some of it memorized. My father did a nice job of adding a special touch with a Grover voice. :)
These were my favourite books as a child (growing up in Switzerland):
http://www.amazon.com/Rainbow-Fish-Marcus-Pfister/dp/1558580093
http://www.amazon.com/Mother-Earth-Her-Children-Quilted/dp/1933308184/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314639078&sr=1-7
http://www.amazon.com/Pitschi-Hans-Fischer/dp/0735822786/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314639272&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Bell-Ursli-Story-Engadine-Switzerland/dp/0863156142/ref=pd_sim_b_1
smiles,
Franziska
Great book selection! And cute photo. My son is so picky when it comes to story time too.
www.suite4e.com
No Dr. Suess?? Haha, Dr. Suess was my favorite when i was little, we hada little bookshelf that was my-sized and it was packed with Dr. Suess books...I loved all of them...
I also really liked Shel Silverstien.
Two other standouts were "The Old Man and the Afternoon Cat"--there was a little song in the beginning about how grumpy the old man was (complete with a little staff with notes) and my dad would sing it to me every time (later he told me he made it up because he didn't know how to sight-read).
The last one is called George's Store.
My youngest is now 14 - how time flies, but our children's favorite stories were
The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton
There's a Wocket in my Pocket by Dr. Seuss
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
Yertle the Turtle also by Dr. Seuss
I can probably still recite most of story from memory even after all of these years.
This is fabulous! I love hearing your favorites and other people's as well. Very early on P loved "Shark Mad Stanley". I think it was the illustrations that drew her in. And "Not a Box"by Antoinette Portis. Not a Box continues to be one of her faves and she's almost 4.
These are all fabulous books! Have you seen the Pat the Bunny app for the iPad? It's amazing--you can even record your own voice reading the book and each page is interactive. Really worth checking out!
Actually, this reminded me that when I first brought P home from the hospital I didn't know what to do with her. You know cause they can't do much so I started reading to her as if she was a toddler. I didn't know what else a mother was suppose to do!...besides feed and change.
Our favorites are some of the classics: Where the Wild Things Are (and pretty much anything by Maurice Sendak), Harold and the Purple Crayon, and Dr. Seuss. Mr. Brown Can Moo was a special favorite when my little guy was younger.
Corduroy! It was my fav as a child :)
I used to love The Monster at the End of This Book when I was little. The Pokey Little Puppy was also at the top of my favorites list.
We own every single one of those books and love them too! We're starting to outgrow some of the simpler one and moving to slightly longer story books - Wheedle on the Needle (we live in Seattle), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Iggy Peck Architect, and Good Night Seattle (I think they make others for different cities)
Great list, Joanna.
Bear Snores On is a new one we discovered and it is lots of fun.
On the Night You Were Born seemed overwrought at first, but now I can't read it without tearing up!
Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell, my son and daughter both loved it, because it turns into a sing song story you can both join in, once they get to know it. I still know all the words now and they are 14 and 11!
I just discovered Snow by Cynthia Rylant this past week after spending time with my little cousins. Let me tell you, I loved this book so much, it got me excited for snow... and it's only August! Cynthia's beautiful descriptions about the types of first snow captured my memories for excitement for snow so well, and the illustrations are gorgeous. Definitely a favorite.
http://www.amazon.com/Snow-Cynthia-Rylant/dp/0152053034
Toby seems to be intently listening to the story. I highly recommend The Saggy, Baggy Elephant or any of the classic Golden Book stories, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel or any books by Virginia Lee Burton (because I have yet to meet a little boy who didn't like digging!), Winnie the Pooh, Paddington Bear, the Noddy books (your English relatives will know him!)Olive, the Other Reindeer, anything by Lane Smith, and Harry the Dirty Dog, and Lyle the Crocodile. The list goes on and on!
krisel, that is so cute!!!
jill, i LOVED cloudy with a chance of meatballs when i was grrwing up. also, the berenstain bears and amelia bedelia.
Hlazare, that is awesome!!!!!!!
Love your blog, Joanna!
When my sister and I were little we loved a book called The Philharmonic Gets Dressed, all about the various members of an orchestra getting ready for a big concert. It's fun with lovely illustrations and perfect for a little man in the city (maybe when he's a little older).
http://www.amazon.com/Philharmonic-Dressed-Reading-Rainbow-Books/dp/006443124X#reader_006443124X
I've been reading the Madeline (little French school girl) series to my little one. They were my favorites growing up, and it's very surreal to read them to her. :]
Make Way for Ducklings, One Morning in Maine, or anything else by Robert McCloskey. The illustrations alone make these books wonderful! They are my favorites, along with The Runaway Bunny and Good Night Moon of course ...I've read those ones aloud to little ones countless times. :)
Miss Rumphius. My son received it as a gift with a seed packet and gardening gloves. Adorable.
We love Pajama Time, by Sandra Boynton. It's so fun and reads aloud beautifully.
My all-time favorite book growing up was "10 Bears in My Bed: A Goodnight Countdown", by Stanley Mack. My niece and nephew both loved it too.
Snuggle Puppy: a little love song by Sandra Boynton
Love it! We don't really look at the book anymore but we sing the song every day.
Also, Higher! Higher! by Leslie Patricelli - my two year old loves to swing, so she loves this book about swinging. Plus, it's so simple (only three words - Higher, Hi and Bye), so she tells me the story now.
Wow, I was just looking at the bookshelf of kids books I used to read as a kid! I have SO MANY favorites, but I'll try to narrow it down, as all 75 or so on the shelf are amazing.
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
Those Summers by Aliki
The Night I Followed My Dog by Nina Laden
Toot & Puddle by Holly Hobbie
A Chair For My Mother by Vera B. Williams
The Bookshop Dog by Cynthia Rylant
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
Grandfather Twilight by Barbra Berger
A Chair For My Mother by Harriet Ziefert/Anita Lobel
When I Was Young In The Mountains by Cynthia Rylant
Now I Will Never Leave The Dinner Table by Roz Chast
Roxaboxen by Barbara Cooney
Edwina the Emy by Sheena Knowles/Rod Clement
Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban
Strega Nona by Tomie DePaola
Farmer Duck by Marin Waddell
The Philharmonic Gets Dressed by Karla Kuskin
The Gardener/The Library by Sarah Stewart
any of the Katie Morag Stories by Mairi Hedderwick
any of the Garth Pig books by Mary Raynor
Yikes, that's a lot, and I probably left out some, but these are the best of the best. Enjoy reading with Toby, Joanna!
P.S. You inspired me to do a post of my own about the best kids books!
I always loved Mama, Do You Love Me? growing up. I wanted to be a little eskimo.
Slide Already! By Kit Allen. As a teeny 1 year old, my niece would jump up & down and get so excited whenever it was time to read it!
http://www.amazon.com/Slide-Already-Kit-Allen/dp/0618496432
Ooh, we love a lot of those books too. The pigeon ones are some of my favourites. My sister is a preschool/kindergarten teacher, so she keeps me up to date on the latest, greatest children's books! My son absolutely loves Jeremy Tankard's books (Grumpy Bird, Boo-hoo Bird, Me Hungry) and some Lisa Patricelli's books (Yummy Yucky, Potty, The Birthday Box) as well as Eric Carle's. He really seems to like multiple books by the same authors.
I love "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie."
Classic.
Love this post! My little guy will be three this December, but right now his favorite book is Pickle Things by Marc Brown (this one has such great rhythm that he can almost recite the whole thing by himself!), and one of my all-time favorites as a kid and now as a mother is I Love You Forever by Robert Munsch & Shelia McGraw.
Great post - I'm going to a baby shower where the hostess requested baby books as gifts! I loved "The Very Bad Bunny" when I was a kid, so I'm bringing that but there are some great suggestions here too. Also: Santa Mouse. I read it all year long :)
I have the old Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme books from when i was a child and they are awesome to read to a little one. Thank the heavens my mother saved them all for me!
Oh! And have you seen this article in the NY Times about books for kids who want pets and parents who don't? Pretty great: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/06/books/review/childrens-books-picture-books-for-children-who-want-pets-and-parents-who-dont.html
that picture of toby is precious!!
My baby (10months old)looves any of the pocket sized Dr.Suess hard cover (all the more to chew on) books.
She also loves The very hungry catepillar by Eric Carle. (a fav of mine as a kid)
She also loves the "I love Sounds/I love words/I love number" series, because tehy have little flap open pictures..
I cannot wait to share with her my all time favorite book, Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs.
Knuffle Bunny! I love reading the series to my nephew. Set in the city and a fun mix of photographs and illustrations (and it makes me chuckle on top of entertaining him!)
http://www.amazon.com/Knuffle-Bunny-Cautionary-Mo-Willems/dp/0786818700
anything by arnold lobel. have you read?
Some favs of ours are...
Owl Babies
Peter Rabbit Board Book
The Mitten
Sheep in a Jeep
- Sarah
http://agirlintransit.blogspot.com/
I'll See You in the Morning and If I Built a Car are two of our favorites around here. The first is the sweetest bedtime book ever and the second is such a great read aloud.
I also love books as shower gifts. I like to have them beautifully inscribed by a calligrapher as a special keepsake. Some recent examples that I've commissioned for wedding gifts:
http://jilldehaanartwork.blogspot.com/2011/07/fun-gift-calligraphed-book-cover.html
Check it out...so pretty.
Sam is voracious when it comes to books, particularly books about trucks (his big passion in life). My favorites from the "truck" genre would have to be "This Truck" by Paul Collicutt (I like the illustrations) and "Clang Clang, Beep Beep, Listen to the City" by Robert Burleigh (one of the few books about trucks which actually calm him down at bedtime!)
He also really enjoyed a well-loved Paddington pop-up book (that was mine when I was three), until it finally came apart completely and I had to take it out of circulation.
That is quite possibly the most adorable photo of Toby! What a little man in that striped sweater!
For a long time, Baguette wouldn't let us read to her at all--she would snatch the books away and flip through them on her own, chattering about what was on the page.
Suddenly, she began to insist that we read to her. She settled on four books that we must read over and over and over:
1) Mommy's Best Kisses (but she stops and flips back to the beginning before reaching the page with the sleepy zebra, because She Cannot Be Fooled Into Sleeping)
2) Goodnight, Moon (apparently no one sleeps in this book)
3) Barnyard Dance (we read this like the world's most energetic square dance caller during the day, and like a sleepy zebra in the evening)
4) One, Two, Three (the least of the four, as far as she's concerned, but gaining ground lately)
We're bringing some other books into the mix, because we've memorized these four. But at the moment, they remain her go-to books.
Hannah the Hippo's No Mud Day by Iris Hiskey.
I always looked for that when I went to the library.
What are your thoughts on board books vs. hardcover as gifts? Thank you :)
Joanna, I love this list! I'm a new aunt, and for my sister-in-law's shower they asked for books in lieu of cards. I spent forever in the children's section of the book store trying to pick just the right one, so I bought three. I couldn't stop myself.
I chose two of my favorites from when I was little- both by Tomie dePaola:
Strega Nona
The Legend of Old Befana
And one for my husband to send, since it's his little sister- it's about a little pea who has to eat candy for dinner, and he hates it.
Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
My favourite book when I was tiny was "Splish Splashy Day". It was a Sesame Street book. This reminded me that I ought to buy another copy, since mine is long-gone-- and its only $0.01 on Amazon + shipping. :)
To this day, when it rains I say things that my mom said to me (while reading the book), "Splish Splashy Day.. let's go out and play! Rainy days are full of fun, but Kelsey Monster likes the sun."
http://www.amazon.com/Splish-Splashy-Day-Pictureback-Liza-Alexander/dp/0375804374
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Love all the books!
We're big fans of "I Am A Bunny." The story is simple and sweet, while the illustrations are gorgeous!
My favorite Children's Book is Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day!
http://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Terrible-Horrible-Good-Very/dp/0689711735
The funniest children's book I've ever read is Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. Hysterical for kids and adults.
My favourite as a child was The Tiger who Came to Tea. I remember looking for tiger food in the supermarket afterwards.
i really liked the giving tree and my muppet baby books... in particular miss piggy gets a love note (i blame my romantic hopes on that book!) for older children i love roald dahl books. xoxo jillian:: cornflake dreams
My favorite - The wind and the willows. Classic chapter book.
'the night I followed the dog' - adorable. Toby will like by 3. My son loves it. Hope its still in print :) It was my brothers who is 15!
Oh and now that I have Eleanor, I love the Fancy Nancy books. Never read them until they were bought for her. We ALL love them.
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr is an absolute favorite! Also, any book by Sandra Boynton is fantastic for little ones.
I work in a library and I'm always reading books to kids... Such fulfilling work! Your storytime photo just warms my heart!
Thank you!
Hi Joanna
My children (and I) really loved (and still love) Pettson and Findus, by swedish author Sven Nordqvist.
//Anna
My son loves the How do Dinosaurs ... books by Jane Yolen and Marke Teague. His favorites are "How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?" and "How do Dinosaurs Say I love You?"
Hamilton Duck series
I always loved "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch. It makes me tear up every time I think about it.
The Angelina Ballerina series was great too.
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod is beautiful, as is Nora's Stars by Satomi Ichikawa.
And The Napping House.
...what a walk down memory lane!
I absolutely LOVE that library storytime photo of Toby! So cute. I was also excited to see we share a favorite book. My childhood favorite was The Monster at the end of this Book!
For when he's older, I highly recommend Little Blue Truck. It's one of my son's absolute favorites!
Love Grandfather Twilight the best!
I absolutely love FERDINAND by Munro Leaf. An all-time classic. Paperbag Princess by Robert Munsch has a great ending (girl power!). SO many good ones. Dandelion by Don Freeman is great too, although I think it might not be in print any more.
Read on Toby!
I'm sure lots of people said this already, but anything by Sandra Boynton! My boys loved her books and they are some of the very few I've saved from their baby years.
Mama do You Love Me and Eloise!
Lost and Found, The Tiger Who Came to Tea, and Wave (this one has incredible illustrations by Lucy Lee).
Best regards from Barcelona, Spain,
Marta
http://www.abilingualbb.blogspot.com/
I loved, and now my daughter loves, Shirley Hughes books, you simply must check the collection out (Dogger is my favourite, and shirley hughes is from my home town!) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shirley-Hughes-Collection/dp/0370326822
Also Julia Donaldson is ALWAYS a hit
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Room-Broom-Julia-Donaldson/dp/0333903382/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314644941&sr=1-3
Great book ideas:) My boys like Dinosaurs Wear Underpants and Baby Brains Superstar--our two faves!
I absolutely love children's books! I'm so lucky to be a (future) teacher, so I can be surrounded by children's books 24/7. One of my favorites is Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran. You must check it out :)
My son LOVES good night gorilla. Loves it. We love pretty much any sandra boyton book. They are short and funny and witty. We went through a 'Go, Dog, Go!' phase that was long and ended with mom and dad having the entire book memorized! (which it is like 58 pg or something ridiculous)
He also loves ANY book involving a train, no matter how simple or complex.
Good choices, Toby!
Have you red any Dallas Clayton books? I bought my niece an Awesome Book, she loves the funky illustrations.
He looks like a very attentive little man! Curious George was always a go to for my siblings and I
www.indramaticfashion.com
I loooved the 'My Father's Dragon' series by Ruth Stiles Gannett and of course anything by Roald Dahl. My fav being James & the Giant Peach. For x-mas I also love "The Christmas That Almost Wasn't" by Ogden Nash. It is quite the challenge to read it aloud!
Here's a good one for you
'Tiki Tiki Tembo'
SOOO funny and classic.
Also yay for Monster's book being on this list. Looove that one.
I'm a children's librarian so I get to preveiw lots of great children's books for my niece (and future babies). My favorite of the moment is The Cow Loves Cookies by Karma Wilson. Great rhyming and silly/cute punchline.
The boys I babysat for 5 years LOVED the books "If You a Mouse a Cookie", "If You Give a Moose a Muffin" and "If You Give a Pig a Pancake." They're predictable, but they're funny.
We'd play a game with one another about what would happen if we gave each other the thing we wanted. Example: "If you gave Jonathan a french fry..."
It's for older kids, but still so fun!
That photo is so sweet! I used to love the books about Carl the rottweiler, who took the baby on adventures whenever the mother left them alone for a second.
the Velveteen rabbit was my favorite. I always wept when he was on the woodpile thinking of the Skin Horse and thinking all was lost - I have a beautifully illustrated version that I picked up almost 10 years ago. I am saving it to give to a special child one day.
Another favorite when I was a child was called "The Magic Carousel" and I think it was from the 1970s? It was about two little sisters whose horses hopped off the carousel in Central Park at christmastime and took them for a tour of NYC, basically - they touch the star atop the Rockefeller tree, etc. It's very cute. My parents let me take it when I left for college and I still have it. =)
And I always loved Runaway Bunny and Blueberries for Sal.
We loved both of these series.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1582461082/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/182-0596872-5018633
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0977797937/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/182-0596872-5018633
The Robert Lewis Stevenson Book of Children's Garden Verses illustrated by Gyo Fukiyama is a favorite in our house.
I always liked Dr. Seuss... Classic.
oh, and Jo, DO look up "Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons." It's adorable! Kind of a vocabulary book, designed to teach kids about values and virtues, but through cookies - it's terribly clever! Example? "Trustworthy" means you can ask someone to hold your cookie and it will still be there when you get back. =)
that's so funny, Gus loves most of those books too. he also loves his Maisy books that have flaps, and his colors book.
"Blueberries for Sal" was one of my favorites growing up. It's an adorable story set in a little town in Maine.
My #1 favourite wore-out-two-copies book was Lucy and Tom's ABC by Shirley Hughes (it's British). When we took my daughter Lucy (yep) home this summer, she latched on to that book the way only toddlers can and now we read it for bedtime every night. It's a really great ABC book for little ones and I'm not sick of it yet!
We got our almost 1 year old daughter the 'Gruffalo' book few weeks ago. It has different sound buttons to press along with the story. Emma loves it so much!
Mine kids are really into "NO DAVID!" and all books by David Shannon.
I highly suggest "I Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch. Its a beautiful book
http://www.amazon.com/Love-You-Forever-Robert-Munsch/dp/0920668372
I teach 4-7 year old and I have a list of so many good books, but some of the children's favourite are The Gruffalo (I did a whole 7 week topic using the book as a starting point and we built a forest in our classroom), Funny Bones, Where the Wild Things Are, The Tiger Who Came to Tea and Owl Babies.
my favourite kids book is called "it's a book"! it is the most adorable story! check it out here if you want to see it! love your blog.
http://theruffledlace.blogspot.com/2011/03/its-book.html
My and my son's new fav is A Sick Day for Amos McGee. Awesome illustrations and a sweet story. Other favs of my 20-mth-old guy are Llama Llama Red Pajama, and a book called I Love You More about a mama and her son that flips to become two stories in one.
Three words: Bear Snores On.
In heavy rotation at our house for my two-almost-three year old. The Truck Goes Rataly Bumpa, That's How, and One Morning in Maine. He also likes me to read the train paragraphs in On The Shores of Silver Lake. My child, he is obsessed with trains.
Most read books in our household include: the Thomas the Tank Engine Chapter Books, I love Chocolate by Davide Cali, The Little Composter, Any Dr Seuss book, Robert Munsch stories, Ten Little Fingers & Ten Little Toes, The Green Sheep & Where the Wild Things Are
www.simplystylishmom.com
All Leslie Patricelli books: "Big Little","No,no yes, yes", "Quiet Loud" are a few. They are all adorable for babies and even my near 7-year-old loves them. Anything Richard Scarry is so fun for boys, too.
Man, a favorite kids book? That's just too hard! I've loved Bill Peet's books since I was a kid (especially The Wump World), and a recent favorite is Beatrice Rodriguez's The Chicken Thief. It's possible that my all time favorite is Mercer Mayer's Professor Wormbog in Search for the Zipperump-a-zoo (which was just republished!).
My sister and I agree that Runaway Bunny, though a classic, is creepy. Think about it. Or try reading it in a scary voice next time you read it, it's great for laughs.
I love Hooway for Wodney Wat and A Porcupine Named Fluffy.
Polkabats and Octopus Slacks by Calef Brown is amazing.
Oh, and have you seen "10 minutes 'til bedtime" by Peggy Rathman? That is a book with many secret treasures! Try to follow the numbered hampsters and find the ant!
When I grew up all my kids books were in Swedish (I'm half Swedish and my mom, the Swede did all the book picking)...it was a lot of Mumin http://www.bulls.se/Global/Licensing/Images/Top%20Image/Mumin.gif,
a lot of books about trolls (especially Plupp who I thought was real until about age 7 because my grandfather swore on his life he was real and live on his property!) http://www.bergshamra.org/images/plupp2.jpg ,
a lot of Alfons http://www.alfons.se/images/alfons153x220.gif and Pippi Longstocking and anything by Astrid Lindgren.
OH! And my favorite was Pettson and his cat Findus...those books had such amazingly detailed paintings! http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2606/3735524047_d2c79a85c1.jpg
Wow! I got carried away with all these book memories! Thanks for creating such a great topic to post about! :)
<3 Julia
Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom! Will there be enough room? : )
I also love Caps For Sale, Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters, Yeh-Shen, and Swimmy.
Happy Reading!
I love Brown Bear. I remember once when caring for a two-year old boy, we were sitting on the floor with tons of books and he picked Brown Bear -- I had only read it to his older brother a couple of times. To my surprise, he guessed the entire book just by knowing its main sentences and by looking at the drawings. And he could barely speak in full sentences yet!
I love so many of those books! I know this is totally a shameless plus, but my brother (an amazing illustrator who works for Disney) has his first children's book coming out in October called Jane & Mizmow. Based on the books you listed (and other posts), I think you (and Toby) would like it. :)
pat the bunny is fabulous!
-grace
http://herumbrella.com
Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. I cry everytime I read it!!!
Joanna - Julia Donaldson is a must for wee ones - babies and toddlers love the rhythm and rhyme! The Gruffalo is a huge star this side of the pond however lots of her books are just lovely!
Also, anything by Oliver Jeffers is wonderful - brilliant pictures too!
Does anyone out there know the name of the children's book where the child didn't want to go to bed b/c it was still light outside and so the mother (or grandmother?) painted the window shade to look like night with an owl, stars and moon? My sister and I both loved the book and are trying to find a copy for her daughter!
I'm an elementary school media specialist... Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type is always great. Today I stumbled upon a book called Max's Words... It's about a little boy who collects words. It's a great story!
I had two most favorite books as a child! One was called 'I Was So Mad" by Norma Simon. I was a sassy little one I guess! Haha! Then I also loved 'No Baths for Tabitha' by Sharon K. Thomas about a girl who loves to rollerskate and refuses to take a bath because she'd rather spend more time rollerskating! My mom has been trying to find a copy of this book for me for YEARS. It seems to be some sort of hot property because it sells for crazy money on ebay and Amazon! I hope she can find it in time for when I have a daughter!
Gotta have a Richard Scarry book as a favorite. My almost 2.5 year old is in LOVE with the drawings and loves to look for "goldbug". He even says good night to Lowly Worm when I put him in his crib.
Oh and my little brother's favorite book as a child was 'The Little Red Caboose'! Maybe check that one out - it's very good for little ones.
Our number one book around here is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. The baby has LOVED it since he was around 6 months. at first I thought it was the colors and now he finds it comforting. The husband and I have it memorized at this point and tell it to him every night and on drs visits and durring meltdowns. It has been absolutely amazing (and it was a shower gift!) Others he seems to enjoy are "we're going on a bear hunt" "goodnight moon" and "peekaboo puppy"
Ahh... memories.. I LOVED brown bear brown bear what do you see?
Also loved the very hungry caterpillar!
Love this!
I'd have to say The Boss Baby by Marla Frazee and the Knuffle Bunny series by Mo Willems.
The Boss Baby is my go-to gift for new parents!
Oh, all these books are bringing back so many memories!! I used to love when my parents would read to my sister and me when we were little. We loved Berenstein Bears and Curdoroy -- now I want to search through our basement and find them! :)
My favourite book is "The Little Girl and the Tiny Doll". I posted about it here. Adore the amazing illustrations. It's still a favourite for my boys who are now 10 and 7 (and for me too).
http://flotsamfriends.blogspot.com/2010/08/little-girl-and-tiny-doll-my-favourite.html
MY son is a little younger than Toby so I can't wait to check out some of the books on your list that we don't have. He's loved being read to since he was newborn. It's the only time he's calm! My husband loved Mother Goose and still has all of the rhymes memorized (some of them are so bizarre). I loved any book that involved food or puppies. The Pokey Little Puppy was the perfect story for me!
My 18 month old LOVES story time, and I've found that there are quite a few books that I love reading to him. We both love the Little Blue Truck books by Alice Schertle and most of Karma Wilson's books. Thanks for this Motherhood Mondays series. I really enjoy it!
My kids are currently really into "Chicken Soup with Rice" as well as "In the Night Kitchen" - both by Maurice Sendak. Other family favorites are "The Gruffalo" by Julia Donaldson (great rhymes!) and "The Bear Snores On" by Karma Wilson. Both have great rhythm and rhyme to them and are a lot of fun to read (for grown-ups and kids alike).
As a child I was crazy about 'Love you Forever' by Robert Munsch. On second thought,I am strill crazy about it. Charming and cheeky, this book captures the essence of unconditional love.
All of the Harold and the Purple Crayon books! Loved how he could draw his way out of any situation.
i loooove the madeline books. such sweet illustrations and rhyme!!
I hope you see this comment because this book will make you cry every time you read it.. It is called "love you forever". Hands down the best!
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=i+love+you+forever+book&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=17507269102760128379&sa=X&ei=QQpcTrjbCMr40gHGvIWUCQ&ved=0CC8Q8gIwAQ
Oh wow, lucky you you can read different books. I remember my little cousin (I've got no kids) always wanted to read the same one over and over.
You should check out Books of Wonder on 18th street! I use to work there when I lived in NYC.
My fave has always been chicka-chicka boom-boom! A great alphabet book!
definitely robert munsch when he is slightly older (seriously all of his books are highly entertaining for children and adults alike) and babar when he is little because my little brother was obsessed with it when he was a toddler. i also very much agree with the Olivia books - great!
We really love the Gruffalo... and it's been made into a cute little animated short film... it's so cute.
oh and not to be controversial - but Munsch's 'Love you forever' is for moms not for kids (makes you cry i.e. freaks out your child). But anything else by him is fantastic and usually quite cheeky.
Miss Rumphius and Ox Cart Man! Gorgeous illustrations and beautiful stories.
My creative writing teacher read Zagazoo to us when we were studying children's books. I loved it!
http://www.amazon.com/Zagazoo-Quentin-Blake/dp/0531301788/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314656638&sr=8-1
Ooh, "The Big Orange Splot" by Daniel Pinkwater--funny and delightful, with an extraordinary message about individualism and creativity.
Best,
Jen
great books.. I don't have kids but when I was younger I really loved all the books by Road Dahl & Robert Munsch!
My favorite book is - The Tiger Who Came to Tea. It is just brilliant.
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9780007215997/The-Tiger-Who-Came-to-Tea?redirected=true&gclid=CNqIt9rK9aoCFUYmpAodDF21Fg
Although Olivia in Venice is also fun if Toby like Olivia.
-Hannah (Sugar & Spoon)
Loveliest children's book ever -- esp. for little girls with big dreams: The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by DuBose Heyward and Marjorie Flack. Truly priceless.
http://amzn.to/q578pM
Corduroy the Bear was my favorite book!
I'm a little obsessed with children's books. It's really hard for me not to hoard them!
I really love 'Third Story Cat' and 'Oh Simple!' The first because I love cats, and when I was a kid I loved the simple, dreamy watercolors of it. The latter my mother used to read to me all the time, it's about a chipmunk who gets mad because he can't watch cartoons so he runs away to his friend's house for a sleepover. He wears little footie PJs!
I also really love, for older kids but still kids, a lot of the books by Tor Seidler (I hope I spelled that right). I liked Stuart Little as a kid, but I was a bit eh about it, and Seidler's books are very similar but a bit, ahh, darker I suppose? 'The Wainscott Weasel' is my favorite, especially because it takes place on long island, where my family is from and so I loved it. 'A Rat's Tale' is also lovely :) My dad used to read them to me, they're chapter books, at the age when I could do my own reading but these books were just a little too much for me.
Hubert Horatio Bartle Bobton-Trent by Lauren Child is one of my favorite kid books. The story is cute and the illustrations are visually appeasing.
Now that I am a teacher, I can relive all of my favorite children's books. Here are my faves (old and current)...
- Anything Dr. Seuss
- Anything Eric Carle (Especially the Very Hungry Catepillar)
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
- The Giving Tree
- Pete The Cat: Pete's New Shoes
- Have You Filled A Bucket Today? (For when Toby gets a couple of years older...and part of my school's positive behavior plan)
- Anything Richard Scarry
- Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (taking my younger grades to go see the musical)
- If You Give A Mouse A Cookie
...that's it...for now. :)
As a child, I loved The Land of Many Colors, which was written by a preschool class. It has a great message about love and equality. I now read the same copy I had as a child to my son :)
Oh, I forgot mention my son LOVED Chicka Chicka Boom Boom when he was a little younger, he had it memorized.
My two most favorite children's books are Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (silly & sweet) and Roxaboxen (magical and inspiring). Both might be for when Toby's a little older, but so fun!
I would have to go with The Gruffalo. Such a great book, plus there is a wonderful animated short that was done "recently" that I'm obsessed with!
I've been thinking a lot about "Blueberries for Sal" while picking berries this summer – and wishing I had a pail for the berries to go "kerplink, kerplank, kerplunk" in!
I also loved imogene's Antlers, and Harry the Dirty Dog (which I got to read to some friend's kids recently while babysitting).
My son is absolutely hooked on The Saggy Baggy Elephant. He is 22 months and can repeat it verbatim. All of the classic Golden Books are amazing...and usually a quarter at yard sales and such!
The Giving Tree was always my favorite! And it's my go-to gift for little ones :)
The Velveteen Rabbit is amazing and so is Winnie the Pooh.
Tough Boris was my favorite. I have a vivid memory of asking my preschool teacher to read it to me again and again (following him around the classroom). It has the sweetest message and is about a little boy observing a pirate.
I remember loving When The Sun Rose when I was little. Another one I liked was Christmas in Noisy Village. For newer ones, I like Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne and Zen Shorts.
you probably have more than enough recommendations by now! but my favorite to read to my daughter (6 mos) is My Friends by Taro Gomi. "i learned to nap from my friend the crocodile" it goes through little things kiddos learn like napping, walking, even to "watching the night sky" coinciding with animals who do similar things. my husband and i make animal noises along with the story, my little one loves it! and the illustrations are sooo precious. here's a link to the book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/My-Friends-Taro-Gomi/dp/0811812375
I truly think Toby and my Max would hit it off splendidly! Max is a month younger than Toby but mature for is age:) At times, when I read your blog, I feel like you are writing from my brain. Thank you so much for helping me with my transition into motherhood with your adorable stories and suggestions.
For older kids, you can't do better than anything by Jan Brett. Amazing illustrations!
I LOVE giving books as a baby shower gift. I think it's never too early to start a child's library! As for my favorites for bedtime... Madeline (I still love the her sass) and Are You My Mother? (I think an often overlooked Dr. Suess classic!).
Samson's current favourites are "Little Blue Truck" (super rhymes), "Lost and Found", "Runaway Dinner", "Duck and Goose", "The Little Red Caboose".
Great choices, I might need to add some to our routine, we love the books by sandra boynton, my favorite to read is doggies.
Velveteen Rabbit!!
I'll Love You Forever. Robert Munsch
I love Peter Spier's "Rain." It's a wordless book with the most incredibly detailed pictures. Makes me want to be a kid again, living in an old Victorian house on a rainy day.
"Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" is my all-time favorite children's book. I refused to see the movie, for fear it would ruin the magic of the book for me.
"Socks for Supper" is absolutely charming. I'm not sure if there are any copies around anymore--it's an old book.
"The Monster at the End of this Book" is STILL one of my favourites - and I am 27. Good pick, Toby!
Harold and the Purple Crayon! I worked at a nursery school for two years and it was my favorite book to read over and over again to the kids.
We have the same books on rotation for bedtime! Some other titles that my 2 year old love to read are "A Splendid Friend, Indeed" and "The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and The Big Hungry Bear".
That is an adorable picture! Some of my favorites from childhood are Blueberries for Sal and One Morning in Maine by Robert McClosky, the Frances series by Russell Hoban, and the Amelia Bedelia series (I remember just laughing hysterically at her antics!).
Love You Forever by Robert Munsch! And If You Give a Mouse a Cookie!
Dr. Seuss' "I wish that I had Duck Feet" hands down! We kept it from the library so long we just ended up buying them a new copy! Also any Sandra Boynton, esp. "The Bellybutton Book."
I Love You As Much...
Laura Krauss Melmed (Author), Henri Sorensen- illustrator
I cry everytime I read this book.
Time for Bed [Board Book]
Mem Fox (Author), Jane Dyer (Illustrator)
so cute!
Man, I feel like I've hit the mother load of book recommendations. I just finished reading "The Read-Aloud Handbook" by Jim Trelease. It discusses the importance of reading aloud to children of all ages. At the end is a huge list of book recommendations sorted by target audience. I would highly recommend it. Thanks so much for doing this post. I will have new books to read for months to my little girls!
Some of my most treasured childhood memories are of reading with my mom at bedtime, a tradition we continued all through elementary school. Never stop reading together! Two picture books that still resonate with me as an adult both deal with magical summer vacations:
Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey and
The Paint-Box Sea by Doris Herold Lund
Highly recommended!
i vividly remember thinking the monster at the end of this book was comedic GOLD!
the Llama Llama books that have been out in the past five or so years are awesome! Short, sweet, perfect.
I really love these books:
Mitchell is Moving
Five Minutes Peace
Ferdinand
Make Way for Ducklings
Martha Speaks!
and the Jack Prelutsky poetry books are great for when he gets bigger :)
Stella Luna. A must have for EVERY library!
We love Pajama Time by Sandra Boynton -- we like to sing it. (The song is on her cd Philadelphia Chickens, which is wonderful.)
Good Night New York! My 14 month old just loves it. We live in LA now, but she was born in NYC, and we moved when she was just one month old. Crazy, right? You can take the girl out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the girl.
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