OT- What are your favorite children's books?

[Omma]

Skippy Jon Jones

My kids LOVE the Skippy Jon Jones series!

 

[nrod]

My kids also love, love, love Skippyjon Jones. We have them all! Also, the Blue Kangaroo books by Emma Chichester Clark. They are really cute. And the Pigeon books by Mo Willems are really BIG hits - Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Don't let the Pigeon Stay up Late.

 

[desertbloom]

Here are a few newer favorites for my storyhours:

Cowboy and Octopus: Jon Scieszka
Before You Were Mine: Maribeth Boelts
Not So Tall For Six: Dianna Aston
Bloom! A Little Book About Finding Love: Maria Van Lieshout
Zen Ties: Jon Muth

Oh and an older release.... but sooo funny.

Walter the Farting Dog: William Kotzwinkle

 

[breezy1077]

We just started reading the "Captain Underpants" series to our kids. It's sooo silly, but they love it!

I totally agree. I have DD4 and DS7 and they ask for these over and over. Pretty tough to find something for those age groups with different gender that they will both like, but captain underpants "saves the day" every time.

 

[MNdisneymom]

I love David Shannon's picture books...especially How I Became a Pirate, and Pirates don't change Diapers.

(They're really good if you have a little pirate lover like my DS5 whom you don't want to expose to any of the more...ahem...bloodthirsty attributes of piratehood.)

 

[MinnieMouse73]

The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo's Child, Room on the Broom (and any other books by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler).

Do you have those in the US?

 

[MinnieMouse73]

Yes, I just checked on Amazon - highly recommended, my daughter and all her friends love them

 

[2002Disneybride]

My little guy age 3, loves anything Richard Scarry!
He has tons of books on his shelf, but he gravitates to them!

 

[TheDizMom]

You didn't say if you have boys or girls, so I'll give you some for both.

For girls:
Fancy Nancy books are a huge hit with my DD 7
Little House on the Prairie books, you can't ever go wrong with them
The American Girl books, my daughter particularly likes Felicity and Mollie

For boys:
The Boy at War series by Harry Mazar
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
The Encyclopedia Brown Books
The Guardians of Ga'Hoole books by Kathryn Lasky
My son loved The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

For either:
The Bobbsey Twins books by Laure Lee Hope
The Choose Your Own Adventure books by RA Montgomery, here they are given choices about where the plot can go and then after you choose you go on to see what happens with that option. It is fun because you can read the book more then once and have it be different then the first time.
The Chronicles of Narnia books.

By far my kids favorites are the Magic Treehouse Books by Mary Pope Osbourne . They are wonderful because they're fun, but the kids are actually learning about history in the process as Annie and Jack go back in time. We just had the opportunity to meet her at a book signing Thursday night and she used the kids to help her determine what her next book should be about. There isn't a child in our family who hasn't read and loved these books. Anyone out there whose kids love these books keep your eyes and ears peeled, as they have just turned Christmas in Camelot (minus the Christmas part) into a musical that will begin touring the country soon .

My personal favorites are the Betsy Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace . I love them so much I go back at least once a year and read them again. My first bad cold of the season and I immediately turn to them to make me feel better. They're kind of like comfort food for the soul. They are I think more for girls, but my son when he was younger seemed to like them too. They start when Betsy and Tacy are 5 and continue on until they are married. They take place in the early 1900's and were written in the 40's and like the Little House books are based on the authors life. Anyone from Minnesota will get a real kick out of them as they take place here and the town of Deep Valley is based on Mankato.

Have fun reading some of these new books with your kids.

 

[Perditamarie]

Great thread! Don't forget:

The Wind in the Willows

From the mixed up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

I also was a big fan of Chronicles of Narnia and The Phantom Tollbooth

Happy reading!!

 

[juliana_sd]

My DS is 4.5 and we started Little House on the Prairie recently. I was amazed how into it he is! I thought he'd get bored not having pictures on every page but he sits quietly, listens, and ask all kinds of questions. We had quite the discussion on the benefits of running water and inside toilets the other night!

He also likes Frog & Toad books, Junie B Jones, anything Dr Seuss (man some of those are hard... Fox in Socks? sheesh!). Also some of the old Beverly Cleary, The Mouse & the Motorcycle series especially.

 

[mbarone54]

Here's our current favorites (not repeating any mentioned previously)

Oliver and Amanda books (Van Leeuwen) - no joke, my daughter (age 3 1/2) LOVES this series.... She will often pretend to be Amanda and I will have to be "Mother Pig" (which can get kind of embarassing if we're in public and she addresses me as Mother Pig!)

The Great Fuzz Frenzy (Stevens)

Catwings series (Leguin - great first chapter book - it's only 4 chapters)

Ella the elegant elephant (D'Amico)

Olivia the pig (Falconer)

Toot and Puddle (Hobbie)

Tacky the Penguin (Lester - and others)

Corduroy (Freeman)

10 minutes to bedtime (Rathman)

Squeaky Clean (Puttock)

Little Rabbit Lost (Horse - and others)

Happy reading!

 

[5/4Disney]

All of Kevin Henkes's books: Chrysanthemum, Wemberly Worried, Lily's Purple Plastic Purse, etc. They're FANTASTIC.

You've got to love Kevin Henkes' books. My girls love reading all the comments Lily and her friends make.

 

[hoosiergirl7]

Well since I only saw Curious George mentioned as part of my DS4 favorite books, I list some other.

He's really into:

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Series books (Pig a Pancake, etc...all by the same author of course!)
He loves Arthur
Clifford
Disney Storybook Collections (I can't even remember how many volumes there are but I know we have at least 4 of them maybe 5 and I'm always trying to add more.)

 

[CastleCreations]

Picture books:

Brown Bear, Brown Bear
Very Hungry Caterpillar
No, David
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Where the Wild Things are
Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day
If you Give a Mouse a Cookie
Goodnight Moon
Polar Express
Stellaluna
Max Found Two Sticks
The True STory of the Three Little Pigs
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

I'm sorry...but I though she said 4-8 year old range. If I read Goodnight moon to my 6 year old, she'd commit me to a mental institution...

 

[CastleCreations]

Anything Dr. Suess, The Five Little Monkey's Books and for the 6-8 year olds Magic Tree House books and Junie B. Jones are great.

It took me a while to warm up to Junie B, because of the language, she uses a few words that we don't...but now we have the whole collection. Each week, that my dd,6, does well in school and at the gym, she gets a new Junie B. It's been a great reward.

 

[Kanga1]

It took me a while to warm up to Junie B, because of the language, she uses a few words that we don't...but now we have the whole collection. Each week, that my dd,6, does well in school and at the gym, she gets a new Junie B. It's been a great reward.

Another elementary librarian here! My 1st and 2nd graders absolutely LOVE the Junie B. Jones books and I can't keep them on the shelves. They are great fun to read aloud as well and I really get into them...actually turning into Junie B. myself sometimes! I agree with some of the grammar though. Since my mom and I both were English teachers, some of the things Junie B. says makes me cringe. I just take that opportunity to have a discussion with the kids about the words (there IS no such word as "bestest") and it makes for a mini language lesson in the middle of a great story!

My FAVORITE picture book is "Outside the Window" by Anna Egan Smucker. She is a local author, but this book is fantasitic!! It also makes a great bedtime story.

 

[Mulan'sWarrior]

Maizy Mouse Series
Frog and Toad series-how to handle certain situations and being a true friend
If you give a pig a pancake, mouse a muffin, mouse a cookie
Goodnight moon

That's what DD6 and DS4 enjoyed the most!

 

[HerdOHuds]

I taught 1st grade for 6 years before the kids were born, and the 6 years before that I was a reading teacher for all grades. I love the suggestions and have to add a few I didn't see. Forgive me if they are repeats!

Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell and illus. by David Catrow
Shake Dem Halloween Bones by W. Nikola Lisa
Any Alphabet book (The Underwater Alphabet Book, The Insect Alphabet Book, The Extinct Alphabet Book) by Jerry Palotta
Anything by Lois Ehlert (Planting a Rainbow, In My World, Waiting for Wings. . .)
It's Okay to be Different or other books by Todd Parr
Goldilocks Has Chicken Pox by Erin Dealy
****-A-Doodle-Moo! by Bernard Most
The Frog Prince Continued and The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Twisted Tales by Jon Scieszka
I Wish I Were A Butterfly by James Howe and illus. by Ed Young
Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
And my all-time favorite author/illustrator-Jan Brett
My favorite by her is probably The Christmas Trolls, but The Gingerbread Man is great as well as Berlioz the Bear.

 

[MightyMom]

These are simple books.... but good bedtime stories... they are hilarious


Do not open this book by: Michaela Muntean

Don't let the pigeon drive the bus- Mo Willems
Don't let teh pigeon stay up late- Mo Willems
The pigeon finds a hot dog- Mo Willems