I love to read. It is one of my favorite pastimes, and I think one of the reasons is that reading was such a big part of my childhood, even when I was a baby. My mom was very big on reading to me and my brother from the time we were very young, and encouraging us to develop an appreciation for literature. Both of my parents spent hours upon hours reading aloud to us and I am so thankful they took the time to do that. I have fond memories of listening to Mom read the Little House books and the Chronicles of Narnia, and Dad reading The Hobbit and The Wind in the Willows to us. Big Man is a bibliophile too, and both of us hope to pass a love of reading on to Little Man and Little Lady, so we have quite a few books in the house.
There are about a billion children’s books out there. Some are well-written and classic, and some are a waste of paper and ink. So I thought I’d post a quick roundup of our favorite books, and I’d love to hear which titles you and your little ones enjoy. Here are some of our favorites (with the links to Amazon)*. I have always had a good experience ordering books from Amazon, and I’ve found that consignment sales/swaps have some great deals as well. I also use paperbackswap.com, which is very economical too.
*I’m in no way affiliated with Amazon.com, paperbackswap.com, or any of the authors or publishers on this list. I received no compensation for this post and all opinions are my own.
Ten Little Ladybugs
This is one of Little Man’s favorite books, and Little Lady likes it as well. The illustrations are colorful (love the 3D ladybugs), it teaches counting, and book is short enough to be read all at once even to a short-attention-span toddler. Note that there both British and American versions of this book, with the same illustrations, but text that varies slightly.
One Yellow Lion
Short, sweet, easy to read and includes counting, colors, and animals. Little Man enjoys opening the pages’ “secret” flaps and keeping me in suspense about what animal is hiding there.
Let’s Go to the Zoo!
Every zoo animal you could think of, drawn as a cute plush toy come to life! This board book is really fun because every page has quite a few “hide and seek” flaps to lift. I really like the way the illustrations are done in coordination with the flaps, because it is almost like a little animation when you lift them. (There are a couple other versions of these books; we also have the “Cars, Trains, and Planes” one)
Really Woolly Bedtime Prayers
So, I LOVE the Really Woolly sheep (and other animals) and think they are adorable, which means I might be biased towards this one. But the book really is cool, with thick cardboard pages, cute illustrations, and short, simple, rhyming prayers each based on a single Bible verse. A great way to start nightly devotions with a little one.
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear
This one is a classic to me. It was one of my absolute favorites as a child, and now it is a special book that my mom reads to Little Man when he goes to her house for a play-date.
So that’s my short list. Of course, there are a lot of other good books out there, and I’m always looking for more great reads, so maybe I’ll do a follow up list down the road. And as the Little Ones get older, I’m hoping they will grow to love reading as much as Big Man and I do.
I’d love to hear your suggestions for great children’s books. Which ones are your favorites?
