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There are some terrible books out there. Our favourite books get read time and time again. Our three year old has a love for reading which his Dad and I both have and encourage in him. No time is ever a bad time for a story in our house! Yep all ten books in this series. We have been known to have all ten in one sitting requested, one after another! My daughter is 5 and really into factual books. Thanks so much for sharing your favorites!

I totally agree with the statement of C. Many authors do — but the lame books I come across — make me wonder. A few books have been worthy — but not all! Here is my list of favorite books for children: What do you think about the illustrations in kiddie lit? Does it have any influence on the overall quality of the book, or is it just icing on an already high-quality book? Also, sorry to be a wet blanket, but my mother-in-law has a daycare, and one of the daycare moms started reading the Chronicles of Narnia to her daughter when the daughter was about 4. Mother-in-law reports that the daughter had nightmares during her naps…about lions and witches and scary forests…and closets with false backs.

You might want to wait till after the Shift to read fantasy books, even such delightful fantasy books as the Chronicles of Narnia to your girl. The family in the stories is delightful and the pictures are choke full of interesting details. Freight Train by Donald Crews is a constant. I completely agree with all of the choices on your list, but Nikki has is spot-0n with The Little House and all the Virginia Lee Burton books. Plus, they are so much fun to read. This house would not run without the books of Mo Willems and Bob Graham.

I can read Knuffle Bunny over and over again and not tire of it. Thank you for this great list of books. I wrote them all down for future reference! I am currently expecting our first child, and I have been anticipating all the time we will spend together over books! I love reading, and hope to instill this love for reading in my child ren.

I love the Francis books, Bread and Jam for Francis. I also love Corduroy. My daughter is older and loves Junie B. Jones, when we read these together it makes me laugh outloud. I love to read. As a new parent I am already thinking about what books to read Sirius as he grows. When he was a newborn I would read him all my favorite poetry, and I swear he seemed to like it.

As for books when the kids get a bit older: The Secret Garden still one of my all time faves Little Women. We are Charlotte Mason homeschoolers, and I am thoroughly enjoying all the books I am reading to my 1st and 2nd graders! They are both about triplets, a boy set, and a girl set, and are filled with great character building lessons, and a delight to read!

Our favorite that will bring tears to your eyes is: Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and the Yellow Sled. Wolf Story by William McCleery is a great first chapter book, and one that was well loved in our house, especially by the boys. All the EB White books have been read and re-read here. And we still quote from Swallows and Amazons—a great adventure series for the little biggers in the house.

There are a lot of great books out there, but even then I am VERY picky about language, grammar, and illustrations. Krista — Thanks for your insight. If You Give a Pig a Pancake is a close second, but the Moose illustrations are so funny, it wins me over. I completely forgot about Peter Rabbit and Corduroy — also excellent choices.

We too love Make Way For Ducklings. Augustine where we live and taking care of your environment. Great read alouds for the whole family from … we adore them. The illustrations are these vivid, incredible pieces of art, and the story is a sweet reminder of the power of generosity.

Again, the illustrations are amazing and the story is about being yourself, no matter what. A tiny rolled hem without a serger! They short, but have a great sense of humor and rhythm. Their books would make Charlotte Mason smile. I like all of your suggested list except the Mercer Mayer books. Some fabulous books, both in the original post and in the comments.

Many on your list are favorites. Frog and Toad or anything by Arnold Lobel is at the top of my list. I tend to go by authors. Lentil, Make Way for Ducklings. One you should check out from the library is Amelia Bedelia. You might have to buy it. I have loved this books since I was a kid. And I have to say I found some new ones based on your list, and some oldies but goodies. We have too much twaddle on the shelf — gifts from well meaning relatives who know we love books. My official rule has always been this: I will read the same book countless times during the day — but never the same book twice in a row!

Reading Lists - Great Books for Children | A2Z Homeschooling

When my daughter was little, we loved Sandra Boyton — and my 1 yr old son is in that phase now, too. We love to read. What about Kevin Henkes? I LOVE his books. You can check out his other books here… http: As an adult I also enjoyed Hatchet. With this list, I ended up narrowing it down to our personal favorites at the moment.

The four we have seem to portray the parents wonderfully. Robyn — Yes, the Berenstain bears! We have about 10 of those, all originally mine as a child. I think my daughter would love it! I also plan to pick up these soon. These are all from http: It may be worth your while to take a peek. Also, the Christian Heroes: Then and Now are biographies written for kids and they are really good.

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We read Hudson Taylor over the summer and the kids loved it but then when they watched some of the Olympic coverage they talked a lot about it since he was a missionary to China. They all have color pictures now in the paperback editions. I will read a chapter before nap time of one and bedtime of another. She has really good comprehension of the stories. She loves Little House the most, so I am so excited to read the whole series to her.

I like the idea of twaddle-free books too, I am definitely enjoying reading these books too. As an elementary school teacher and parent of three, I love the list. Your site is a great resource. Unique Blog Designs anniversary contest to the rescue! Your recommendations and those of the other commenters are great! I will be getting many of these books on our next few library runs. I laughed so hard I could hardly read it. You have to think twice — all the books have a kind of nastiness to them. It says something about the quality of reviewing that they are so popular.

A good review on this site would be a start. Given that he is Canadian, of course all middle-class parents are uncritically ga-ga over his books. One of my daughters favorite books was The Paper Bag Princess. Though these books are intended for very young children, they both have a plot twist and are a delight to read. The kids still ask for them even though they are a few years older. Good Night Moon was another great one. She has chosen awesome scriptures that tell of the wonder and majesty of God often using pictures of nature.

As a teacher and parent, I love books! Thanks for this post, I love to see all our faves named one by one!

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Thanks for your great list! A lot of yours are favorites of ours too! Because of their short, simple nature, they work well with young ones, but they are are wonderful for kids who are getting discouraged with school and growing up. Five Mostly Easy Ways. Wow, I think you hit my top 10 list too! My older brother always gets great books for my kids. It includes most of the ones you mentioned, both in the top 10 list and the other list you wrote.

Thanks for the list! I am really looking forward to getting into some Roald Dhal soon, and of course timeless series like Narnia and Little House books. Baby Girl Cupcakes and the Giveaway Winner! The Story of Ping is one of the only books my mom kept from my childhood. It has been such a blessing to read it to our daughter. My favorite non-twaddle preschool book is Jamberry. Love the sound of the language in that one. Have read it aloud 40, times and have never gotten tired of it.

So many of the ones already mentioned are our favorites too. The Empty Pot by Demi is also an excellent book about honesty I love that book. Oh my, so many, many more…. Here are a few of our favorite picture books: Sign With Your Baby. I just have to thank you all for listing so many new books for me to check out! Shirley Hughes is great for toddlers and up my son is 9 and still likes for her longer ones to be read to him even though he is a confident reader , the Boxcar books emphasizes hard work, politeness and working together.

Martin and Phyllis Naylor Renolds Boys Against the Girls series mischieveous fun for the girls and boys- for 5 yrs plus. I have a BS in Elementary Education. For little ones, it can be a bit harder finding a book short enough for their attention spans, but with developmentally appropriate information. Look for simple rhymes, color words, numbers and letters. My daughter loved this by the time she was six months old. Though, after reading it 28 times in one day, you can pretty much quote it. My two-year old can make it through a longer book if their are voices that go along with each character, so keep that in mind as well.

Some of my favorites to read aloud to my classroom or that I loved as a kid are: Those were great titles growing up…Madeline and Lyle Lyle Crocadile were definitely among my favorites as a child. You know the Frog and Toad series creeped me out as a kid bc I would have nightmares including the characters.

For my daughter 18 months I love several of the little golden books, especially those illustrated by Eloise Wilkins. We also have a collection of the non-Disney Pooh books. Keep up the great work! Oh, you did it again! I now have a long list of books I want to check out at the library. Oh, I started to use google calendar and so far it is working out great for the meal planning. Okay, back to the subject.

Our favorite books this week were: My just four year old is a voracious reader, and my almost 2 yr old is following in his footsteps. We also try to be really twaddle free around here. Ezra Jack Keats — he writes this whole series of stories about Peter, a little inner city boy, and illustrates them with these amazing collages. He is really courageous and meets tons of helpful adult animals.

If I homeschooled, I would imagine you could teach some geography by trying to chart his travels. Am I the only one who likes Richard Scarry? They were a highlight of my childhood and I still read several of them each year…. I have four boys and I am constantly previewing books for them- looking for quality books. She has a whole series of books that follow Click Clack Moo that are also well loved. I totally agree with the quote from C. The Chronicles Of Narnia 2. The Secret Garden 4. Little House on the Praire Series 6. Anne of Green Gables Series 7.

If you Give A Mouse…. Winnie the Pooh stories Alice in Wonderland A Wrinkle in Time Island of the Blue Dolphins Pride and Prejudice Lord of the Rings Triology The Very Hungry Catepillar 3.

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Where the Wild Things are 4. The Big Red Barn 5. As an early childhood educator in Canada I am always on the lookout for good educational books…I will read the fun, twaddle books too but would rather read something with a lesson…there is always a place for good old Robert Munsch love you forever is a fave and Dr. Suess, but you have to admit they get a bit annoying sometimes: Thanks so much for all the suggestions!

My son is 20 months old. He still likes a few board books here and there, but much prefers picture books.


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I cannot say enough good things about these books. We have read them both about a million times. They are definately twaddle-free. Beautiful illustrations and lovely stories. We also love my childhood favorite, The Winter Bear by Ruth Craft, illustrated by Erik Blegvad and The Three Pigs by David Weisner quite different and much happier than the original — also with beautiful illustrations.

He is quite choosy. No is his favorite word at the moment. He loves, loves, loves to read! Thanks again for the list! Sam and the Firefly…They are absolutely fablous and are favourites of my 4-year olds nursery class. They are so fun to read…just like Dr. The vocabulary is a little advanced, but even my 2-year old likes the stories.

I also love all of the Bernstein Bears books and the books by Richard Scarry. These are some of my favorites: Shoemaker 8 — Vincent Van Gogh: Suess Green Eggs and Ham-Dr. Thank you for this post. We love Beatrix Potter at our house. Also, Sing a Song of Popcorn is a wonderful book of rhymes and poetry, and The Big Book of Little has lots of excerpts from classics and fabulous illustrations.

Cleaning out the twaddle and finding GOOD books was my first step toward homeschooling. It makes a huge difference. So many wonderful selections!! A few Canadian suggestions: Many situations my little ones identify with. She is blind herself. Her illustrations are done in clay, with amazing texture. I really love this topic! I love your list, too. I have to agree with one of the commenters who mentioned a few negatives about the Mercer Mayer books—I have noticed a few myself, although I still enjoy them. As a teacher I enjoyed reading anything by Kevin Henkes. He has serious talent.

I guarentee that you will love them! I grew up reading them and they have a great storyline and work in a moral for each story.

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These books are not just for 3 year olds. I remember enjoying them for many years! I think I might write another post like this for 10 more twaddle-free books. Hi, What a wonderful thread. Im the mother of a four and a half month old son. I was overwhelmed with gifts of many books when he was born, most of which could not be returned….

And Im pretty particular about the type of illustrations I like. Perhaps someone could post a top 10 twaddle list…. This is a great post and a really nice layout. My youngest of six! Scattered on our floor right now? My oldest is going on 5, and still wants to read it almost daily Chicka Chicka Boom Boom even my 2 year old can recite this now! Mi Primer Libro de las Ciencias by Larousse do they make these in english? Sadly, as I have all boys, we will probably never share my favorites as a child: Little Women, Ramona and Paddington — from first grade on, I read and re-read these books.

I love the classic Winnie the Pooh. My granddaughter has loved this book since day one. Mix in a little Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and we can read for hours. The repetition and rhyming is great. We borrowed it from the library and ended up ordering it for a birthday it was so well loved. Great post and comments.

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And we love, love, love Maurice Sendak. I just wanted to say that I love your top ten list! I have almost four year old twins and a son who is nearing three and every single one of your choices is on our list of favourites as well! What a great list and conversation-starter!

Steig Owl Babies — M. Are We There Yet? And hats off to all you homeschoolers. Soooo many good books here. While I like the Frances books they can give a kid ideas… like making demands at bedtime. It made me tear up with joy in the middle of the public library. My husband likes them, but they come across as heavily moralizing and poorly written to me. Hi…thanks for this terrific list. I am completing an online course, needing to write a unit plan that involves high school kids reading to pre-schoolers and so was looking for a good list of read alouds for my unit plan.

My own children in typical boy fashion only ever wanted Thomas the Tank Engine stories so, I was lost as to where to begin. The originals are such fun, and my boys still play, a year later, that the Littles are living in our walls. The also loved the Ralph Mouse books by Beverly Cleary. Even though we have forayed into chapter books, picture books are still their favorite part of bedtime! They are so rich and so fun all at the same time!

Island Counting is the best! The Birthday Box and Yummy Yucky are so easy to read times. These are so much fun! I think they have various authors. I think what is important is simplicity in word form and ideas, and repetition. Kids love to read the same book.


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Think of your child like yourself: Three or four a week is fairly typical for older homeschoolers, more for children still in picture books. See who can intrigue another into reading a favorite book. Besides, some great books are just meant to be shared. I do look for book reviews and other reading lists, just to give our son ideas of books to look for. Some resources for reviews are:. I have no business interest in these companies, but have liked surfing through their reading lists. I hope you will, too. So how do you know what your child should read?

My daughter, a horse nut from day one, as a third grader, read everything she could get her hands on about horses, including vet manuals! These, too, are on the Books, Bountiful Books page. Do compare the effort and cost of printer paper and toner to just buying the paperback version. Reading Lists — Page 2. Articles from , Book Lists , reading. You must be logged in to post a comment. A to Z Home's Cool, since , has been the premiere destination site for those researching homeschooling, those who have decided to homeschool and are now looking for new homeschool groups and friends, as well as for families looking for free and low-cost educational materials for their children, homeschooled or not.

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