Books are a great way to spend time with your child. Whether it’s connecting with them, teaching them meanings or for fun before bedtime, reading to your child is fundamental. As a mom and a pre-school gym/craft and fitness instructor at a YMCA, I have come across a lot of books for kids. Below is a list of my ten favorite.
1.) Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
A classic. What child does not have this book? This book is a great story because it is simple, short and to the point. It’s about going to bed and saying goodnight to your world and house and room before you fall asleep. It’s a sweet way to send your child to dreamland each night. Appropriate to read up to age 2.
2.) Monster Munchies by Laura Numeroff
An adorable book about monsters, drawn to be cute not scary, who eat everything in sight. It starts at 1 thing and goes to 20, so it is also about counting. Both my kids, when they heard the monsters ate their ten toys for example, they would count the monsters and toys on the page just to make sure this was true. Appropriate to read for ages 2 – 4 or for readers who are 4-8.
3. Ballet Kitty by Bernette Ford and Sam Williams
Ballet Kitty has a friend coming over, can’t find her shoes and is very upset about it. The thing is, she has such a good time with her friend, it doesn’t matter that she did not have her special shoes. A great story about priorities. Appropriate to read for ages 2 – 4 or for readers who are 4-8.
4. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch
This is a touching story about a mom who loves her son so, and shows how she will love him until she as an old lady. The son feels so loved, that he takes care of her the same way when she is older. A truly, lovely story about how much our parents love us. Appropriate to read for ages 2 – 4 or for readers who are 4-12.
5. Oh Say Can You Say by Dr. Seuss
This are fantastically funny, outrageous and smart tongue twisters that are fun to read to your kids. My kids always tried to mimic what I was saying because I sounded so funny. And once my daughter started reading, she loved to try these tongue twisters herself to see if she could do it better than I did! Appropriate to read for ages 3 – 4 or for readers who are 4-10.
6. Toad Eats Out by Susan Schade and Jon Buller
A very cute book about toad going out to eat dinner and is surprised for his birthday by his friends. It’s a great way to teach kids the basics of going out to eat – manners at the table, ordering food and paying. Appropriate to read for ages 3-8 or for readers who are 4-9.
7. Mole in a Hole by Rita Golden Gelman
This is a see and learn book because the sentences use pictures, like of a carrot, or the mole or a moon instead of the word so that a child can read a long with you. I did this with my kids and they loved being able to help me read the book to them. Appropriate to read for ages 2 – 4 or for readers who are 4-6.
8. Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle
This is the author of “The Very Hungry Catepillar”, which is a very popular book, however, “Mister Seahorse” is very basic. The pictures, however, are gorgeous. The writing is very simple, maybe a little too simple, but my son loved the pictures. And because of the pictures, he asked questions. Then I would read him the words, and he would understand and repeat what I said. Appropriate to read for ages 2 – 4 or for readers who are 4-6.
9. Pizza Pat by Rita Golden Gelman
Both my kids still can’t get enough of this book. Pat makes a pizza, but the mice eat it and there is none left for Pat. The book is about how Pat cooks it, and it repeats words over and over, almost like song or poem so that the kids can easily memorize the pages. Appropriate to read for ages 2 – 4 or for readers who are 4-8.
10. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
This book is a classic. I read it as a child and loved it. Harold has an adventure through drawing with his purple crayon. It is proof how powerful an imagination can be. A wonderful story for those with creative minds.
Appropriate to read for ages 2 – 4 or for readers who are 4-6.
You can find all of these books on AMAZON.COM
