# What are your all-time favorite children's books



## mamazee (Jan 5, 2003)

This is the flip side of "children's books I hate."

I LOVE love <3

The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Where The Wild Things Are
A book by the author of Little Bear called No Fighting No Biting that I loved when I was a kid
In The Night Kitchen


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## gooseberry (Feb 20, 2012)

We really like The Year at Maple Hill Farm, and Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm. That's my first thought. I'll have to check the shelves and come back again.


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## mamazee (Jan 5, 2003)

I was thinking of young kids' books, but I also love Wind in the Willows.


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## Binx67 (Nov 23, 2007)

some new favorites i have discovered since becoming a mom:

Mole Music by David McPhail (i buy this for every child i know now)

Willa and the Wind by Janice Del *****

The Wind Boy by Ethel Cook Eliot (a magical chapter book for older kids)

Mama, Do you Love Me? by Barbara Joosse

and classics:

The Runaway Bunny

The Root Children

Frog & Toad stories (all of them!)


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## kdorrain (Jun 23, 2008)

anything written or illustrated by Don and Audrey Wood:

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear

The Napping House

etc.

We also love the Pigeon books (Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, et. al.)

Chica Chica Boom Boom

Llama, Llama books (Llama Llama Red Pajama, et. al.)


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## mamazee (Jan 5, 2003)

My kids both love/loved The Napping House.

And we also love Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

My younger one loves The Snowy Day, and I remember loving that one as a child too. When he puts a snowball in his pocket and takes a bath and then goes to find his snowball and it's gone, she loves saying, "It melted! It melted!"


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## summatime (Jan 17, 2011)

Oh, this is soooo great!!!

We love:

"All the World" by Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee

"Boot and Shoe" by Marla Frazee

"This is Not My Hat" by Jon Klassen

"I Want My Hat Back" by Jon Klassen

"Extra Yarn" by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen

"Little Beauty" by Anthony Browne


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## Ma Cactus (Mar 11, 2011)

One Monster After Another, by Mercer Mayer (which led to a game we call 'you twerked my snerk!' whereby my 3yo squeezes my nose and then laughs himself sillly)

Everyone Knows What a Dragon Looks Like (Jay Williams and Mercer Mayer)

Any of the Richard Scary Busytown books, but especially the ones with Dingo and/or Goldbug

Bubble Trouble by Margaret Mahy

Anything by Chris Van Dusen, but esepcially the Circus Ship, and Randy Riley's Really Big Hit


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## tinifry (Jul 19, 2012)

We love all of the Sandra Boynton books, especially Snuggle Puppy. Our newest favorites are the Betty Bunny series, they're funny and my daughter (and I) can relate to them a lot. Another cute one my daughter likes a lot right now is "That's when I'm happy" by Beth Shoshan.


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## gooseberry (Feb 20, 2012)

Elsa Beskow books! My favorites are Children of the Forest and Christopher's Harvest Time. I also like any of the ones with Peter and Lotte.

Frances books! Bread and Jam, Best Friends, etc. Love those.


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## Spasbinder (Aug 8, 2013)

This is great, I saw the books we hate thread too.. I am in the UK so we have some similar books and some different ones. I really like: Dear Zoo (Rod Campbell), Peace at Last (Jill Murphy) - I can recite that one backwards and still love it, Eric Carle books of course and Richard Scarry (although I saw several people hate his stuff on the other thread - I can't see what's not to like about most of his zaniness but maybe it's not as common over here so retains some freshness?)

My kids like the Dig, Dig, Digging series by Margaret Mayo and Alex Ayliffe too. Well, the younger one does. Big brother is really into Frog and Toad, Mouse Tales, May I bring a Friend, the Octonauts books (I only allowed him to have the Meomi ones though, not the TV series spin-off ones), Ezra Jack Keats books (we don't have him in the UK







but have imported them for my children!

For me, I like Frog and Toad and Little Bear and most of the Barefoot books too - especially Listen, Listen and Who's in the Forest?


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## qifarmfam (Feb 20, 2013)

Wild Washerwomen byJohn Yeoman


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## mamazee (Jan 5, 2003)

Oh, we also like Caps for Sale, where the monkeys throw their hats out of the tree. We copy the man shaking his fist and yelling, then both fists, etc. Lots of laughs with that one.


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## mumkimum (Nov 14, 2006)

Favorites here are:

Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel

The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Pinkwater

Sleeping Ugly by Diane Stanley

We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen


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## Dela (Jul 8, 2013)

Picture books...

Anything by Sarah Stewart. The Library, the Gardener, etc. They're beautifully illustrated, typically feature strong/eccentric protagonists, and have surprising depth and often historical context for picture books.

All the Places to Love by Patricia MacLachlan. I cry almost every time I read this book. I don't even know why, just the sweet simplicity, the love evident in the family portrayed, the beautiful illustrations and narrative.

Twilight Comes Twice and Hello Harvest Moon by Ralph Fletcher. Beautiful, poetic, complex but graspable for young children.

ALLLLLL of David Wiesner's books. Tuesday, Flotsam, June 29, Hurricane (just got this one and I read it, I'm saving it for the coming months known as "hurricane season" around here!).

ALLLLLLLLL of Barbara Lehman's books; Rainstorm is a perennial favorite amongst my children but we love the others too.

The Frog and Toad books.

Robert Munsch's The Paper Bag Princess. Having a bunch of girls, I love stories that empower girls (even under the title "princess") rather than putting them in patriarchal boxes. I love most of Munsch's books. Not all that fond of "Love you forever," and some of them border on crude, but I still like most of them.

The Little Bear books (and TV show too... I usually despise preschooler TV but Little Bear has a special place in my heart).

Pippi Longstocking and the Noisy Village series... yes there are things we don't care for in how adults treat some children, but those references are so minor and don't impact the overall themes and fun of the books, so we love them!

All of Jan Brett's books.

Don't even let me start on independent readers and tween/teen series!


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## Daffodil (Aug 30, 2003)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Gooseberry*
> 
> We really like The Year at Maple Hill Farm, and Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm. That's my first thought. I'll have to check the shelves and come back again.


Those were favorites of ours, too.

Some others I loved:

Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise Brown

Some Babies by Amy Schwartz

everything by Russell Hoban - How Tom Beat Captain Najork and His Hired Sportsmen, The Sea-Thing Child, The Rain Door, They Came from Aargh!, and many more

everything by Dr. Seuss

The Maggie B. by Irene Haas

Half a Moon and One Whole Star by Crescent Dragonwagon

First Tomato and The Island Light by Rosemary Wells

My Farm by Alison Lester

Funnybones by Janet and Allan Ahlberg

A Pocketful of Cricket by Rebecca Caudill

For older kids, I love Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner, everything by Astrid Lindgren, and Tove Jansson's Moomin books.


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## katelove (Apr 28, 2009)

For children my LOs age (3) I love

All the Hairy McLary/Slinky Malinky books
John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat
Make Way For Ducklings
Anything by Alison Lester

As a child I loved the Anne of Green Gables series, Little House on the Prarie series, Pippy Longstocking, 101 Dalmations (the Dodie Smith original not the Disney version), the Muddle-headed Wombat series. And heaps of others I can't remember off hand.


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## SweetSilver (Apr 12, 2011)

Second the Maple Hill Farm books

Very Young:

Whistle for Willie (Ezra Jack Keats)

Farmer Will (Jane Cowen-Fletcher)

Rabbits and Raindrops (Jim Arnosky)

Cars and Trucks and Things That Go (Richard Scarry)

Four Little Kittens (Golden Books)

Mr. Brown Can Moo Can You? (Dr. Seuss)

Please Puppy Please! (Spike Lee)

10 Minutes to Bedtime! (Peggy Rathmann)

Little Mouse, Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear (Don Wood)

A little older:

Henry and Mudge books (Cynthia Rylant)

My Cat, The Silliest Cat in the World (forget)

Officer Buckle and Gloria (Peggy Rathmann)

Maple Hill Farm books (Provenson)

Older still:

We are just starting this section

Harry Potter

The Hobbit

Then there is Winnie the Pooh and House on Pooh Corner which I read to dd1 everyday when she was 2-4, but not sure where to put it.

I'm sure I have more favorites that we have loved and still love going back to, but this is the list off the top of my head.


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## Jenny Vater (Nov 5, 2011)

Jamberry (Burce Degen)

The Blackberry Mouse (Matthew Grimsdale)

Going to sleep on the farm (Wendy Cheyette Lewison)

A quilt for baby (Kim Lewis)

Napping House (Audery Wood)

Piggies (Audrey Wood)

All the Places to Love (Patricia MacLachlan) our midwife suggested this book to us after my first home birth. Such a sweet story!

My 4 yr old son (who self weaned at 4) always pick Best Milk (Kate Carothers)


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## gooseberry (Feb 20, 2012)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SweetSilver*
> 
> Second the Maple Hill Farm books
> 
> ...


We probably have 6 Henry and Mudge books checked out from the library right now. We're also fans of Mr. Putter and Tabby books, also by Cynthia Rylant. Who knew that stories about an old man and his cat could be so entertaining?


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## jennifer kelly (Sep 27, 2011)

I find it unsettling that anyone needs to draw attention to books that they hate. Which children's books do I love? Far too many to name.


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## tillymonster (May 12, 2011)

No one likes Roger Hargraves books?!?! Little Miss Bossy and her bossy boots are really relatable to my 3.5yo old lately.









We also LOVE Goodnight Mr. Night, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Are You My Mother and the Eric Carle books for sure!


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## Nazsmum (Aug 5, 2006)

The Monster at the end of this book starring Lovable, furry old Grover ( LOVE LOVE Grover)

NEW ONE

Nini Spergelini Guitar-ific! by Heather Spergel


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## mumtoO&B (Feb 17, 2006)

Oh! so many favourites have already been named but I have to add The Red Wolf (by Margaret Shannon) and The Paper Bag Princess (by Robert Munsch). They are fun, beautiful, and with strong, independent, and smart female characters they are great alternatives to Disney-fied princess stories.


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## Glory Bea (Jun 6, 2007)

Love love:

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
Pelle's New Suit by Elsa Beskow


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## rachelsmama (Jun 20, 2005)

I love lots of kids' books, but two of the books I enjoyed both as a child and as a parent are:

The Paper Bag Princess
The Secret World of Og


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## Glory Bea (Jun 6, 2007)

... also
On Mothers Lap by Glo Coulson


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## Soul-O (Mar 14, 2004)

We love all of the I Spy books, especially for car trips, office visits etc. Richard Scarry books are very popular around here as well. My older kids have greatly enjoyed reading the Narnia series by CS Lewis, and the YA novels from Andrew Klavan (among many).


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## newmamalizzy (Jul 23, 2010)

Favorites with my 3 year old are/have been:

Leslie Patricelli's books (Tubby, Yummy Yucky, etc.)

Little Pea by Amy Kraus Rosenthal

It's Mine by Leo Lionni

Some Babies and A Gorgeous Day, both by Amy Shwartz

Make Way for Ducklings and Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey

Ox Cart Man (not sure of the author, by one of my old favorites, too)

Bullfrog Grows Up, The Runaway Teddy Bear, and countless others from "The Best Book Club Ever" that I have from my youth

Chicken Soup with Rice by Maurice Sendak

I'm sure there are more. So many books to love!!! Personally, I LOVE Caps for Sale, the Snowy Day, and the Mitten (NOT the Jan Brett version). These were the first books I bought for my daughter, the ones I remember most fondly from my childhood.


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## bellymoon (Apr 21, 2007)

Picture books:

Blueberry Shoe by Ann Dixon

Book, Book, Book by Deborah Bruss

Arthur's Christmas Cookies by Lilian Hoban

Clip Clop by Nicola Smee

Author: A True Story by Helen Lester (had my kids in stitches;she is also apparently dyslexic)

original Magic School Bus books by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen

Cat Jumped In by Tess Weaver

My Nine Lives by Clio by Marjorie Priceman (cat meets history)

Prehistoric Actual Size by Steven Jenkins (non-fiction, includes dinos)

Sybil's Night Ride by Karen B. Winnick (non-fiction, great woman in history role model story)

Emil by Astrid Lindgren (chapter book)

I've enjoyed reading through others' lists -- going to check some of them out. Always love new book ideas!


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## SweetSilver (Apr 12, 2011)

The original Little Bear books

Caps For Sale

Blueberries for Sal

One Morning In Maine

Rikki Tikki Tembo

Benji's Dog House (Margaret Bloy Graham of Harry the Dirty Dog)

Journeycake Ho! (I don't even know if this is still in print-- illustrated by Robert McCloskey)

Katie the Kitten (Golden Book--again, I don't know if it's still in print)


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## csteely (Sep 19, 2009)

Ooh! So many great ones. Our favorites thus far:
Anything by Ezra Jack Keats
Mo Willems
Jon Klassen books

And my new favorite favorite (as a knitting freak): Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett


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## mumtoO&B (Feb 17, 2006)

Oh man! How could I have forgot ALL of Phoebe Gilman's books?!! especially: The Gypsy Princess, Something from Nothing, all the Jillian Jiggs, and The Balloon Tree


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## One_Girl (Feb 8, 2008)

Bubblegum, Bubblegum
Jamberry
Angelita and the Magic Yarn
Brave Ben
Me First
Willy books
Fox Books
Dr. Seuss books


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## motherhendoula (Feb 13, 2009)

We adore all things Seuss -But my absolute favorite is "Loveykins" by Quentin Blake - he was Roald Dahl's illustrator and did a few books of his own - so good! Also i didnt see Kevin Henkes mentioned - Lily's Plastic Purse, Julius, Baby of the World, Sheila Rae the Brave - for slightly older kids - so funny though!


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## katelove (Apr 28, 2009)

Oh Quentin Blake is great. I love Mr Magnolia and Mrs Armitage on Wheels.
I also loved Roald Dahl as a child.


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## bellymoon (Apr 21, 2007)

I forgot about Bartleby of the Mighty Mississippi by Phyllis Shallant, chapter book, fiction

Its sequel Bartleby of the Big Bad Bayou is good too. These are great if you have animal lovers or budding biologists.


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## Catholic Mama (Nov 7, 2006)

All of Mary Fabyan Windeatt's biographies of saints:

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&field-author=Mary%20Fabyan%20Windeatt&page=1&rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3AMary%20Fabyan%20Windeatt

The Storm Book by Charlotte Zolotow

http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Book-Charlotte-Zolotow/dp/0064431940/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=

Curious George books by Margaret and H.A. Rey

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (also available as a board book!)

http://www.amazon.com/Goodnight-Moon-Margaret-Wise-Brown/dp/0694003611/ref=tmm_other_meta_binding_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=

Madeline books by Ludwig Bemelmans

http://www.madeline.com

I Love You the Purplest by Barbara M. Joosse

http://www.amazon.com/Love-You-Purplest-Barbara-Joosse/dp/0811807185

Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman (I have a little story about this one)

Lentil and Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

http://www.amazon.com/Robert-McCloskey/e/B001ITVSR6

I don't mind the Amelia Bedelia books by Peggy Parish but I think I understand the humor a lot better than my children do

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060542381

Eric Carle and Dr. Seuss were already mentioned

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by Bernard Waber (and his one about Ira saying goodbye)

http://www.amazon.com/Bernard-Waber/e/B001IGM2RE

The King With Six Friends by Jay Williams

http://www.amazon.com/The-King-Six-Friends-Williams/dp/0819303429

Catholic Children's Treasure Box books are all good

http://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Childrens-Treasure-Box-1-20/dp/B000FFS5ZW/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376330318&sr=1-1&keywords=catholic+children%27s+treasure+box

Thanks for asking! I enjoyed answering.


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## limabean (Aug 31, 2005)

Great thread!

In the Night Kitchen
Where the Wild Things Are
Pancakes for Breakfast (the one with no text)
The Little House series
Some Roald Dahl
Harry Potter series
Narnia series
Watership Down
The Secret Garden

Gosh, so many, it's hard to narrow it down!


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## newmamalizzy (Jul 23, 2010)

Oh, I forgot about the Phoebe Dunn stories! The Little Kitten, The Little Lamb, etc. I love how illustrative the photos are.


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## sabsung (Apr 13, 2013)

Harold and the Purple Crayon
The Duchess Bakes a Cake
Jamberry
Ferdinand the Bull!


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## mamarhu (Sep 12, 2004)

Reading over other folks replies has made me nostalgic. Ahhh... The Dumplings are teens now, and I remember so many of the books you all have mentioned. One absolute favorite is For Every Child, a Better World, by Kermit the Frog (Jim Henson may have had a hand in this). International human rights, addressed on a young child's level. I think it is out of print, but it is still available. I know because I just bought a used copy, in preparation for becoming a foster parent again.

I loved the Animalia books for the quality of the art. I have often chosen books for the illustrations - I am irritated with the crappy condescending cartoony stuff that decorates so much children's stuff, books included. Bill Peet is an author with good art, poetry, and good stories. And I love anything by Dr. Seuss, except when it gets over commercialized. The books are enough - I don't need cereal bowls, backpacks, or clothing to match.

Most of my kids let me read to them at bedtime until they were 12 or so. We loved series that would last for months: Little House on the Prairie, Rick Riordan's series, Harry Potter, The Golden Compass and sequels, The Boxcar Children, Nancy Drew, The Bobbsey Twins, Tintin, I can't remember what all else. Oh, yeah, Narnia of course. And the whole Wizard of Oz series.


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## limabean (Aug 31, 2005)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mamarhu*
> 
> I loved the Animalia books for the quality of the art. I have often chosen books for the illustrations - I am irritated with the crappy condescending cartoony stuff that decorates so much children's stuff, books included.


Have you checked out anything by Dennis Nolan? He's an author/illustrator, and I really like how his illustration style changes so much from book to book -- silly (but not condescending!) drawings for silly books, pointillism for the book about sand castles, realism for other books -- we really like his stuff around here, especially for the quality of the illustration.


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## Catwmandu (Jun 10, 2007)

I love the illustration in:

On the Mountain - Maurice Pledger

The Mitten - and other Jan Brett Books

Like the following:

Princess Pigsty

Princess Knight

My daughter really likes the Amelia Bedilia books lately


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## Spasbinder (Aug 8, 2013)

Hello - thanks for all the good ideas. I am going to come back to this treasure trove again and again! I tried the Year at Maple Hill Farm and it gave my 3 yr old son nightmares! (he needs to spend more time in the country - it was the shaggy dog he didn't like) and 10 minutes till bedtime was incredible, he LOVES it. Fantastic revelation. We really do not have as many good books over here in the UK I don't think. Thank you


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## MammaEAR (Oct 10, 2013)

Goodnight Moon

Amelia Bedelia

If I ran the Circus

And I love some of the "modern classics" that are personalized books now

I found a bunch at http://classicreads.net


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## contactmaya (Feb 21, 2006)

I like sandra boynton very much....


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## revolting (Sep 10, 2010)

Oh the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss

Blueberry Girl by Neil Gaiman

All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon

Awake to Nap by Nikki McClure

The Barn Owls by Tony Johnston

On the Day You Were Born by Debra Fraiser


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## Buzzbuzz (Aug 27, 2011)

Well, there are the books that my girls love now (currently age 3) and in the past:

The Little Mouse, the Hungry Bear and the Red, Ripe Strawberry

The "Pigeon" series by Mo Willems

Flicka, Dicka and Ricka series

"Knuffle Bunny" series by Mo Willems

"Peter Rabbit" series

"Big Red Barn"

"Frog & Toad" series

"Little Bear" series

"The Mitten" and basically anything else by Jan Brett

"Angus" series by Marjorie Flack

"Blueberries for Sal"

"A Sick Day for Amos McGee" by Stead

And then the books that I am keeping on a list for them to try at the appropriate ages (elementary, pre-teen and teen):

"Comet in Moominland" (and the other Moomin books) by Tove Jansson

"Freckles" and "Laddie" by Gene Stratton-Porter. Also, "A Girl of the Limberlost" and "The Harvester" but those are for a more pre-teen audience.

Louisa May Alcott beyond "Little Women" - "Under the Lilacs", "Eight Cousins" (which has a sequel called "Rose in Bloom"), "An Old Fashioned Girl" and "Little Men".

"The Bronze Bow", "Calico Captive" and "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare.

"Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

"Betsy-Tacy" by Maud Hart Lovelace (and the whole Betsy-Tacy series).

"Understood Betsy" by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

"The Trojan War" by Olivia Coolidge

"The Children's Homer" and "Children of Odin" by Padriac Colum

"Black Ships Before Troy" by Rosemary Sutcliff (and basically all of Rosemary Sutcliff's historical novels for pre-teens).

"The Sword in the Stone" T.H. White

"Stories of Beowulf" and "English Literature for Boys and Girls" by H.E. Marshall

Children's mysteries (she wrote a ton) by Augusta Seaman. Particularly "The Shadow on the Dial".

"Heidi" by Johanna Spyri, also the sequel "Heidi Grows Up"

"The Railway Children" by E. Nesbit. Also: "The Five Children and It", "The Phoenix and the Carpet" and "The Story of the Amulet".

"Tom's Midnight Garden" by Philippa Pearce.

"Misty of Chincoteague" by Marguerite Henry

"Black Beauty" by Anna Sewell

"The Prince and the Pauper" and "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain

"Ballet Shoes" and the whole "Shoes" series by Noel Streatfeild

"Daddy-Long-Legs" by Jean Webster

The whole "Childhood of Famous Americans" series of books.

"Treasure Island" and "Kidnapped!" by Robert Louis Stevenson

"Pushcart War" by Jean Merrill

Kipling's "Captains Courageous", "Rikki Tikki Tavi", "Jungle Book" and "Just So Stories"

Andrew Lang's "Fairy" series of books.

"The Last Unicorn" by Peter S. Beagle

"The Princess Bride" by William Goldman

"The Neverending Story" by William Ende

"From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg

"Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien

"The Borrowers" series by Mary Norton

"The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking" by Astrid Lindgren

"A String in the Harp" by Nancy Bond

"The Wolves of Willoughby Chase" (and basically everything else she wrote) by Joan Aiken

"Charlotte's Web" and "Stuart Little" by E.B. White

"Caddie Woodlawn" by Carol Brink

"Black Stallion" and "Man O'War" by Walter Farley

"Anne of Green Gables" (and the entire Avonlea series) and "Emily of New Moon" (and the entire Emily series) by L.M. Montgomery

"The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" series by C.S. Lewis

"The Book of Three" and the entire Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander, as well as the "Westmark" series by Lloyd Alexander

"Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbitt

"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" (and its 20 some sequels) by Frank L. Baum

"Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell

"The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster

"A Little Princess", "The Secret Garden" and "Little Lord Fauntleroy" by Frances Hodgson Burnett

"Peter Pan" by J.M. Barrie

"Pollyanna" by Eleanor H. Porter

"Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" by Kate Wiggen

"The Little House" Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder

"Over Sea, Under Stone" and the rest of the "Dark is Rising" series by Susan Cooper

"Song of the Lioness"/"Mastiff", etc. series by Tamora Pierce

"Watership Down" by Richard Adams

"A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

"All of a Kind Family" by Sydney Taylor

"Johnny Tremain" by Esther Forbes

"Mary Poppins" and the rest of the series by P.L. Travers

"Paddington Bear" by Michael Bond

"Children of the Green Knowe" and the rest of the series by L.M. Boston

"Chitty chitty bang bang" by Ian Fleming

"Nancy Drew" - not great art, but I remember loving them.

"The Rescuers" by Margery Sharp

"101 Dalmatians" by Dodie Smith

"Frances" series by Russell Hoban

"Tanglewood Tales" by Hawthorne

"King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table" and "Robin Hood" by Green

"Wizard Children of Finn" by Mary Tannen

"The Master Puppeteer" and "Of Nightingales that Weep" by Katherine Paterson


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## newmamalizzy (Jul 23, 2010)

Buzzbuzz, I might just have to read through your list now (and all of next year!)


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## Buzzbuzz (Aug 27, 2011)

Thanks! I've been keeping a running list, as I remember old books that I read as a child, and that kids I know still enjoy. It is a rather old-fashioned list -- my mother kept many of her childhood books and I read them years later when they would otherwise be out of print or very hard to obtain (in the days before Amazon).

A couple of the books don't have the most current attitudes (for example, the description of the "natives" met during their travels in Carry on, Mr. Bowditch, which while not horrible is probably not the most P.C.) but my preferred approach is to use that as a springboard for discussion, rather than to avoid making the book available.


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## SweetSilver (Apr 12, 2011)

Two I remembered recently:

Corduroy

I Love To Take A Bath (which is an English translation of the Japanese original--makes me feel all steamy and squeaky clean just reading it!)


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## preemieprincess (Oct 21, 2011)

If we're discussing picture books, I'm sad one of my new favorites isn't on here!

The Family Book by Todd Parr. Every family should have it, and read it frequently to their little ones.


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## tracyamber (May 26, 2011)

I cannot believe my 2 year old and I just discovered Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems.
We love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously we read it 7 times a day.
We read a lot of books too and just discovered the " biscuit" books. He likes those too maybe because they are very simple and he can read a couple of words in them.
I am having a hard time finding books at this point. He is two and I am having trouble finding an appropriate level for him. Either they are way advanced books or too simple.
Any suggestions?


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## Midwesterner04 (Nov 19, 2009)

Board Books:

Snuggle Puppy (Sandra Boynton)

Quiet Loud (Leslie Patricelli)

One Tree (Green Start)

In the Garden (Green Start)

Dr. Seuss's The Foot Book and Mr. Brown Can Moo

Picture books:

Eric Carle, especially Little Cloud, Draw Me a Star, 10 Little Rubber Ducks, the Tiny Seed and Pancakes, Pancakes

Tomie DePaola, especially Charlie Needs a Cloak, Pancakes for Breakfast, and The Song of Francis. He has some lovely Catholic/Christian books, if those are of interest.

Subway by Christoph Niemann (a great book about the New York subway system)

Ron Hirschi (beautiful nature photography), especially Spring, Summer, Winter, and Fall

Lois Ehlert--Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf

Near Mama's Heart (Colleen Newman)

Early Readers:

Frog and Toad

Astrid Lindgren's Emil, Noisy Village, and Lotta on Troublemaker Street. I'm uncomfortable with all the talk of "naughty children" and the authoritarian parenting, but it is possible to read around that. And Lindgren was herself an advocate against corporal punishment.


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