Plenty of Willems and Boynton in our house (Boynton on car rides too. Have your heard Philadelphia Chickens?). We've been on a serious Seuss kick lately.
My personal seal of approval goes to Frog And Toad. They were a favorite of mine as a kid, and I have loved having her enjoy them as well, including the musical!
I’ve been surprised at how young children start to really enjoy books if you have lots in the house - from as soon as she could walk our daughter has carried them over to us to be read.
On top of the Chris Haughton, Julia Donaldson, and Jon Klassen books you’ve mentioned, current favourites:
the giant jam sandwich is an absolute classic and has to be on the list.
the book i probably read most to both my kids when they were babies was "guess how much i love you". i knew it work for word after a while and so did they.
It's fascinating how most of the books you've mentioned I've never seen around here in Brazil (and I've read a whole host of children's books, love the good ones, hate the bad ones with a passion). Mo Willems' got here and they are pretty good, indeed! We also got The Day the Crayons Quit (and its sequel), very nice one.
I think many of our childen's books are local, which kind of stuns me for you having not met, uhm, what could she be called in English? In Brazilian Portuguese, she is "Bruxa Onilda". Lemme Google it... "La Bruixa Avorrida"! "The Bored Witch"? My mother bought a couple of her books when I was a child, I read them to my kids now. From Spain, we also got Olga de Díos' books, some of my youngest favourites - "Leotolda", "Pink Monster", and so on.
I think most of the books we read here are Brazilian, so they are probably not translated, sadly. So many beautiful stories.
As for the ones I dislike, they can usually be classified in three groups:
- Older stories, with a worldview to which I definitely do not subscribe. Include in this bin many "fairy tale classics", such as The Beauty and the Beast, and also "The Giving Tree". Seriously, this book... why? Why?
- Cheap stories, that are just copies of copies. Terrible dialogues, terrible plots. Of course, my children realized I groan when I have to read these, so they will choose them sometimes just to tick me off.
- Stories that try to make a point in a forceful way. They are usually well-meaning, but there is no magic, only pushing a certain moral, modern or ancient. That is not to say that I think stories have all to be silly or should never portray virtues - I love The Chronicles of Narnia, for instance. But these preachy books are just... lame!
May I suggest my book, Moody Moody Cars (for ages 4-8)? Gorgeous photos of classic automobiles depict a range of emotions, from angry to excited. The refrain goes, "Free-wheeling! Full of feeling! Traveling near and far. Honk if you see me! I'm a Moody Moody Car!"
The book is based on a game I used to play with my kids when they were little, of looking for cars with expressive faces. Once you start looking for Moody Moody Cars, you'll see them everywhere!
Plenty of Willems and Boynton in our house (Boynton on car rides too. Have your heard Philadelphia Chickens?). We've been on a serious Seuss kick lately.
My personal seal of approval goes to Frog And Toad. They were a favorite of mine as a kid, and I have loved having her enjoy them as well, including the musical!
If we're talking Donaldson then I can't recommend Room on the Broom highly enough!
Just finished C’mon C’mon, what a breathtakingly beautiful film. I loved it because it’s a story of healing. Thanks for the recommendation Kevin.
I’ve been surprised at how young children start to really enjoy books if you have lots in the house - from as soon as she could walk our daughter has carried them over to us to be read.
On top of the Chris Haughton, Julia Donaldson, and Jon Klassen books you’ve mentioned, current favourites:
- Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy
- Meg & Mog
you wouldn't download a car 🤣😭 memory unlocked
the giant jam sandwich is an absolute classic and has to be on the list.
the book i probably read most to both my kids when they were babies was "guess how much i love you". i knew it work for word after a while and so did they.
It's fascinating how most of the books you've mentioned I've never seen around here in Brazil (and I've read a whole host of children's books, love the good ones, hate the bad ones with a passion). Mo Willems' got here and they are pretty good, indeed! We also got The Day the Crayons Quit (and its sequel), very nice one.
I think many of our childen's books are local, which kind of stuns me for you having not met, uhm, what could she be called in English? In Brazilian Portuguese, she is "Bruxa Onilda". Lemme Google it... "La Bruixa Avorrida"! "The Bored Witch"? My mother bought a couple of her books when I was a child, I read them to my kids now. From Spain, we also got Olga de Díos' books, some of my youngest favourites - "Leotolda", "Pink Monster", and so on.
I think most of the books we read here are Brazilian, so they are probably not translated, sadly. So many beautiful stories.
As for the ones I dislike, they can usually be classified in three groups:
- Older stories, with a worldview to which I definitely do not subscribe. Include in this bin many "fairy tale classics", such as The Beauty and the Beast, and also "The Giving Tree". Seriously, this book... why? Why?
- Cheap stories, that are just copies of copies. Terrible dialogues, terrible plots. Of course, my children realized I groan when I have to read these, so they will choose them sometimes just to tick me off.
- Stories that try to make a point in a forceful way. They are usually well-meaning, but there is no magic, only pushing a certain moral, modern or ancient. That is not to say that I think stories have all to be silly or should never portray virtues - I love The Chronicles of Narnia, for instance. But these preachy books are just... lame!
May I suggest my book, Moody Moody Cars (for ages 4-8)? Gorgeous photos of classic automobiles depict a range of emotions, from angry to excited. The refrain goes, "Free-wheeling! Full of feeling! Traveling near and far. Honk if you see me! I'm a Moody Moody Car!"
The book is based on a game I used to play with my kids when they were little, of looking for cars with expressive faces. Once you start looking for Moody Moody Cars, you'll see them everywhere!
Here's a video if you're interested in some of the science behind emotion recognition in children: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRF9MrsOp7A&t=5s&ab_channel=EileenKennedy-Moore%2CPhD