My kids love reading children’s books. I hear my oldest ‘reading’ to my youngest almost every day, even though my daughter can’t quite yet read (she’s currently learning her sight words, she tells me). My husband and I read at least one book a day to each of our children. We love it at least as much as they do!
When our kids were very small, we incorporated reading into their bedtime routine. One of the first books we read to each of them every night was ‘Goodnight Moon’ by Margeret Wise Brown. It’s a classic for so many reasons, and we used the concept of the book to say goodnight to all of the things in our kids’ rooms before turning out the light. It worked remarkably well, and our kids still wave or kiss everything goodnight in their rooms.
Most of these children’s books are ‘well loved’ in our house, meaning they’re a tad beaten up from so much use. It makes my heart smile.
Favorite 5-year-old children’s books:
Rosie Revere Engineer By Andrea Beaty
Andrea Beaty’s book features wonderful science-minded characters puzzling through engineering conundrums. I read this at Mystery Reader for preschool, and the kids were very engaged. We made paper airplanes after we read the book. Look for her other books!
The Most Magnificent Thing By Ashley Spires
This book shows kids what it’s like to have an idea in your head that you can’t quite express correctly. This is such an everyday issue for toddlers! Luckily, the main character perseveres and succeeds!
Night Animals By Gianna Marino
The night animals are… scared of night animals. My daughter had this memorized very quickly, so she ‘reads’ it to us now. The silly animals and the skunk spray delight us to no end!
Madeline By Ludwig Bemelmans
“In an old house in Paris…” We love the rhyming and cadence of this book. It’s a classic!
Should I Share My Ice Cream? By Mo Willems
My daughter loves everything Mo Willems writes. His Elephant & Piggie series is wonderful, and this particular book is an excellent lesson in sharing as well as the fleeting nature of ice cream – two very tough lessons for kids to learn!
Favorite 3-year-old children’s books:
Goodnight Gorilla By Peggy Rathmann
My son loves this sneaky gorilla’s antics, and we all marvel at how the giraffe fits into a house!
Owl Babies By Martin Waddell
Three owl babies speculate on their mother’s whereabouts. When you read this, ]quietly yell ‘I WANT MY MOMMY!, said Bill’ like a toddler.
Steam Train, Dream Train By Sherri Duskey Rinker and Tom Lichtenheld
My son loves trains. Adores them. This is one of his favorites and one of mine too! We can count, practice our colors and wonder at the huge ice cream cones (with cherries!) in the reefer car.
Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? By Dr. Seuss
My son loves to make all the animal sounds for me; when he was smaller, he cackled as I made all the noises.
Ten Apples Up On Top By Dr. Seuss
We’re huge fans of Dr. Seuss, and my son loves the ‘mop book’. That mop fascinates him, and he laughs gleefully when everything crashes at the end of the book.
I hope these books bring you as much joy as they do for us! Comment below: what are your favorite young children’s books?
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