I've been wanting to take Matthew to the library to find some fun books for him for a while, but the few times I've gone alone I've been really disappointed with the selection. A lot of books seem pointless and are uninteresting, not to mention the fact that a lot of modern illustrators seem to have really ugly or unattractive styles. I'm also hunting for some nice board books, but either I'm too picky or the illustrations are often just downright ugly! I hardly know where to begin to find some decent books.
So what are you and your child's favorite books? I know I used to have lots of old favorites, but I can't remember who wrote them or what they were called anymore.
8 comments:
I have such difficulty finding really good books too. I often will just go into the library and take home a stack from one letter section and I figure that if it is lacking on one side or the other, we're still reading. Strangely, I've found that toddlers often enjoy the really weird books best (like, it seems pointless to us), and they do enjoy good illustrations, but if the storyline is good, they often don't care so much about the pictures. I also use reading lists like amblesideonline.com's preschool/kindergarten area for a springboard.
I like Margaret Wise Brown's books (such as Goodnight Moon, Big Red Barn, Home for a Bunny, Little Bunny's Noisy Book...) for really little ones, and they do come in board book styles even. Rebecca actually really likes the Big Red Barn one! There's also The Very Hungry Caterpillar and others by Eric Carle.
For more Matthew's age, you might want to try The Little Engine that Could (Watty Piper), The Story About Ping (Marjorie Flack), Beatrix Potter's series, original Winnie-the-Pooh stories (not the Disney cartoons), Blueberries for Sal (Robert McCloskey), Make Way for Ducklings (Robert McCloskey), One Morning in Maine (Robert McCloskey), and The Little House (Virginia Burton). Those are some of my nephew and niece's favorites from when they were 3/4 years old. And, unanimous favourites from both of them are I Love You the Purplest. I can't remember who it is by, but it's basically got the idea that no matter what, your mommy/daddy loves you because you are you, and not because of anything you do/don't do. And, the James Herriot stories.
Some of our favorites: Mark Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, the original Beatrix Potter stories, almost anything by Margaret Wise Brown, The Snowy Day, The Good Little Bad Little Pig, The Little Train by Lois Lenski, The Poky Little Puppy, The Tawny Scrawny Lion, and our all-time favorite, Go Dog Go. You might also have some success if you try the little kids' non-fiction section--you will probably find books about things like airplanes, boats, construction, etc.
Oh, and I must second Melissa's recommendation of books by Robert McCloskey, The Story about Ping, and the original Winnie-the-Pooh stories (though those might have to wait till Matthew is a little older, depending on his attention span).
Definitely Goodnight moon (lol that is nearly memorized) and another favourite here is the 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed (ours is a board book by eileen christelow). And I agree with Melissa, that kids don't tend to worry too much about the illustrations. I think I need to stick to board books for a long time because the paper books end up ripped and ruined too soon... :(
Don't forget books by Arnold Lobel (Frog and Toad, the Owl stories, etc)
I guess the problem is more that I don't like the pictures, then. :P Although I've also wondered how I could possibly read something to Matthew that has strange creatures or drawings in it (such as Dr. Seuss) because he always wants to know what *everything* is in all the pictures.
At this point he seems more interested in pictures than storylines, so I like to have explainable pictures. :D
Thanks for the ideas, everyone. They definitely were helpful.
LOL, yes Dr. Seuss is definitely that way...not a great fan of his because of that. :) Hope your keeping well!
I think Dr. Seuss is valuable when it comes to teaching a child to read. The alliteration in his alphabet book is great for teaching letter sounds. Hop on Pop is good for the earliest readers, and Elijah can now read through something like Green Eggs and Ham without much assistance. But until Matthew is ready to learn to read, you could easily do without Dr. Seuss.
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