Blogging the Best Children's Picture Books
by I've been reading picture books aloud to my children for over a decade, and we've definitely worn out a few favorites until the layers of Scotch tape can't help anymore. Here are some of our family's best-loved children's picture books:
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown: Of course. This one has to be at the top of the list. I could do it from memory, probably backwards, but it never fails us as the best of best.
Time For Bed by Mem Fox: This is another favorite bedtime book, with such a sweet message that many nights I find I have a catch in my throat by the end.
Jamberry by Bruce Degen: My favorite children's books tend to be those that are fun to read aloud, and it's hard to top the rollicking verses of this lyrical book.
Silly Sally by Audrey Wood: Cheerful pictures and repetitive verses makes this an especially easy book for little ones to enjoy.
Chugga Chugga Choo Choo by Kevin Lewis: This is another one that rolls easily off the tongue and grabs parents and children with its musical phrasing.
Even with our time-worn favorites, we try to introduce a few new ones (or, at least, new to us) into the rotation. Recently we've been especially loving these:
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by Kate Toms: A fun variation on the song, this one has especially captured my three-year-old daughter's imagination. I suspect the glitter on the pages may have something to do with that!
Pigs in the Mud in the Middle of the Rud by Lynn Plourde: This was a library discovery for us, and the hilarious rhymes keep us all laughing. It tells the story of a family in Maine facing some unusual challenges trying to drive down their rural road in their old car.
A quick check of the blogosphere is a great source of new picture books ideas for kids and parents. Betonica writes about her own favorite children's books, including this reminiscence about the Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown:
I like the Noisy books for their illustrations: the solid-block colors vibrated against each other and leap out of the page at me when I was three; also, I can still hear my father's voice reading them to me (he died when I was four). I don't suppose they'd really stand the test of time, were it not for my personal history with them.
Sarah of Apartment Therapy tells how strongly the memories of her favorite children's books stay with her today:
Kids books are funny things. If your household was like mine, my brother and I would pick out a few for our parents to read to us each night before bed. We read the same stories over and over again knowing what happened before we even got to the next page. We knew the illustrations inside and out as if we were part of the book. The alligator doll in A Bargain For Francis could have actually been real in our 6 year old brains. And the loose tooth in One Morning In Maine was so real, we could actually taste the warm blood in our mouth.
Yvonne Perry of Writers In the Sky talks about one of her new favorites, Queen Vernita's Visitors by Dawn Menge:
My experiences as both a parent and a teacher have taught me that repetition is important when teaching a new concept to a child. Menge goes through each day of the week on every page and always mentions the number of days each guest gets to visit (including the fact that Tommie only visited for twenty-eight days in February because it wasn’t a leap year). By the last few months detailed in the book, even the youngest readers will be able to recite the days of the week with you.
And Martha of Lookin' Up tells about the things she's looked for in kids' books over the years:
In my 27 plus years of being a mom I have read more children's books than I can keep track of. For some unknown reason, strange to some, my favorite books often have a sing songy type of rhyme to them. Horton Hears a Who not only has a beautiful prolife (in my opinion) message but it rhymes too! I can't help but think of Ol' Horton when ever I see a field of purple clovers.
What are some of your standby favorites? What new books have you discovered with your kids lately?
Shannon Lowe is a BlogHer contributing editor (Mommy/Family). She also writes at Rocks In My Dryer.
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Comments
We love picture books!
We absolutely love Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin and Spring Is Here. The images are fabulous!
Stephanie
Adventures In Babywearing
I agree!
Good night Moon is so lovely! I'm sure when my kids are bigger, I will feel my heartstrings tugging everytime I catch a glimpse of that book. Spent many nights with my three kids looking for that little mouse. "Where's the mouse??" "THERE it is!!"
My kids also loved Sandra Boynton's the Going to Bed Book.
http://watermelonmama.wordpress.com/
Missing It
My monsters are 11 and 9 now...they'd rather bury their heads in a chapter book than have me come in with Dr. Suess under each arm and a silly grin on my face.
We loved Five Little Monkeys, Pretzel, and Dr. Suess.
http://whymomdrinksrum.blogspot.com/
Conventional motherhood? You bet it includes rum!
When my two teens were
When my two teens were little, they liked Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? And now those are my five year old's favorites. Of course, now she's getting into chapter books like Junie B. Jones.
I also used to read to my kids in different voices. Their favorite was this squeaky, nasal-y voice I did for PJ FunnyBunny. They still make me do it.
Miss the books
Thoughts of my boys reading these books with my now teen boys just brought a huge smile to my face!
We loved Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, Very bad day. I can recite them by heart, my three boys can too.
I still keep all their old books, for the future grandkids!
Doris
The Leaky Cauldron
Reading and Writing and Chocolate
Fit and Fabulous at Forty, Naturally
Children's Books
Cathy
http://www.lifetimelearning.blogspot.com
As a homeschooler, reading about 5-10 picture books a day to my kids over the past 12 years, I'd say I've read quite a few picture books. I always know it is a good book when my six year old son asks me to read it again as soon as I finish it. We have lots of favorites. He likes anything by Mo Willems, to classics like Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel to newer classics like Stellaluna. Too many favorites to list. It would be a great idea, however, to start a blog just to review and record the best books we've read. I'll get on that one of these days.
Kid's books are great!
No kids of my own yet, but I have so many great memories of my parents reading to me and my siblings. Favourites included Richard Scary's picture books (too bad they are so gendered looking back on them), The Night Before Christmas and anything by Rumer Godden, especially The Story of Holly and Ivy. Dr. Seuss and Bill Peet were always welcome, too. Getting to reread tons of favourites and finding new ones is one thing I'm definitely looking forward to about eventually having kids.
In Between Words
http://jessicaschafer.wordpress.com
Some of My Favorite Books
blog.candelariasilva.com
Good and plenty!
I read these books to my children and now my daughter reads them to my granddaughter:
Honey I Love by Eloise Greenfield
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Make Way for Ducklings
Good Night Moon
Where the Wild things Are
Random House Book of Poetry
Etcetera
I love children's books. Have had some stories published in children's periodicals and hope that a few of my manuscripts will be children's books one day.
There's nothing like a good book, at any age
I love hearing about books. After lunch or before bed, there's nothing like opening a book to read with my children that brings some calm influence into the household. Well...usually.
Thanks for the great book suggestions!
JCK from Motherscribe
http://motherscribe.blogspot.com
I Love Children's Books
This is a topic very close to my heart. My list could go on and on, but here are a few favorite picture books: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, I'm Off to the Moon; Nova's Ark; and Goodnight Moon, of course. My son moved on to Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants series, all of the Harry Potter books, and now we're reading the Lord of the Rings together.
My husband and I started a website devoted to parent/child reading time with original stories, classics, projects, reviews and more.
http://www.storyrhyme.com.
Happy reading!
JC
As Language Therapy
We're big readers around here and have enjoyed many of the titles mentioned above--and I'm anxious to give a read to the ones on the previous comments that are new to me!
Picture books have been a HUGE part of the therapy we have done with my fourth child, who is hearing impaired. Some of the ones which have combined excellent visual storytelling along with language that helps her take it to the next level are Steven Kellogg's titles, such as The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash. The mulit-layered event sequences in his book and the 'hidden' back stories that occur in the illustrations by Trinka Hakes Noble have been a treasure trove of new language.
Remember the guy who played Herman Munster on the 'The Munsters'? His name was Fred Gwynne and he wrote and illustrated 10 children's books. One of our favorites is The King Who Rained, a book about homonyns. The cover features an illustration of a king floating above the landscape, raining (rain drops pouring from his royal robes). This has been a very important book in imparting the double (and triple meanings) of words and their different spellings.
We also love anything by Jan Brett, the author and illustrator of Daisy Comes Home, The Mitten, and many, many more. She, like Steve Kellogg, through her illustrations, has a story within a story, an excellent vehicle for inspiring conversations and excercising 4 of 8's ability to infer, something that is actually somewhat difficult for someone struggling with language development.
Thanks for the excellent lists shared in the above comments--I look forward to scanning the shelves of ye ol' library!
Octamom
www.octamom.com
the musings of a mother to a multitude
books, books, books...
I have two children, ages 6 and a half and five. We LOVE reading at least a few times a day; before nap, in the car, before the bedtime routine begins, a quiet task to do in the middle of a crazy day etc.... We visit every library close by and take books out by the droves!
Our favorites are-
Good Night Moon, anything related to bears or nature, Franklin books, Arthur, Madeline, Pooh, Princesses, Strega Nona, Clifford, Curious george etc.. The list can go on and on. I have a few favorites of my own that I'll always keep close to my heart: How much do you love me? Bear snores on, any Disney book, Runaway Rabbit...
Now that they're getting older and chapter books are interesting my 6 and a half year old, I'll have to cherish these books and keep them for their lifetime achievements.
Debbie Raymond-Pinet
Author, teacher of the Law of Attraction
www.debbieraymondpinet.com
Harold, and the Hobans
Harold and His Purple Crayon, ya'll!! :)
Ditto on the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom - esp. if you've ever heard Ray Charles do it - that's a whole nother category - audio books - have you heard the If you Give a Mouse a Cookie by Carol Kane??! Or the Rabbit Ears Radio ones - like Meryl Streep or Denzel Washington doing the John Henry story? I loved all of those.
But the one I love the most, from my childhood and that I've kept all these years and is still on my night table, because it is nearly impossible to find?
. Wistful sigh. This book is about three children and the author, Russell Hoban, is the sister of the late Tana Hoban - who did those black and white books? He also was married to and did books with Lillian Hoban.
I've written a few posts on my blog about the VERY talented Hoban family members who've contributed so much to the world of children's literature - and here - in a post I wrote about two and a half years ago, you'll find what I consider to be the most heartwarming cover of a children's book I'll ever remember. I can't really write about it without tearing up, but in a very difficult childhood, this book meant the world to me - and I still love it and have it and keep it near.
That's what the best children's books are to me - pockets of safety and smiles.
Jill
Writes Like She Talks
an oldie and a newbie
Our favorite oldie is Chicken Soup with Rice by Maurice Sendak and the best new one we've read recently is One Duck Stuck by Phyllis Root. They both have fantastic rhythm and fun words. Not to mention the fact that Sendak is one of the best illustrators ever.
I could list a hundred books here but, just like picturebooks, let's keep it simple.
--Kristen M.
We Be Reading - http://webereading.blogspot.com
I enjoy writing about illustrated children's
books
I enjoy writing about illustrated children's books and you can see some of my favorites there - Masha at nightcity.
I find that many of the books Ilove now, I found frightening or too intense when I was a child. Anyone else find that?
Books for children
Hi there -
I enjoyed your list of books for children. Funny how Goodnight Moon never leaves you!
I blog about children's books here:
http://123oleary.blogspot.com
And I've written a couple myself:
When You Were Small, illustrated by Julie Morstad
http://www.amazon.com/When-Were-Small-Sara-OLeary/dp/1894965361
Where You Came From, illustrated by Julie Morstad
http://www.amazon.com/Where-You-Came-Sara-OLeary/dp/1894965469/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217267145&sr=1-2
Take care,
Sara
Reading Monsters
My kids enrolled in the reading programs at their school and the local library this summer. I'm PROUD to announce they surpassed the number of books asked to be read! This is an amazing feet with my daughter understanding chapter books to my son recognizing sight words. I only hope other children are doing the same.
Debbie
www.debbieraymondpinet.com
Author of Tales of a Housewife and Before I Became a Housewife
Rabbit Ears Stories
When I was small, I used to watch and listen to stories from Rabbit Ears. You remember the Rabbit Ears series where celebrities such as, Robin Williams, Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, and Jack Nicholson narrate children's stories? Well, those are my favorite set of children's books. My favorite stories out of this series are:
1) The Fool and the Flying Ship: narrated by Robin Williams
2) Pecos Bill: narrated by Robin Williams
3) John Henry: narrated by Denzel Washington
4) How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin and How the Camel Got His Hump: narrated by Jack Nicholson
5) The Tale of Peter Rabbit and the Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher: narrated by Meryl Streep
6) The Three Little Pigs and the Three Billy Goats Gruff: narrated by Holly Hunter
7) Brer Rabbit and Boss Lion: narrated by Danny Glover
If you want to discuss about your favorite Rabbit Ears stories with other members, go to my new website dedicated to Rabbit Ears and become a member of this website. This website is located at:
http://www.rabbitearsblog.webs.com