Illustrated books for toddlers...

aug_aug · 03-28-2010, 12:42 PM

Has anyone compiled a "top ten" of illustrated (free) books for small children. I figured someone would've compiled a list of public domain, or just free, ebooks for smaller kids (with pictures), but I can't seem to find anything online that's not some bogus infomercial site using those search terms.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Jaime_Astorga · 03-29-2010, 10:15 AM

Unfortunately, my only knowledge of top ten children books list is a list of the ten worst children books out there, made by Cracked. And they are not even free!

10 great children's books for people who hate their children.

On the plus side, the Internet Archive has some illustrated children books, including the Alice in Wonderland series and some old fairy tales. They are old enough to be in the public domain. But they may be too hard for toddlers unless you are planning on reading them out loud to them...

http://www.archive.org/details/alicesadventures00carr
http://www.archive.org/details/tures...dven00carrrich
http://www.archive.org/details/throughlookinggl00carr2
http://www.archive.org/details/grimmshouseholdt00grim
http://www.archive.org/details/fairytales00hauf
http://www.archive.org/details/fairytales00ande

WillAdams · 03-29-2010, 10:44 AM

An interesting book is _Bembo's Zoo_ --- but the web site is _much_ better (and free) --- simply wonderful for a young child on a pen computer (with Flash):

http://www.bemboszoo.com

Mute speakers if viewing the site at work where animal noises are inappropriate.

William

aug_aug · 03-29-2010, 06:58 PM

The Bembo flash site is really cool; however I was thinking more along the line of what Jaime was talking about, I thought someone might have highlighted some older public domain heavily illustrated "gems" that are available from Project Gutenberg, Google, Amazon, etc.

My idea was to find some free illustrated (or with a little text) books to read to my two year old from my Kindle 2.

Thanks for your suggestions!

dreamsgate · 03-29-2010, 08:20 PM

I'd like to know that as well. So far I have been buying Curious George books from the Amazon Kindle store. They aren't too expensive, but I have only bought a few so far.

Jaime_Astorga · 03-29-2010, 09:03 PM

Say, so long as your toddler is hearing rather than reading, are you interested in audio books at all? Because I happen to know of a great site where this woman reads fairy tales and children's books, and she makes her downloads available for free in mp3 format.

Marcy · 03-30-2010, 02:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aug_aug

The Bembo flash site is really cool; however I was thinking more along the line of what Jaime was talking about, I thought someone might have highlighted some older public domain heavily illustrated "gems" that are available from Project Gutenberg, Google, Amazon, etc.

My idea was to find some free illustrated (or with a little text) books to read to my two year old from my Kindle 2.

Thanks for your suggestions!

I think you're better off with real books for a toddler. A kindle screen is boring if you aren't into text and the illustrations are shrunk down and B&W. My 1.5yo loves books -- looking at the pictures, turning the pages, taking them on and off the shelf and occasionally nibbling them. You lose much of that with an e-reader.

He even loves playing with electronic devices -- my cell phone, the TV remote, etc. -- but has no interest in my e-readers. They just don't do stuff to catch his attention.

-Marcy

dreamsgate · 03-30-2010, 03:14 AM

I agree, at that age my daughter would have never been interested in my Kindle. She absolutely loved her little books and still does. We read her books every day and I have no intention of stopping that activity or no longer supplying her with real paper books. At her age, they are crucial for her reading development and a life long love of reading in and of itself.

But at 3 1/2 she is fascinated by anything mommy is doing. So I downloaded a few Curious George books, she loves to climb in my lap and read Curious George with me, she even gets to push the button to turn the page. I see no harm in showing her that there are many ways to enjoy a book.

aug_aug · 03-30-2010, 03:30 PM

Ok, my thought was to supplement traditional books, which my daughter has so many of that she's in constant danger of getting swept away in a book avalanche, with some digital books on my Kindle; she too likes to see what's on "daddy's white book".

"We read her books every day and I have no intention of stopping that activity or no longer supplying her with real paper books."

I didn't say anything about stopping traditional books or not reading them to her, this response was a little melodramatic.

Again, my question was about a "top ten", or similar list of illustrated public domain books for toddlers. Anybody got one? Seen one posted anywhere, etc.?

dreamsgate · 03-30-2010, 04:10 PM

aug_aug,

I have looked everywhere. Most public domain books seem to be straight text. And even most of the children's books at the Amazon Kindle store seem to be straight text as well. (I have downloaded numerous samples looking for books my 3 year old would enjoy.)

So far the only ones I have found with images are the Curious George Series. But of course I am still looking. If I find any, I will be sure to post them here so you can get them too.

aug_aug · 03-30-2010, 05:58 PM

Ok, great -thanks! I'll continue to search as well, if I find anything new I'll post here as well...one thing I did find interesting, although I haven't searched through it thoroughly, is the Internet Archive Children's Library, it looks promising.

crich70 · 02-12-2015, 06:38 PM

I don't know if they are quite what you are looking for but how about the works of Beatrix Potter? There are some of them here at MR.

Potter

Nancy Fulda · 02-16-2015, 04:46 AM

Sandra Tayler's Hold On To your Horses is available in free pdf format. It's a lovely little metaphor about creativity and impulse control. My kids liked it so much I got sick of reading it.

crich70 · 02-16-2015, 04:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nancy Fulda

Sandra Tayler's Hold On To your Horses is available in free pdf format. It's a lovely little metaphor about creativity and impulse control. My kids liked it so much I got sick of reading it.

I had a neighbor once who had a similar experience. I loaned her my VHS tape of Mary Poppins for her little girl to watch and she watched it over and over again.

Nancy Fulda · 02-16-2015, 05:22 AM

For me, it was Charlotte's Web. When I was about 6, I watched the animated movie every single day for, like, two months straight. To this day, my siblings cannot stand the sound of the opening credits...

03-28-2010, 12:42 PM	#1
aug_aug Member Posts: 16 Karma: 122 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Mountlake Terrace, WA Device: Kindle 2	Illustrated books for toddlers... Has anyone compiled a "top ten" of illustrated (free) books for small children. I figured someone would've compiled a list of public domain, or just free, ebooks for smaller kids (with pictures), but I can't seem to find anything online that's not some bogus infomercial site using those search terms. Thanks for any suggestions!

03-29-2010, 10:15 AM	#2
Jaime_Astorga Member Retired Posts: 274 Karma: 4446 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Florida Device: PRS-350-SC: Sony Reader Pocket Edition	Unfortunately, my only knowledge of top ten children books list is a list of the ten worst children books out there, made by Cracked. And they are not even free! 10 great children's books for people who hate their children. On the plus side, the Internet Archive has some illustrated children books, including the Alice in Wonderland series and some old fairy tales. They are old enough to be in the public domain. But they may be too hard for toddlers unless you are planning on reading them out loud to them... http://www.archive.org/details/alicesadventures00carr http://www.archive.org/details/tures...dven00carrrich http://www.archive.org/details/throughlookinggl00carr2 http://www.archive.org/details/grimmshouseholdt00grim http://www.archive.org/details/fairytales00hauf http://www.archive.org/details/fairytales00ande Last edited by Jaime_Astorga; 03-30-2010 at 04:59 PM.

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03-29-2010, 10:44 AM	#3
WillAdams Wizard Posts: 1,260 Karma: 3439432 Join Date: Feb 2008 Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (300ppi), Samsung Galaxy Book 12	An interesting book is _Bembo's Zoo_ --- but the web site is _much_ better (and free) --- simply wonderful for a young child on a pen computer (with Flash): http://www.bemboszoo.com Mute speakers if viewing the site at work where animal noises are inappropriate. William

03-29-2010, 06:58 PM	#4
aug_aug Member Posts: 16 Karma: 122 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Mountlake Terrace, WA Device: Kindle 2	The Bembo flash site is really cool; however I was thinking more along the line of what Jaime was talking about, I thought someone might have highlighted some older public domain heavily illustrated "gems" that are available from Project Gutenberg, Google, Amazon, etc. My idea was to find some free illustrated (or with a little text) books to read to my two year old from my Kindle 2. Thanks for your suggestions!

03-29-2010, 08:20 PM	#5
dreamsgate Connoisseur Posts: 54 Karma: 184 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: kindle 2	I'd like to know that as well. So far I have been buying Curious George books from the Amazon Kindle store. They aren't too expensive, but I have only bought a few so far.

03-29-2010, 09:03 PM	#6
Jaime_Astorga Member Retired Posts: 274 Karma: 4446 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Florida Device: PRS-350-SC: Sony Reader Pocket Edition	Say, so long as your toddler is hearing rather than reading, are you interested in audio books at all? Because I happen to know of a great site where this woman reads fairy tales and children's books, and she makes her downloads available for free in mp3 format.

03-30-2010, 03:14 AM	#8
dreamsgate Connoisseur Posts: 54 Karma: 184 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: kindle 2	I agree, at that age my daughter would have never been interested in my Kindle. She absolutely loved her little books and still does. We read her books every day and I have no intention of stopping that activity or no longer supplying her with real paper books. At her age, they are crucial for her reading development and a life long love of reading in and of itself. But at 3 1/2 she is fascinated by anything mommy is doing. So I downloaded a few Curious George books, she loves to climb in my lap and read Curious George with me, she even gets to push the button to turn the page. I see no harm in showing her that there are many ways to enjoy a book.

03-30-2010, 03:30 PM	#9
aug_aug Member Posts: 16 Karma: 122 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Mountlake Terrace, WA Device: Kindle 2	Ok, my thought was to supplement traditional books, which my daughter has so many of that she's in constant danger of getting swept away in a book avalanche, with some digital books on my Kindle; she too likes to see what's on "daddy's white book". "We read her books every day and I have no intention of stopping that activity or no longer supplying her with real paper books." I didn't say anything about stopping traditional books or not reading them to her, this response was a little melodramatic. Again, my question was about a "top ten", or similar list of illustrated public domain books for toddlers. Anybody got one? Seen one posted anywhere, etc.?

03-30-2010, 04:10 PM	#10
dreamsgate Connoisseur Posts: 54 Karma: 184 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: kindle 2	aug_aug, I have looked everywhere. Most public domain books seem to be straight text. And even most of the children's books at the Amazon Kindle store seem to be straight text as well. (I have downloaded numerous samples looking for books my 3 year old would enjoy.) So far the only ones I have found with images are the Curious George Series. But of course I am still looking. If I find any, I will be sure to post them here so you can get them too.

03-30-2010, 05:58 PM	#11
aug_aug Member Posts: 16 Karma: 122 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Mountlake Terrace, WA Device: Kindle 2	Ok, great -thanks! I'll continue to search as well, if I find anything new I'll post here as well...one thing I did find interesting, although I haven't searched through it thoroughly, is the Internet Archive Children's Library, it looks promising.

02-12-2015, 06:38 PM	#12
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,310 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	I don't know if they are quite what you are looking for but how about the works of Beatrix Potter? There are some of them here at MR. Potter

02-16-2015, 04:46 AM	#13
Nancy Fulda I write stories. Posts: 700 Karma: 16437432 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Northern Germany Device: kindle	Sandra Tayler's Hold On To your Horses is available in free pdf format. It's a lovely little metaphor about creativity and impulse control. My kids liked it so much I got sick of reading it.

02-16-2015, 05:22 AM	#15
Nancy Fulda I write stories. Posts: 700 Karma: 16437432 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Northern Germany Device: kindle	For me, it was Charlotte's Web. When I was about 6, I watched the animated movie every single day for, like, two months straight. To this day, my siblings cannot stand the sound of the opening credits...