Best Toddler/ Young Children Books

[WordCountess]

I am a mother of 5 kids; ages 2, 3, 5, 8, and 10. Another one is on the way But I'm looking for suggestions for children's books- specifically kids 5 and under. We love Beatrix Potter, Dr. Suess, Shel Silverstien, and Marc Brown. Who are a few other great children's authors worth reading? Or what are some recommendations for 'toddler age' books that you've found to be a big hit with your kids?

[samhy]

One book I really like, but it's quite a sad one, is "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch.
Usually, children around me like the "Gaspard and Lisa" series by Anne Gutman. They also like books which include a CD, like "The Animal Boogie"

[NickyWithNook]

Eric Carle and Maurice Sendak. We love Chicken Soup with Rice and Alligators All Around.

[HomeInMyShoes]

I love the Oliver Jeffers books especially How to Catch a Star, Lost & Found, and The Incredible Book Eating Boy.

[elemenoP]

Mo Willems' books are very funny.

I love Elisa Kleven's multimedia artwork, and this one has a wonderful story too (not available in ebook, though!):

http://www.amazon.com/Ernst-Elisa-Kl...keywords=ernst

Also take a look at Elsa Beskow, whose books are classic and charming.

eP

[steven522]

Not exactly an author, but a style of book for toddlers that went over well with my daughter was the ones that replace a word in each sentence with a small picture. Example would be a series of Scooby-doo books where it would read like: "Scooby saw a [picture of a sandwich] on the table." At an early age, the kids love to be able to add their two cents in and can call out the item as your finger gets to it while tracing the words. Also, as they progress, they pick up on actual printed words in the books.

For early readers, I would suggest the Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park. As a good starter set for K to 3rd, they also seemed to keep a sentimental value for my daughter who had a hard time passing them along to younger cousins even after she stopped reading them routinely.

[sakura-panda]

My kids enjoy The Magic Treehouse series by Mary Pope Osborne. They are chapter books but are written so that even my 4 year old enjoys listening to them. (We've been listening to the audiobooks in the car.)

We also enjoy books by Jan Brett -- Gingerbread Baby and The Mitten are the ones we've read the most.

[thersites]

For the 2 younger, try Lynley Dodd's Harry Maclarey and Slinky Malinki stories. They're silly with great word play and nice drawings. There are occasional rhyme issues due to differences in her New Zealand English from American English (e.g., paw rhyming with door), but these only crop up in a couple places out of about 8 books. Our kids' favorites vary over time, but I'd recommend "Harry Maclary and Zachary Quack" and "Slinky Malinky" as good starters.

James Harriot's children's collection is great (selections from his numerous books about himself as a country vet appropriate for children).

Jan Brett's stories are nicely done & well illustrated. We get her Christmas collection out every year during that season, and our older pulls it out at other times of the year for us to read.

Cheers,
Dave

[WordCountess]

for all of the awesome suggestions! I love the Magic Treehouse Books- and my kiddies do too. The idea of the Scooby Doo books with the pictures seems lovely! I will certainly look into those. In fact I will look into all of the books listed. Thank you guys!

[avantman42]

I have three books by Michael Yu that my 5-year old son likes: The Dragon Egg, A Dragon's Quest and Playtime With Monster.

[crich70]

I liked "The pokey little Puppy" when I was a little kid and "The Three Billy Goats Gruff." Not sure who the authors are. Uncle Wiggily by Howard R. Garis is also good. Several of the Uncle Wiggily books are now out on Kindle for only a few dollars too.

[steven522]

Originally Posted by crich70

I liked "The pokey little Puppy" when I was a little kid and "The Three Billy Goats Gruff." Not sure who the authors are.

These would probably have been the Little Golden Books series, not sure who or if the author was credited to be. These would be another excellent set for smaller children if you can find the more durable hard cover versions.

[steven522]

Originally Posted by WordCountess

The idea of the Scooby Doo books with the pictures seems lovely! I will certainly look into those.

Go to Amazon and search for Scooby Doo Picture Clue and you should see a selection. You can then browse the book and see how the layout is for word/picture replacement.

We found ours in local bookstores about... oh, man, was it actually 12 years ago... getting old... anyway, I'm not sure if they are still on shelves or not. They are a Scholastic series, so who knows.

[sakura-panda]

We have some of those Scooby Doo books and I'm sure we got them from the Scholastic flyers. My kids and I don't care for them -- half the time the kids didn't know what the pictures were supposed to represent and they found it more frustrating to have to remember that between readings than to learn the names and words. We have a couple of other books that do that too, although I can't recall what those characters are offhand.

When we shop for books, if I open it up and it has those pictures for words, the kids will put it back because they don't like them. Your mileage may vary.

The kids love Scooby Doo so we have other early reader books that have been read frequently. Any Early Reader book with recognizable characters is fun for them.

[WillAdams]

Originally Posted by steven522

Not exactly an author, but a style of book for toddlers that went over well with my daughter was the ones that replace a word in each sentence with a small picture.

The word you're looking for is ``rebus''.