The following is a list of books which have proved the most successful with various noders' children. Many of these books have lasted well beyond the indicated age range, remaining great favourites with many children until they (the books) are tattered and torn. These are the books our children (and dearest relatives) ask for time and again.
If you know of no other childrens' authors, then these three are probably the tops, listed more or less in terms of age-suitability.
Our own children never really went for the heavily commercialised series, even though we have all of those (in some cases two or three versions): Peter Rabbit, Thomas the Tank Engine, endless Disney stories and so on. The ones they liked tend to emphasise either rhythmic speech patterns, imagination, or lots of lift-the-flap type excitement. Oh, and good illustrations are at least as important as the words, especially in the early years.
Note: Evilrooster says its Mother read many books to it as a child, but most of them were designed for much older age groups. Lord of the Rings at age four, for example. Other books read to the Rooster include:
The Rooster definitely intends to repeat the practice with its offspring. What more recommendation do you need? Ereneta confirms this, reading Eric Carle books to a 1-year old.
Age 0-2
- Big, by Keith Haring suggested by Ereneta
- Any or all books about Spot, by Eric Hill suggested by Kidas
- I am 1 year old, Happy Birthday by Mothercare suggested by Kidas
- Anything by Dr. Seuss suggested by various noders
- Any good book of nursery rhymes, especially with lots of pictures suggested by various noders
- Any book with clear, colour pictures of everyday objects* suggested by Kidas
* Especially useful if you are trying to teach more than one language. The Dorling Kindersley My first .... Book series is very good for this, whatever you think of their approach to marketing and sales
Age 1-3
- Anything by Don and Audry Wood, suggested by Siouxsie
- Quick as a Cricket
- The little mouse, the red ripe strawberry, and the big hungy bear
- Any or all books about Spot, by Eric Hill suggested by Kidas
- Where's Spot?
- Spot's baby sister
- Spot's Alphabet
- Spot's Busy Year
- Spot's First Easter
- Anything by Lucy Cousins, especially the Maisy books suggested by Kidas
- Maisy goes to school
- Za-Za's baby brother
Age 2-5
Many of the above books remain favourites in this age group, but you can also add in the following:
- Hairy McClary from Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd suggested by Demeter
- Mr. Pine's Purple House by Leonard Kessler suggested by Siouxsie
- Anything by Sam McBratney suggested by Siouxsie
- Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion suggested by Siouxsie
- Where the Wild things are by Maurice Sendak
- In fact, anything by Maurice Sendak suggested by DejaMorgana
- My Mum and Dad make me laugh by Nick Sharratt suggested by Kidas
- We're going on a bear hunt by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
- Can't you sleep little bear?, by Martin Waddell, illustrated by Barbara Firth
- Each Peach, Pear Plum by Allan Ahlberg, Janet Ahlberg
- Owl babies by Martin Waddell, illustrated by Patrick Benson
- The big, big sea by Martin Waddell, illustrated by Jennifer Eachus
- Guess how much I love you by Sam McBratney, illustrated by Anita Jeram
- Why wash? (Learning about personal hygiene) by Claire Llewellyn, illustrated by Mike Gordon
- Six Dinner Sid by Inga Moore
- The DK big book of trucks
- The DK book of animals
- The Queen's Knickers by Nicholas Allan
- Peepo! (Peek-A-Boo! In some countries) by Janet Ahlberg, Allan Ahlberg
- I Want My Potty (and other 'Little Princess' stories) Illustrated by Tony Ross
- The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics by Norton Juster, suggested by Isogolem
Age 4-7
Again, many of the above books remain favourites in this age group, but you can start to add longer, and more challenging stories:
Upwards
By now, you will know what they likeand more importantly, so will they. But here is a selection which might appeal, if you don't already have them.
A lot of people made suggestions here, notably for His Dark Materials, The Dark is Rising and others, but I have to say, this node was originally meant to be about books adults can read aloud to children. There are some books (IMHO) which are much better read by a growing child to his or herself. Regardless of that preamble, the following books are good either for reading aloud, or as gifts for growing youngsters to read on their own.
- Absolutely anything by Roald Dahl
- The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- Little House on the Prairie and other "Little House" books by Laura Ingalls Wilder suggested by Demeter
- The Redwall series by Brian Jacques suggested by BlueDragon
- A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin suggested by Evilrooster
- A Series of Unfortunate Events by Daniel Handler, also known as Lemony Snicket suggested by DejaMorgana
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll suggested by DejaMorgana
- The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster suggested by isogolem
- The Sword in the Stone by T. H. White, suggested by SophiesCat
- The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin suggested by SophiesCat
- From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg suggested by SophiesCat
- The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare suggested by SophiesCat
- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, suggested by SophiesCat
- the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede, suggested by SophiesCat
- Dragon of the Lost Sea by Laurence Yep, suggested by SophiesCat
- The Borrowers books by Mary Norton, suggested by SophiesCat
- The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald, suggested by SophiesCat
- The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare suggested by SophiesCat
- My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett suggested by SophiesCat
- Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald suggested by SophiesCat
- The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi suggested by SophiesCat
- Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald suggested by SophiesCat
- The Oz Books by L. Frank Baum suggested by SophiesCat
- The His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman suggested by Mortice
- Most things by Astrid Lindgren suggested by Lectrice
- The Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling
- The Narnia stories by C.S. Lewis
- The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
- The dark is rising series by Susan Cooper (Suggested by heyoka)
Feel free to /msg me, heyoka or any other admin and they will add your suggestions here