“Books are as much a part of the furnishing of a house as tables and chairs, and in the making of a home they belong, not with the luxuries but with the necessities. A bookless house is not a home; for a home affords food and shelter for the mind as well as for the body.
It is as great an offense against a child to starve his mind as to starve his body, and there is as much danger of reducing his vitality and putting him at a disadvantage in his lifework in the one as in the other form of deprivation.”
From CHILDHOOD’S FAVORITES AND FAIRY STORIES by Hamilton Wright Mabie
Here are some of our favorite books right now:
Little Bear Books, Eric Carle’s books; Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me, Pancakes, Pancakes, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Beatrix Potter Tales, and classics such as; Little Red Riding Hood, Three Little Pigs, The Gingerbread Man, The Princess and the Frog, Mother Goose Rhymes, Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, Dr. Seuss ABC
Some books that I want to add to our library are:
Brambly Hedge Books, Each Peach Pear Plum, Milly Molly Mandy Storybooks
And for when the babies are older:
More classics, The Elves and the Shoemaker, Henny Penny, The Little Red Hen, Corduroy books
What do you like to read with your children?
merrill and i have been reading please get the moon for me evry night and every nap time. that makes me happy to think about these girls sharing stories already. the other one she always beg for is The Best Nest. its not time yet, but in case i forget: y’all need The Just So Stories from r. kipling. great stories about how the elephant got its trunk and the rhino got its skin. good for 5 and ups. also around kindergarden time, we love the Old Mother West Wind Stories. love you!
gerhardt will need the billy and blaze books.
Milly Molly Mandy is an excellent book. My daughter returns to that one often. We try to get classics into her hands, too. Reading high quality books from early on helps promote good literacy later, too.
Thanks for this post, Aubri! You’ve helped me out. 🙂 Please add the Frog and Toad stories to your list. Our three-year-old loves them. And Ferdinand. And Blueberries for Sal. And Make Way for Ducklings (the 16-mo-old really loves ducks, for some reason).
Wonderful suggestions! Thank you all!
Quality is very important. Lily checked out some books (without my supervision, oops!) from our library recently and after one read on my part I was sorry and very disappointed in what’s considered “quality” children’s books these days.