October is National Book Month! Celebrating is as easy as going to the library and reading as many books as you want.
My kids love to randomly pull books off the shelf and see what they find. It is like a treasure hunt. Lizzie, 5 years old, just learned how to use the card catalog on the computer and asks me to help her find books that way too.
In honor of National Book Month, I am sharing eighteen of my children’s favorite books of all time. If we go to the library, they ask to find these books – and we have purchased almost all of them too!
1. Busy, Busy Town by Richard Scarry. I remember Richard Scarry books from when I was a child and they are just as wonderful today. My kids love the characters and the mishaps they find themselves in. There is also a Busy Town TV Show, which helps foster the fandom of the books.
2. Good Night Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown. This is probably one of the best books to read before bed. The rhythm lulls the kids to sleep. And it is simple to memorize, which helps with word recognition and early reading.
3. Diary of A Worm by Doreen Cronin – This fun book takes you through the many adventures of a worm. It is so creative and fun. Lizzie was laughing through some of the funniest parts!
4. Corduroy, by Don Freeman. This is the book that made me fall in love with Teddy Bears. It is a sweet little story of a teddy bear that explores a department store at night and finds a home the next day. A fun way to help the story come alive is to hold a teddy bear while you read the story with your child.
5. When the Fly Flew In by Lisa Westberg Peters. This is a beautifully illustrated book! It tells the story of how four animals react to a fly and end up cleaning the room by accident. It teaches cause and effect and is just all around a funny book.
6. The Mitten, by Jan Brett. This book stretches a child’s imagination! How many animals can fit into a small mitten? It is shocking and always makes my kids laugh.
7. Llama Llama Red Pajama, by Anna Dewdney. Isn’t every child afraid of the dark at least once? This is one book in a series by this author, and the rhymes make it very fun to read. This one is perfect for before bed, to reassure children that there is nothing to be afraid of at bedtime.
8. Are You My Mother, by P.D. Eastman. I remember this book from when I was a child too! It teaches familial groups as a young bird asks different animals if they are his mother. Organizing things into like groups is an important early reading skill!
9. Watch Me HOP. This book is illustrated using hologram photos, and is appropriate for toddlers. It teaches the names of the animals and how they move, but my five-year-old loved moving the pictures.
10. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carle. This book was literally worn out by Lizzie when she was a toddler. She loved to memorize the words and guess what was next! David and Lucy loved it too! In fact, we have checked out almost every single Eric Carle animal book – his artwork is amazing and the books have taught my children the names of so many different animals.
11. Pinkalicious, by Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann. Now that Lizzie is five, she is enamored by all things pink, purple, and glittery. Lucy (2 years old) loves this book too. It teaches the value that rules are made for a reason. When she eats the cupcake against her mom’s warning, she turns completely pink! There are a bunch of other books in this series, and Lizzie wants them all.
12. Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type, by Doreen Cronin. This is the second book by Doreen Cronin on my list! She is a very talented author. Lizzie’s other favorite book by Doreen Cronin is Dooby Dooby Moo, where the cows enter a singing contest at the fair!
13. If You Give a Pig A Party, by Laura Numeroff. The entire “If you give ___” series is one that cannot be missed! I love how it teaches cause and effect and especially how the author winds it all back to the beginning, every single time.
14. The Monster At the End of This Book by Jon Stone. I adored this book as a child! And now my kids are obsessed with it too! There is a second book called “Another monster” and it is just as funny. David loves how “strong” he is as he makes a “huge mess” by turning the pages. It really brings the story to life!
15. Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb, by Al Perkins. If you are looking for a book with an excellent beat, this is the one! It is perfect for early readers because the words repeat, encouraging word recognition.
16. Build A Burrito, by Denise Vega. This book is in both Spanish and English. It counts to ten, so it is a super simple way to introduce Spanish.
17. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, by Bill Martin Jr. This is the second book on my list by Bill Martin Jr. – another talented author! I love how he anthropomorphizes the letters of the alphabet. It has the catchy rhythm his books are known for and is a super fun way to teach the letters to your toddler and preschooler!
18. No, David! by David Shannon. David Shannon’s entire series cannot be missed! My three-year-old son David loves this book. It has barely any words, the beauty is in the artwork. Every page is another mishap this young boy finds himself in. My son loved reading it, because he does most of the same things – and isn’t relating to a book one of the best things about reading? The other books in the series are just as fun to read – my daughter’s favorite is the Christmas one.
Your turn! Tell me which book(s) are on your must-read list!
