I love to read. It’s one of my favorite ways to take a break from the stressors of life and escape to another world for at least a short while. I also love to read with my little ones at home. It’s important to me that I make reading fun and enjoyable for both me and my children so that the love for reading is established early on. With this in mind, I’ve decided to share some suggestions and resources that will help books become a fun and enjoyable way you spend time with your children. Today’s post is all about my favorite children’s books. Some of these are classics you may know by heart, and others may be a little less familiar.
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“Readers are made on the laps of their parents.” –Emilie Buchwald
1. The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson is one of my all-time favorite children’s books. The Gruffalo is about a clever little mouse who outwits some very scary creatures in order to survive in the “deep dark wood.” I find the rhythm and cadence of the words to be incredibly soothing! My favorite thing about this story, though, is all the inferential language that you’ll find. At surface level, it’s certainly enjoyable, but for children who can appreciate underlying meaning, there will be lots to talk about in this story!!
2. Another great story with underlying meaning is Monster and Mouse Go Camping by Deborah Underwood. This book centers around two friends who decide to go camping together, and what happens when one of them gets very hungry. This book incorporates friendship, humor, and inferencing all in one.
3. The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. Have you read this story with your little ones? It’s a favorite in our house. When one of my girls was having a particularly difficult time at daycare, we started to incorporate the “kissing hand” into our drop off routine every morning and the predictability and familiarity helped for a smoother transition. If you haven’t read it, it’s about a raccoon who doesn’t want to leave his mom and go to school. She comes up with an idea to help him feel safe and loved, even when they are apart.
4. Duck in the Truck by Jez Alborough. This book is great for rhyming and vocabulary (lots of verbs!) but also for problem solving. Kids enjoy seeing familiar farm animals doing familiar things—in this case, driving.
5. Froodle by Antoinette Portis. I love reading this book during my speech sessions with children with hearing loss. It always keeps their attention and keeps them laughing. Little do they know, it’s also working on lots of auditory and speech skills like building their auditory feedback loop and sound-object association.
6. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault. For whatever reason, my girls used to LOVE this story. I would read it to them when they were infants and it wasn’t long before they were old enough to recognize it when they heard me say the name. They would kick their little legs and start smiling. I think they were mesmerized by the bright colors of the pages and the rhythm of the text. There are lots of opportunities for learning letters here, but don’t get caught up in all of that. Just enjoy the silliness of the story!
7. The Squeaky, Creaky Bed by Pat Thomson is underrated and hard to find, but it’s a book that my kids love reading over and over. This story is centered around a young boy who visits his grandparents for a sleepover but he can’t fall asleep because the bed is too creaky. It has lots of repetitive lines, onomatopoeia, built in opportunities for auditory memory skills, and even some problem-solving skills are incorporated into this one. It reminds me of The Napping House (another classic you won’t want to miss!). If you can snag a copy, it’s sure to make your kids laugh.
8. Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by James Dean is a funny story about a groovy cat who struggles to keep his favorite white shoes clean while walking outside. The lines are catchy preschoolers will love predicting what color his shoes will turn next. The moral of the story is an important lesson that grown ups will surely relate to.
So there you have it, my favorite stories to read with my kids at home and “my” kids at work! What are your favorite children’s books? Comment below!
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