I’ve loved reading all my life and it’s a love I hope to instill in my son. Of course that means we’ve already started reading to him (and amassing a large number of books for his own collection). While I know it’s too early to say he understands what we’re reading, I do know that he enjoys hearing us read to him. And we’re having fun!
I never had much experience with kids’ books prior to having my own child, but it hasn’t taken me long to start playing favorites with the books we have on hand. Most of this is because I know the enjoyment for our son is in listening to us read, so our favorites at the moment are more text driven titles. And if they include silliness and rhyming, even better!
Here are some of my current top picks:
- Little Owl’s Snow by Divya Srinivasan – I absolutely adore the little owl books. The illustrations are so charming and the stories – each one about owl exploring the woods where he lives – are super fun to read.
- The Thing About Yetis by Vin Vogel – Vogel is a Brazilian writer and illustrator with a great imagination! The Yeti books are adorable but The Thing About Yetis, featuring a yeti who longs for summer, is my favorite.
- Dream Animals: A Bedtime Journey by Emily Winfield Martin – Dream Animals is such a sweet bedtime read! It’s so imaginative and the illustrations are both beautiful and whimsical.
- The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats – There’s a reason The Snowy Day is an award-winning classic. Ours is a winter baby and I’ve definitely overloaded his collection with “snowy” reads, so this was a must have!
- The Gruffalo by Julie Donaldson – This book was given to us as a gift and I absolutely adore it and it’s sequel. It was the first book I read to our son after we brought him home and even at such a young age I know I didn’t imagine the illustrations holding his attention!
- If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen – This book was also given to our son as a gift and it is such a pleasure to read! I like to think it’ll spark great creativity in him!
- Love, Z by Jessie Sima – Not Quite Narwhal was the first book I had to have for our collection and Sima’s latest was another must have – a book about a robot who wants to know what love is? This sweet read makes me tear up every time!
- The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss – Dr. Seuss’s goofy rhymes and accompanying illustrations are pure fun to read! I can’t wait ’til our son laughs alongside us as we turn the pages on this silly story. Our copy happens to be my husband’s from when he was a child.
- Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton – Snuggle Puppy was recommended to me when I asked for a board book we just had to have. When I found out it was an actual song, I was sold. It’s become part of our daily bedtime routine!
- A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein – This book was another gift and, in my opinion, an essential for any kid’s collection. Silverstein’s poems delighted me as a child and still do to this day!
- I’ll Love you Till the Cows Come Home by Kathryn Cristaldi – This book begins “I’ll love you till the cows come home from a trip to Mars through skies unknown…” and has illustrations of astronaut cows! What’s not to love about that, I ask?
- Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin – Honestly, all of Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri’s books are a joy to read. Choosing one for the list was tough, but Dragons Love Tacos was our first, a gift as part of the book themed baby shower my sister threw for us.
- Potato Pants! by Laurie Keller – Potato Pants is a silly book with a silly premise – a sale on potato pants and a potato determined to get a pair. But everything goes wrong and, in the end, it’s a not a book about potatoes and pants at all. Well, ok, it is in large part about potatoes and pants, but there’s more to it than that!
bookbarblog 
Totally agree with your list. My mom actually has half of The cat in the hat memorized, even to this day!
LikeLike