25 Books to Read Aloud with Very Young Children

This post was started just over a year ago but I added in a few books recently so here it is updated.

I couldn't wait to start reading to my children so I started early. I wasn't thinking about education or learning as such at the time; it was more about just being with them and sharing my love of books with them but in doing that for a short period each day I was unwittingly imparting some other benefits at the same time.

This little habit of sitting on my lap having a book read to them - jiggling them up and down, keeping the book away from little grabbing mitts and drool, keeping them interested and attentive - was going to pay dividends later on when we were in situations where we needed to keep little ones quiet: like sitting through  long church services, weddings, concerts, doctors' waiting rooms and graduation ceremonies.

One stinking hot summer's afternoon when I was 38 weeks pregnant and had to go to an emergency dental appointment, my husband rushed home from work, dropped me off at the dentist and headed for the nearest air conditioned building (a crowded MacDonald's restaurant filled with screaming kids). He squeezed our then 5 children aged 2 to 11 years of age around a table and told them to wait while he went to the bathroom. He returned to find them all sitting there with ice creams in their hands looking slightly bemused and a lady rushed over and said she just had to buy them because they were all waiting so patiently & hoped he didn't mind! It was no big deal for them to sit and wait but we've often been surprised that other people think that it's beyond the realm of a child's ability to do so.

Attentiveness doesn't just happen, in my experience. It is something that has to be cultivated. Reading aloud  regularly with our children from an early age definitely helped them to acquire the habit of attentiveness.

The following books worked well for the little ones in our family:

1. Miffy  by Dick Bruna

The girls loved these. We still have a t-shirt Grandma made with Miffy appliquéd on the front.

2. Spot by Eric Hill

Our boys loved the Spot books. There are oodles in the series  - lift the flap and see where Spot is hiding. We have a very worn large book of Spot's Bedtime Stories which was our youngest son's favourite.


 

3. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. My daughter, Zana, said this book was voted as the favourite child's picture book in a survey taken in her Children's Literature class at university.

The next 4 are rhyming books which I think work really well with reading aloud to young children.

4. Ten Apples up on Top by Theo. LeSieg

5. Put me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire

6. I Want to be Someone New by Robert Lopshire

7. A Big Ball of String by Marion Holland. This book is longer than the others but the rhyming keeps it flowing.

8. Go Dog Go! by P.D. Eastman - I think everyone in our family could recite this book from memory. My mother-in-law gave us a copy when we were expecting our first child (she's 24 years old now) as it was one of my husband's favourites when he was little. We've still got the original but everyone wants to take it with them when they leave home so I'll have to get some new copies. Definitely a favourite.

9. The Precious Pearl by Mick Butterworth and Mick Inkpen - The Lost Sheep, The Two Sons and the House on the Rock are others in the series.

10. Little Chick's Story by Mary DeBall . A sweet story about Broody Hen and her little Chick.

11. Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik. Four stories about Little Bear are included in this book: What will Little Bear Wear? Birthday Soup, Little Bear Goes to the Moon and Little Bear's Wish.

12. Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion - Harry hates having a bath so he runs away from home. There are at least two other Harry titles.

 

13. Sam and the Firefly by P.D. Eastman. Gus the firefly's tricks have got him into trouble but with the help of Sam the owl, he manages to intervene and avert a collision.

14. The King, the Mice and the Cheese by Nancy and Eric Gurney. A fun story about a King who tries to get rid of the mice in his kingdom but ends up with bigger problems. My kids loved the illustrations in this book.

15. What Would Jesus Do? by Mack Thomas, illustrated by Denis Mortenson. We bought this book when our oldest children were 4 and 2 years of age and we've read it countless times to each of our 7 children so it's just holding together. It's been one of our favourite books to read aloud to young children.

'When I'm faced with a fear or a bad attitude, When I want to be angry or worried or rude, When I don't want to serve, and don't want to love- When only MYSELF is what I'm thinking of - Right from the start I will ask in my heart, WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?'

16. The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese. A little duck stays out on the Yangtze River all night in order to avoid a spanking for being late to return  home to his master's houseboat. First published in 1933.

17. The Bike Lesson by Stan and Jan Berenstein. Our oldest son bought this for his little sister because he loved it and thought it was hilarious when he was little.

18.  The Josephina Story Quilt by Eleanor Coerr. Josefina's Pa reluctantly allows her to take her pet hen on their wagon journey west and on the way Josefina sews patches for her quilt.

 


19.  Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain by Edward Ardizzone. Little Tim desperately wanted to be a sailor and so he becomes a stowaway.


20. The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone. This was our fourth son's favourite book when he was about three years old & I loved reading it to him. It is a great little teaching device for helping children to see that every one needs to help out around the place (especially in a large family or everything goes pear-shaped) but it's done in such a sweet and non-moralising way. Paul Galdone has some great books for older readers or family read alouds also.

21. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. When our children were about 3 years of age they loved this story and others in The Complete Tales book.

22. Peepo by Janet & Allan Ahlberg - my little ones really enjoyed this book but to be honest I probably enjoyed it more because it took me back in my memory to Scotland where I was born and spent the first eight years of my life. The house in the book is so much like I remember homes in Scotland. My Grannie lived with us at different times and there is a picture of a Grannie having a snooze with the washing hanging up all around her trying to dry by the fire and a dad in his army uniform. My dad had to do National Service when we were little so that was another link to the past.

23. Mother Goose  - I've linked to a post I did on Poetry with young children.

24. Charlie Cricket - I just had to add this. Our eldest, JJ, got this on her first birthday. It was just a simple little story about a cricket whose friends helped him overcome his fears and at the end of each page there was a button to press which made a chirping sound. It was her favourite book for a good year and all seven kids liked it and played with the button. A year ago JJ got married & moved out of home so we went through all our books so she could take hers with her (sob!) and we found Charlie Cricket. He'd lost his chirp but the sound button had lasted over 20 years. So here he is as a tribute to the company who made such a long lasting product:

25. How to Make an Apple Pie & See the World - a book my children loved at a young age but also one that they've enjoyed later on. You can see why here.

'I Will Honour Christmas in my Heart'

I've started reading aloud  A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens using the beautifully illustrated version above. This version is published by Walker Books and is illustrated by Robert Ingpen, an Australian artist. We have a number of books illustrated by Ingpen, all quite different in subject matter from one another, and yet again he demonstrates his skill with the magnificent job he does in capturing the feel of Dickens' world in this lovely book.

Scrooge followed to the window: desperate in his curiosity. He looked out.

The air was filled with phantoms, wandering hither and thither in restless haste, and moaning as they went. Every one of them wore chains like Marley’s Ghost; some few (they might be guilty governments) were linked together; none were free. Many had been personally known to Scrooge in their lives. He had been quite familiar with one old ghost, in a white waistcoat, with a monstrous iron safe attached to its ankle, who cried piteously at being unable to assist a wretched woman with an infant, whom it saw below, upon a door-step. The misery with them all was, clearly, that they sought to interfere, for good, in human matters, and had lost the power for ever.

'I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.'

Silent Night: The Song and its Story by Margaret Hodges; illustrated by Tim Ludwig

A warm and touching book which tells how the hymn, Silent Night, came to be written in Austria in 1818; how it spread from country to country and the original composers, Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber were forgotten for a time. The book follows the hymn through the years to Christmas 1914 when, during a truce at Christmas, the German soldiers began to sing the carol from the trenches and were joined by British voices from across no-man's-land...and into a Russian prison camp during the same war...and even to the Korean War.
This book would appeal to a range of ages. The words of the hymn, piano music & chords are included.

Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo; illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline

Great Joy uses the story of a young girl, Frances, whose heart goes out to a poor organ grinder and his monkey out in the cold in the week before Christmas, to awaken compassion and the message of joy that Christmas brings. Set in the 1940's, the illustrations are large and have a lovely softness.
When the time comes for Frances to say her lines at the Christmas pageant, all she can do is think about the poor man and the monkey out on the streets but the gift of compassion within her rises and gives voice to the message of Christmas at the time when it is needed.

Kate DiCamillo said that this book began for her with the image of an organ grinder playing music in the depth and darkness of winter and that this music led her to the heart of the story:
"In a dark time, doors will sometimes magically open and let us step inside to the warmth and light of a community."

The book is recommended for ages 4 to 8.

 

Picture books are just for young children?? Rubbish…a guest post

I really dislike it when people say that picture books are just for young children or beginning readers. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that I never grew out of them myself and have an ever-expanding wish list. Casting slurs on my level of maturity and all that…

Anyway, as a primary teacher, picture books are one of my favourite resources and I use them across all grade levels. Most people are familiar with the quote: “A picture speaks a thousand words”. What I consider to be one of the most beneficial characteristics of pictures is that these “thousand words” are those of the reader. A good picture book is rich and open to a variety of interpretations. It can spark discussion and engagement with difficult or controversial concepts. Whilst they do provide an avenue into literacy for struggling readers, it can be too easy to downplay what they have to offer to students who have excellent skills in this area. The beauty of a text that is so open to interpretation is that everyone can access it at their own level and pull different meaning from it depending on their skills and background knowledge. You could probably compare it to an allegory, which can be read at face value or with the deeper meaning in mind.

Another advantage of picture books, as compared to written texts like novels, is the interplay between the words and the pictures. What is not said is just as, if not more, important than what is said. This technique creates much of the humour and appeal in picture books, and can inspire students to be creative and think outside of the box. The last element that I particularly appreciate is that of “defamiliarisation”. Essentially this refers to a technique by which familiar things are put in unfamiliar contexts or described in unfamiliar ways. I find this really useful for extending the thinking of those students who always want to know “the right answer” or tend towards common or stereotypical interpretations of meaning.

In hindsight, I should have been aware of just how hard it is to narrow my favourite picture books down to a short list! These are just a few of the ones I like to use with older students: 

·         I love anything by Shaun Tan. He is one of those authors who has a very unique perspective and imagination. Every time I read one of his books, I notice something new. Titles include Tales from Outer Suburbia, The Arrival, Rules of Summer and The Lost Thing. 

·         Libby Hathorn’s Way Home is a really touching and confronting picture book about homeless children. Very thought-provoking!

·         Anything at all by Oliver Jeffers! I am yet to pick up a book by him that hasn’t made me laugh. At first glance they are very simple, but when you read them closely they are incredibly creative in their simplicity, which prompts some great discussion. Favourites include Once Upon an Alphabet, The Day the Crayons Quit, The Great Paper Caper, The Heart and the Bottle, Stuck, The Incredible Book-Eating Boy, and This Moose Belongs to Me. 

·         Imagine a Day and Imagine a Night (Rob Gonsalves & Sarah Thomson) – these books provide some of the best stimuli for creating writing I’ve seen. 

·         Erika’s Story (Ruth van der Zee), Rose Blanche (Roberto Innocenti) and Let the Celebration Begin (Margaret Wild & Julie Vivas) are some of my favourite picture books about the Holocaust.  

·         Jeannie Baker’s two books Window and Belonging are wordless and show changes in an environment over time. Really good discussion starters and writing prompts!

·         The Peasant Prince (Li Cunxin & Anne Spudvilas) is the children’s version of Mao’s Last Dancer. One of its best points for use as a teaching resource is how it represents the fables and stories that inspire the main character. You end up with rich, thought-provoking “stories within a story”.

Thank you to Zana, my lovely enthusiastic daughter who is venturing out as a new graduate teacher, for sharing some of the ways she uses picture books in her teaching.