Good Children’s Books

[milk]

My boys are 5 and 3 and of course I read a lot of books to them. I have to say that most books are so-so. My biggest complaint is that most authors of children’s books have something in mind that they want kids to learn. I find that tendentiousness pretty annoying. It keeps the work from being “art” IMHO. Few books transcend the genre to become truly memorable and worthy of admiration. One author that I think wrote really sublime books was Arnold Lobel. He authored and illustrated Toad and Frog as Well as Owl at Home. Others here might suggest some of their favorite children’s books that they think we should be reading to our kids?
Owl making “tear-water tea”:

Owl talking to the moon:

Owl wondering why he cannot be both upstairs and downstairs at the same time:

 

[AJL67]

Two that i remember my mom reading to me are, Where the Wild Things Are and In The Night Kitchen

Amazon.com

 

[Elric]

Back when my kids were young enough to read to nightly, here were a few of the favorites:

 

[Indygrap]

Winnie the Pooh, Where the Wild Things Are, most anything from Dr. Seuss are ones that I remember my parents reading to me. The Hobbit & The Princess Bride could be fun as they get a little older(especially if you’re good with doing the characters voices). If they stick with reading on their own, Neil Gaiman writes some engaging YA books that often get overlooked because his main works are geared towards adults. Enjoy the time with your children. Believe it or not, this type of thing sticks with them.

 

[AcesAndEights]

Current favorites at our place right now. I could probably recite these from memory at this point….

 

[The Amish Tyrant]

The Little Prince is timeless, with a decent message adults need to review and remember every now and again.

Castle in the Attic and Indian in the Cupboard are also decent reads with toys coming to life.

 

[milk]

Back when my kids were young enough to read to nightly, here were a few of the favorites:

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We have both the Seuss and the Scarry. I respect that Seuss. It's unique and unforgettable. There isn't a replacement for Suess as far as words go or really his visual ideas either. I think Scarry is in that category of sublime. There's something about Scarry. He created worlds unto themselves. They seem endless.

Two that i remember my mom reading to me are, Where the Wild Things Are and In The Night Kitchen

Amazon.com

Where the Wild Things Are is a favorite of mine since I was a kid and my kids love it. One line that they can get out of their heads is, "We'll eat you up we love you so!" I think I have it right. It's a great line that sticks with you. The illustrations are so incredible. I have to say also that I loved the movie even though its connection to the book is almost thin. It's connected but it's not the same thing and not for the same age group. But it got into me, perhaps because it delved more deeply into the loneliness of those scary feelings children can have.

 

[elessar]

A bit obscure but one of my favorites growing up.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

I love the books by Jon Klassen (I Want My Hat Back, This Is Not My Hat, and others).

 

[milk]

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A bit obscure but one of my favorites growing up.

I will look into this. I don't know it.

 

[milk]

The Little Prince is timeless, with a decent message adults need to review and remember every now and again.

Castle in the Attic and Indian in the Cupboard are also decent reads with toys coming to life.

I'm waiting a little bit on The Little Prince. It's great. I'm thinking to wait another couple of years.

 

[shermnatman]

What's wrong with the good ol' Brothers Grimm ?



Nothing like scaring little kids with tales of being eaten by wolves, shoved in ovens, and harassed and tortured by witches!

Wetting your bed at night after story-time builds character!

Sherm 'Mr Mom' Natman

 

[Arthur Frayn]

Beatrix Potter- 'Squirrel Nutkin'

 

[n_irwin]

I’ll second Chris Van Dusen and Jon Klassen. Circus Ship is a fun read. So is The Day the Crayons Quit, by Drew Daywalt. When I was growing up, my favorite was Harold and the Purple Crayon. It’s been fun to enjoy it with my kids.

 

[MattRVA]

These were two of my favorites.

 

[btp79]

This is a current favorite with my 6year old for reading and my 3 year old for looking:

 

[BCF]

American fairy tales

 

[Kobold]

Shel Silverstein is read a lot to my boys and Margret Wise Brown. Brown’s books are actually really weird at times. She was a character. Even her death was weird.

“In 1952, Brown met James Stillman 'Pebble' Rockefeller Jr. at a party, and they became engaged. Later that year, while on a book tour in Nice, France, she died at 42 of an embolism, shortly after surgery for a ruptured appendix. Kicking up her leg to show her nurses how well she was feeling caused a blood clot that had formed in her leg to dislodge and travel to her heart.“

 

[sham]

if you read them the hobbit, they can learn a bit about pipe smoking

didnt tolkien say it was a childrens book?

 

[Pooh-Bah]

I'll add another vote of quality to Beatrix Potter. And make a pair of recommendations.

E B White - Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, Trumpet of the Swan. I've very fond memories of ma reading these to me as a tiny child. May be another year or two off from these.

Childcraft - My dad had the 1964 set when he was a boy, and I greatly enjoyed the fairy tales from volume 4(?) whenever we were visiting grandma (where the books remained in the basement).
My favorites were "Salt" and "The Old Woman and Her Pig".