What is the best book you have read to your child?

Question

I want to buy my children some new books for their birthdays coming up soon. One is a 5 year old girl, the other a 1 year old boy. What is the best book you have read to your children, and why?

Answer 1

Both my son and daughter loved "Corduoy" by Don Freeman. This little teddy bear that has 1 button missing from his overalls has this little girl see him in the store and asks her father to buy him. She eventually sews on his button. Corduoy goes off on his own really neat little adventures when no one is looking. The story is so cute that they ended up even making a TV series animated show which also was quite good.

My husband and I loved to read to both our son and daughter every night and that was one of their favourite stories. Another excellent story is called "The Magic Pencil" by Scapa (author mentioned in link) found originally in the Children's Reading Digest softcover book in the mid 80's. (Found a link that mentions the library info on it. Hopefull it is with reference to the story I am thinking of). I read that story so many times that I had memorized it to tell many times later when I couldn't find that book. A pencil that whatever is drawn with it and you clap 3 times, the item becomes real. Fantastic concept and very exciting for the young listeners. Don't remember who that story was written by, but if ever found, definitely give it a try as well.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

For the boy it would have to be Where The Wild THings Are. My 2 year old loves it. ANd he has loved it sice he was about one.He ask for it every night he basily has it memorized. Also try i am not sure of the spelling but the Berh Rabbit. And anyhting Dr Suess is great there easy reading especially for the 5 year old. But definitly try Where The Wild THings Are for your son. Its just an Awesome book.

Answer 3

I agree with the person who said "Love You Forver" by Robert Munsch.

My kids also love "The Cat in the Hat" and a book I read almost everyday for a year was "Oh Say Can You Say What's the Weather Today" by Tish Rabe. This is probably better suited for your 5 year old. I could tell you that book word for word without even looking at it.

Answer 4

David Shannon also wrote a book called _A Bad Case of Stripes._ It's very cute, has a good point but isn't preachy or annoying.

My kids have both enjoyed folk tales. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters is a great story. Eric Carle has a lot of cool books, but my son especially liked Dragons, Dragons. It's got poems about dragons -- cool!

My son also says to get Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? for your son. Anyway have fun!! So many great preschool books are out there.

Answer 5

The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Manus Pinkwater

Where's My Teddy? by Jez Alborough

Chester's Way by Kevin Henkes

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

All by Myself by Mercer Mayer

My Goodnight Book by Eloise Wilkin

Any book by Dr Suess

Answer 6

For a more "spiritual" bent, The Little Soul and The Sun by Neale Donald Walsch. I can't get through it without getting emotional.

It is a beautiful interpretation of why sometimes bad things happen to good people. Your kids are still a little too young for the concept just yet...but trust me...buy it, read it for yourself and see. You will hardly be able to wait until they're old enough to so you can share the message with them.

Answer 7

For the boy - try the "David" books by David Shannon. They are really cute stories of this kid that is always getting into trouble. They aren't really stories, more just picture books. The books come in the little hard books as well as big picture books. My kids loved these books. They would "read" them to me. It was fun to put the emotion into the stories. When he's older, they are also good teaching books because you can talk about what David is doing wrong.

Answer 8

Pookins Gets Her Way by Helen Lester
It's about this little girl who always got her way. She'd skate in the house, feed her veggies to the cat.
Dr Suess is pretty good and it caters to all ages.
Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes

Answer 9

The Giving Tree By Shel Silverstein It's a very touching story and a boy and his favorite tree. It has a wonderul lesson about how nature gives us so much

Answer 10

Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner

I love to read to my kids, and although i could never pick a favorite, this one is REALLY cute. Its about a siamese cat that pretends to be a famous swordfighting chiwawa (sp?) Its really fun to read, as you get to use a spanish accent, the pictures are bright and eye catching, and the story is adorable...my kids absolutely love it. they are 5 and 7...Good Luck!