As a retired teacher, I can’t love this post anymore. Recipes and BOOKS?! Two of my favorites! My boys loved many older ones mentioned and now my students I tutor are fans of Piggie and Elephant and so many graphic novels. One thing I always tell anyone that will listen,
please continue reading to your kids because their receptive listening is much higher than what early readers can read. Off my soapbox now.
When I’m an old lady, the memories I’ll revisit the most will be reading Little Blue House Beside The Sea, Dream Animals, On The Night You Were Born, and Miss Rumphius to my sweet babies.
Our seven year old is autistic and non-verbal, and he LOVES the 100 Words book as well as Moo Baa Lalala. He doesn’t want to be read to but likes to just open them to certain pages and gaze lovingly at the pictures. We own 3 copies of Moo Baa Lalala because we are always sending it with him when he needs something to help regulate him. He also loves Doggies, but mostly because he can make me do the different barks for all of the dogs.
Never underestimate the appeal of Creepy Underwear. It’s a delight for ages 2-7 now.
Berenstain bears, Amelia Bedelia, Mysterious Benedict Society, The Giver, Betsy-Tacy, The Golden Compass, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Boxcar Children, Little House on the Prairie
Mysterious Benedict Society is one of my favorites! I picked it up on a whim when I was in my early 20s (actually, I convinced my mom to buy it because she could then use it for her elementary classroom) and loved it so much! A great example of how kids’ books are for everyone!
This is the most timely post ever! I was literally about to pour over your page looking for the books Mattis likes to read for some variety for my 7 year old son and this notification popped up. So crazy! Thanks for this it’s amazing!!
Oh and books! My 7 and 5 year olds are really into graphic novels. Dog Man, Press Start: Super Rabbit Boy, Narwhal and Jelly, Pizza and Taco, Lemon Bird. My 3 year old loves everything. She loves looking at Catwad and Mix iT Up
When our Pokemon obsessed son was in 2nd grade, a very smart bookshop lady recommended D'aulaire's Greek Myths. It became the very favorite book of all 3 of our boys. Big payoff down the road when they were reading The Odyssey in school and were experts!!
Anything Oliver Jeffers! He’s both an author and illustrator. His “Here we are” is my favorite book for a new baby. He’s also illustrated the crayon books (starting with “The day the crayons quit”), which are not to be missed!
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is beloved by (me) and my third grade students year after year. Perfect as a read aloud or independent reading book for 8-12 year olds.
Wild Robot is also a great chapter book (as a read aloud OR independent reading book) for 8-10
Year olds along with The One and Only Ivan and Impossible Creatures.
A great series for children interested in entrepreneurship and the stories behind some of their favorite companies (LEGO, Nike, Disney, Nintendo) is From an Idea to… by Lowey Bundy Sichol. My students really enjoy these books. The author makes many school visits and is an awesome presenter.
Correction for a typo in the email version: Books Are Magic is a magical bookshop for ALL books not just kids books!!
As a retired teacher, I can’t love this post anymore. Recipes and BOOKS?! Two of my favorites! My boys loved many older ones mentioned and now my students I tutor are fans of Piggie and Elephant and so many graphic novels. One thing I always tell anyone that will listen,
please continue reading to your kids because their receptive listening is much higher than what early readers can read. Off my soapbox now.
This is a great soapbox!! So often I'm like mattis you got this! A great reminder to keep reading even if they love reading alone.
We love Blueberries for Sal!
When I’m an old lady, the memories I’ll revisit the most will be reading Little Blue House Beside The Sea, Dream Animals, On The Night You Were Born, and Miss Rumphius to my sweet babies.
I got so many new book recs from this, thank you!! Dragon Masters and Mercy Watson are big hits in our house, and anything from Julia Donaldson!
Our seven year old is autistic and non-verbal, and he LOVES the 100 Words book as well as Moo Baa Lalala. He doesn’t want to be read to but likes to just open them to certain pages and gaze lovingly at the pictures. We own 3 copies of Moo Baa Lalala because we are always sending it with him when he needs something to help regulate him. He also loves Doggies, but mostly because he can make me do the different barks for all of the dogs.
Never underestimate the appeal of Creepy Underwear. It’s a delight for ages 2-7 now.
Berenstain bears, Amelia Bedelia, Mysterious Benedict Society, The Giver, Betsy-Tacy, The Golden Compass, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Boxcar Children, Little House on the Prairie
Mysterious Benedict Society is one of my favorites! I picked it up on a whim when I was in my early 20s (actually, I convinced my mom to buy it because she could then use it for her elementary classroom) and loved it so much! A great example of how kids’ books are for everyone!
Thank you for this thorough list! There’s some we love and some new we’ll get from the library! A few favorites for my 4.5 year old:
Bookie and Cookie by Blanca Gomez (so clever and the cutest illustrations)
Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers (great conversation starters and intro to big topics)
The Book That Almost Rhymed by Omar Abed (about a brother and sister - lots of rhymes and fun times!).
Congrats, Megan!! You're the (randomly selected) winner of the giveaway! 🎉 I've DMed you :)
This is the most timely post ever! I was literally about to pour over your page looking for the books Mattis likes to read for some variety for my 7 year old son and this notification popped up. So crazy! Thanks for this it’s amazing!!
Yay, we're so glad it hit your inbox at the perfect time!! xx
Oh and books! My 7 and 5 year olds are really into graphic novels. Dog Man, Press Start: Super Rabbit Boy, Narwhal and Jelly, Pizza and Taco, Lemon Bird. My 3 year old loves everything. She loves looking at Catwad and Mix iT Up
We love reading in our house!
The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld
When our Pokemon obsessed son was in 2nd grade, a very smart bookshop lady recommended D'aulaire's Greek Myths. It became the very favorite book of all 3 of our boys. Big payoff down the road when they were reading The Odyssey in school and were experts!!
Anything Oliver Jeffers! He’s both an author and illustrator. His “Here we are” is my favorite book for a new baby. He’s also illustrated the crayon books (starting with “The day the crayons quit”), which are not to be missed!
His “What We’ll Build” book is one of my faves
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is beloved by (me) and my third grade students year after year. Perfect as a read aloud or independent reading book for 8-12 year olds.
Wild Robot is also a great chapter book (as a read aloud OR independent reading book) for 8-10
Year olds along with The One and Only Ivan and Impossible Creatures.
I could go on and on and on…
A great series for children interested in entrepreneurship and the stories behind some of their favorite companies (LEGO, Nike, Disney, Nintendo) is From an Idea to… by Lowey Bundy Sichol. My students really enjoy these books. The author makes many school visits and is an awesome presenter.
We read The Pout-Pout Fish on repeat!
My 8yr old and 5yr old have LOVED the Dragon Masters book series. They are wonderful early chapter books!