From deeply imaginative, to how-the-world-works, to steeped in life lessons, to soothing bedtime books, reading has been a staple in our home since the kids were born. While literature is quite subjective, I know that for every ten or twenty books we go through, one stands out as memorable. This list below is for the memorable ones.
As a tip, there are many sources of books out there:
- The library is an awesome place where you can walk home with a bag full of new books to try. Walking around with the kids in the library is like being a kid in a candy store.
- Bonus: connecting your library access to a Kindle device will give you virtual access to a wide range of children’s e-books.
- The thrift store was a major source of books from my mom (by the boxload)
- Amazon Kids+: For the more digitally-connected, you can get a kid-specific Amazon Fire Kids tablet from Amazon which comes with a year-long free subscription for Amazon Kids+. With Amazon Kids+ you can essentially just click and download from a very large library of kids books to the tablet to read.
- eBay: You can order an assorted box of something like the Berenstain Bears collection or a more general set of award-winning books (like Caldecott, Newbery, etc). You won’t have control over the detailed selection, but its an inexpensive way to jumpstart your collection.
Note that this is a work in progress and will be updated as I go back through my lists.
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Age Groups
Genres
Latest Books
- All My Friends are Fast Asleep
This follows the adventure of a little boy who is unable to sleep, so he goes on an adventure to see if any of his animal friends can help him to sleep. He visits animal after animal, attempting to sleep how they do (like a bat in a tree or a mole in the ground),… Read more: All My Friends are Fast Asleep - Hello Opportunity: The Story of Our Friend on Mars
This book was a trigger for bringing the wonder of space travel and exploration to my son, along with laying out the possibility that one day he might be a part of it – should he choose to. The book is non-fiction – it’s the real story of the Mars Rover called Opportunity (nicknamed “Oppy”)… Read more: Hello Opportunity: The Story of Our Friend on Mars - Sleep, Big Bear, Sleep!
I’ve recently added this book to my arsenal of bedtime books. I read one or two books of the kids’ choice, then pick a book that they both enjoy but has a bedtime vibe to it. This is great because it’s written with a wonderful rhyme and rhythm which allows for me to read through… Read more: Sleep, Big Bear, Sleep! - Welcome Little One
This is probably a more well-known book for new parents, but I wanted to include it because it meant a lot to me. As a new parent, I was sometimes at a loss for what to say to my baby, feeling strange trying to put my thoughts into words. This book has both beautiful meaning… Read more: Welcome Little One - Ten Little Ladybugs
This is a book I’ve gifted a number of times because of how much I liked it. The book has a great rhythm and rhyme to it as it counts from page to page from ten ladybugs down to just one, with a fun surprise at the end. It starts out with ten ladybugs on… Read more: Ten Little Ladybugs