I’m always on the lookout for great children’s books for little one’s in the age range of Lil’ Princess and Sweetie Pie. Here are a few (a couple are even modern!) that both the kids and I like.
- The Berenstain Bears Love Their Neighbors, by Jan Berenstain: This one is a retelling of the parable of The Good Samaritan, from a civilized bear family’s perspective, of course. Great lesson here, and I have always enjoyed the Berenstain Bears.
- The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin: What’s not to love about this engaging tale from Beatrix Potter about the impertinent little squirrel named Nutkin? It’s one of Lil’ Princess’ favorites.
- The Tale of Peter Rabbit: Another Beatrix Potter classic that my kids love to have read to them. Peter’s adventures in Mr. McGregor’s garden never gets old.
- Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey: Even though we’ve read this one numerous times before, Sweetie Pie grabbed it during our trip to the library this week. I like it, too.
- When I Grow Up, by Al Yankovic: Yes, that Al Yankovic. I stumbled upon this one recently and just thought it was really funny. I’ve always like Weird Al Yankovic’s humor, which might explain why I liked this book.
- Brer Rabbit Tales: My girls really enjoy hearing the stories that tell of the escalating rivalry between Brer’ Rabbit and Brer’ Fox.
- The Big, Green Pocketbook, by Candace Ransom. This story about a young girl’s trip into town with her mother is one my girls loved instantly.
- Alphabet City, Stephen T. Johnson, illustrator. Using NYC as inspiration, this author captured each letter of the alphabet as it occurs naturally in city surroundings.
Those are just a few of my little ones’ favorite books. But the whole point of this exercise is to pick your brain.
What great children’s books do you suggest for kids aged 3 to 5?
In case you’re curious about what I am currently reading, I’m reading End the Fed, by Ron Paul. I’m also reading Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park.
Y’all have a great weekend!
The 4 moms just did a post on bedtime books. Here were my suggestions for that:
http://lettersfromnebby.wordpress.com/2011/06/09/naptime-and-bedtime-books/
For us they are really anytime books. I think they are good for 3-5 though they also work for older ones too. My almost six year old is very into babar and ladybug girl right now.
A few faves from the summer book basket:
Stone Soup by John J Muth- In a twist on the classic tale three Buddhist monks introduce the self-centered population of a village in the Far East to the concepts of sharing and community. As the pot boils and a multitude of ingredients are added to the pot a large feast is served featuring celebration elements common to the Far East and to children of Asian American heritage. Critics have claimed this book does not share the appeal of the original tale as the story is far more moralistic than comical but to me that actually makes the book all the more appealing.
Bee Bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park- In this book readers are introduced to a Korean American little girl and her mother as they shop, chop, fry, and stir up a delicious dinner of a classic Korean dish known as bee bim bop. The wording is very catchy and appealing to children and in the last scenes when the family sits down to eat together they bow their heads in (Christian) prayer.
Peter and the Blueberry King by Elsa Beskow- This is a book published over a century ago in Sweden that tells the story of a little boy named Peter who sets off into the forest to pick berries for his mother’s birthday gift. The task proves far tougher than Peter expects and when it seems much too daunting the Blueberry King arrives to assist Peter.
Frederick by Leo Lionni- In this story a mouse family prepares for the winter, storing food and finding shelter. Frederick, the poet of the bunch, basks in the sunlight, ponders the world, and stores a sort of supply very different than his fellow mice. They bring wheat and corn; he brings summer sun rays, the colors of the harvest, and poetic words for when winter days are gray. All supplies prove very necessary during the most bleak days of winter. (This book is the inspiration for this year’s Christmas gifts. We painted silk scarves for all of the women on our gift, made seed paper for our Christmas letters, tie dyed play silks for the smallest children on our list (to be coupled with needlefelted Fredericks and a copy of the book), and have a few other projects that will be completed in the summer sun
)
And my little one’s obsession of the moment: Magic Schoolbus books and anything that has to do with insects, especially cicadas and identifying summer species….we’ve checked out every single one from our library branch and everything available through inter-library loan.
I love Mansfield Park! I love that Fanny Price is such an anachronistic heroine. I do not like the movie adaptations where they try and make her spunky and modern.
Thanks Nebby, for the link. I’ll definitely check it our later today.
@ Daisy:
All of these look good, and I enjoy books that explore a range of cultures. And Frederick sounds like something Lil’ Princess will love immediately. Thanks for the recommedations.
We loved “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” and “Little Penguin’s Tale”. Also when the girls were 4 we started reading chapter books at night, beginning with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Just one chapter a night, and they could handle that. Then, by the time they were 6, they were listening to really long books! It was so much fun. I miss those days.
If you like”Blueberries for Sal”, you’ll really like “Make Way For Ducklings.” It’s been a big hit with all my kids. Also, “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs.” My favorite children’s book, just about ever. “10 Little Lady Bugs” has been well loved by all the kids, and finally, “Ella Sarah Gets Dressed”. Go forth and explore.
Mansfield Park is a lovely book. Currently reading Pride and Prejudice…again. That’s the 2nd time this year. I can’t help it. I could write a Master’s Thesis on that book.
@DAISY! We just got Bi Bim Bap recently (like 6 months ago). Isn’t it great? We have several good Korean children’s books, “Aekyung’s Dream”, “The Korean Princess”…uh…there are more. I’d have to look at their names.
Yes, Joanna, we do like Make Way for Ducklings. We’ve read it several times, I just forgot to mention it.
I think someone mentioned the Ladybug Girl books up above. We recently read Ladybug Girl Goes to the Beach. It was a big hit, too.
@Sheila: I will be checking out the two you recommended as well. I’ve heard of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, but haven’t read it yet.
@Tarynkay: I didn’t realize there were film adaptations of Mansfield Park
Mine isn’t 3 quite yet, but she loves the Clifford books, Curious George, and Fancy Nancy.
All the years I was trying to get pregnant I dreamed of sharing my love of books with my child. Then I got pregnant and realized that I didn’t know just a whole lot about childrens books so I just took notes for future reading with Lillie Lou. She is only 2.5 months right now but I still read her a story every night before bed. I read Anne of Green Gables out loud while I was pregnant, hoping to instill a love of the story in her
. When we found out we were having a girl, I started praying that she would learn to love Jesus and love books. I knew a strong love of both of those would keep her safe.
Kinda off topic but such a great idea I want to share it with you guys. One of my showers was a book shower. Instead of a card everybody brought their favorite children’s book and wrote a note in it to Lillie. We received so many hardback books that she can play with as a baby and quite a few books I can read to her as she gets older.
Hope you all have a great weekend.
Corduroy by Don Freeman is a good one I bet your girls would like. Also Jesse Bear What Will You Wear. Pete’s A Pizza is funny – maybe for the 5 year old, might be above 3 year old. Caps for Sale and Harold & the Purple Crayon are good ones too. Raising boys, we don’t read too many of Berenstain Bears, since they have a tendency to depict the father as a bumbling idiot – although they do have a line of these books which don’t do that. They also have some little videos that are pretty good and don’t do that either.
I second Katherine’s vote for “Corduroy”. A classic.
I loved “The Mouse and the Motorcycle” when I was a child.
I’m a huge fan of Shirley Hughes! Her books are classics. She’s incredibly gifted at telling a story from the point of view of a child and her illustrations are just beautiful. Dogger is my all-time favourite of hers. Order it and you’ll see what I mean
http://www.amazon.com/Dogger-Storybook-CD-Shirley-Hughes/dp/1862305935/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1308944481&sr=8-4
Yes, Corduroy is good. And the girls did enjoy Caps for Sale as well as Jesse Bear What Will You Wear? We actually did that one as a part of our Before Five In A Row Curricuum last year.
You’re right about the Berenstain Bears’ portrayal of the father bear in many of the books. The one that explores the question, “Who is our neighbor?” doesn’t have any of that kind of thing in it though.
Interestingly enough, Katherine, although I’m usually pretty vigilant about noting the way fathers are portrayed when I read or watch anything, I somehow allowed the humor and good moral lessons of the Berenstain Bears kind of blind me to how often that kind of thing is present. So thanks for that!
@Elusive Wapiti: It’s good to hear from you and thanks for the recommendation. We’ve never read The Mouse and the Motorcycle
@Kyla: A book shower is a lovely idea. I wish more people would consider doing it. Having an abundance of good books around to read to little ones is a great way to instill a love of reading early.
@ Nurse Bee; Lil’ Princess enjoys Fancy Nancy. We just read one of the books last wek. And Curious George is always a hit as well.
@Sarah: I agree with you on Shirley Hughes. Good books, and I love the illustrations as well.
A couple of other books I forgot to mention are I Am An Artist, The Clever Stick, and Rachel Isadora’s adaptation of The Fisherman and His Wife
I have gotten some great ideas on books that I’d never thought of so thanks y’all. And keep ‘em coming!
Maisy. My daughters had one of those books memorized when they were littler. “Oh, no, Panda has a fever!” Dunno if it fits better in 0-3 or 3-5, though.
Mr. Poppers Penguins is still a favorite around here, Stuart Little, though I guess that might be a little older – also Jamberry, which is probably early pre-school really but very sween, and reads a lot like Dr. Seuss, a story in a rhyme.
Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner and the Little House books are the ones most often asked for at our house.
Kyla, a book shower is a splendid idea! I’ll be filing that one away in my mind for future reference. While planning my little girl’s childrens birthday party last fall I lamented the fact that it would be the height of rudeness to put either “no presents but your presence” or at least a request for books only please. A child can never have too many books in their library.
Terry- there are a few different film adaptations, some very recent. I would not recommend any of them though, as they completely change the character of Fanny.
Thanks to whoever mentioned Corduroy first! That was my favorite book as a kid and I couldn’t remember what it was called.
Glad you found a “good” Berenstain Bears book. The father is presented as such a useless doofus in most of the books that I avoided them.
I have to think back to younger kid books – they are so much fun! We loved Hooway for Wodney Wat,the Skippyjon Jones books (a Siamese cat that thinks he’s a chihuahua), My Many Colored Days, the If You Give A Mouse… books, and plenty more. (I could go on for pages and pages!)
Sheila’s right to mention that even “littles” can enjoy chapter books if you take it slow. We loved the familiarity of many of Beverly Cleary’s (the Ramona books, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, etc.), the very imaginative Roald Dahl’s (The BFG, James and the Giant Peach, etc.), the rich language of E. B. White (Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan, the utter silliness of the old Pippi Longstocking stories, and the loving family history portrayed in the Little House books. The first two or three in the series were written about the time Laura and Mary were quite young and are more interesting to young children – even my boys
If you ever need book suggestions, just ask
Julie
Terry, my friend Anna at theimaginationtree.com hosts a link up challenge each Monday called ’5 a day books’. Read this post which explains all about it. http://www.theimaginationtree.com/search/label/5-A-Day-Books?updated-max=2011-04-18T09%3A27%3A00%2B01%3A00&max-results=20
It’s an idea you might like to try with your girls. She also blogs about all sorts of activities for little ones to enjoy.
Terry, you should try “Number City”! Same idea with numbers. And “Discovering Nature’s Alphabet”.
I thought of a few books I forgot to mention earlier:
Where the Wild Things Are
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Harry the Dirty Dog
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Probably for a younger set but my kids have it memorized and they “read” it to me.)
Oh, right now we’re reading Mr. Popper’s Penguins one chapter a night. Lil’ Princess wants to see the movie but I won’t take her without having read the book. Brenda posted that the book is far different from the movie anyway, but we’ll see.
Those just sprang to mind after a recent trip to the bookstore. And I can’t sleep.I should be sleeping now but it’s very hard to sleep with SAM on the road. I hate it. He’ll be back in a few short hours from now (thank God!) but I’ll be so sleepy tomorrow after having very little sleep tonight.