Earlier this week I was a parent reader in the class of one of our children. Although I’m an elementary math and science teacher I do really like children’s literature. We read with our mother nearly everyday growing up. One of our grandmothers was an elementary school librarian and she kept us supplied with books, books on tape, magazine subscriptions, and more. I was also blessed with many teachers that loved books. I made a conscious effort to read books to my students because I wanted them to see books being appreciated by a man, a mathematician and a scientist. Now, our home’s bookshelves overflow with children’s books as we enjoy reading to our own children. All that to say, I always have a difficult time selecting the books to read in these types of situations. Here are some of the reasons.
- There are so many great books with which I want all kids to be familiar.
- There are some books that I really want to read to them, but am nearly certain that they’ve already encountered them (Where the Wild Things Are). I’m never completely sure, though.
- I like to read a book that our son or daughter especially likes and point this out to his or her classmates.
- Reading a book with a moral purpose is always desired.
- I like to narrate the story (with character voices and sound effects) which limits the pool of potential books to some degree.
- Books based on television programs, computer games, websites, toys, etc. pretty much are not going to make the cut.
- I want all the children to fall in love with the book.
Do you see why I have a bit of trouble deciding what to read? It’s a great delima with which to be faced, though!
Here are some of the books that received strong consideration.
- Round Trip
- The Tale of the Three Trees
- Where the Wild Things Are
- Don’t Eat the Teacher
- Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo
- Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
- Water Hole
I actually received input from many of this blog’s reader via Twitter. As a result, I thought it would be a useful idea and a lot of fun to mention and discuss your favorite children’s books here on the blog - thus, this post. So,…
What are your favorite children’s books?
UPDATE: Join this closely related discussion.
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May 2, 2008 at 10:09
The Eleventh Hour by Graeme Base.
May 2, 2008 at 12:42
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Suess
May 2, 2008 at 12:57
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
May 2, 2008 at 13:00
The Balloon Tree by Phoebe Gilman
May 2, 2008 at 14:11
Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
May 2, 2008 at 15:43
All of the Harold Purple Crayon adventures are fun.
http://books.google.com/books?id=be5xZ1X-ZRAC&printsec=frontcover
May 2, 2008 at 15:49
Where the Red Fern Grows is da bomb.
May 2, 2008 at 15:51
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein.
May 2, 2008 at 16:16
The Tale of Three Trees is a wonderful story, Clif. Other wonderful books are
+The If You Give a ___ a ___ books
+Holes
+The Giver
+Maniac Magee
Most of the Caldecott Winners are wonderful, too. (http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/caldecottmedal/caldecottmedal.cfm)
May 3, 2008 at 22:24
My favorite as a child, The Cat in the Hat Dictionary
The book I enjoyed reading most to my child, Goodnight Moon
May 4, 2008 at 18:07
Of course, I just LOVE this post! As chapter books go, Where the Red Fern Grows is an all time favorite as is Tuck Everlasting and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I have a new favorite in the picture book category— The Flower Man by Mark Ludy. INCREDIBLE!
May 4, 2008 at 19:47
A big thanks to each of you for sharing your favorites. I look forward to continuing this discussion. A lot of teachers have mentioned that they really like this post and have already bookmarked it for future reference.
My favorite genre of children’s literature is wordless picture books. The artwork in these is usually stellar and the authors / illustrator typically invoke creative interpretation. It’s fun to see kids get swept away in these books. Here are a few of my very favorites.
The Silver Pony - One of the very first books I "read" from my elementary school library. This book has many elements that I have always enjoyd: horses, Greek mythology, art, imagination and creativity. I wish I knew how many times I checked out this book. I need to go buy a copy for our family library.
Animalia - Another outstanding work by Graeme Base.
Tuesday - Mostly wordless picture book about frogs.