One of my favourite things are books, most particularly children's books. Three children are just an excuse to read the old favourites and find new treasures as I have never grown out of beautiful illustrations and imaginative stories. I have been mulling over this post for a while and here are a few that I have come up with
- The Mousehole Cat - stunning illustrations and a haunting retelling of an old, old story
- Slinky Malinky - hilarious tale with bouncy rhyming text, great fun to read aloud
- The Butterfly Ball - a collection of poetry inspired by the old rendition of the Butterfly Ball
- While You Were Sleeping - a beginners counting book but it is also a gorgeously illustrated gentle tale that is really good for bedtime stories
- Guess How Much I Love You - a classic, possibly my favourite on this list, and ...well, it is just perfect. If you have ever loved a child, this is the one to get.
- The Gruffalo - huge fun to read aloud because of the array of silly voices you can do.
and for older readers 7, 8, or 9 ish
- The Wind in the Willows - Worth it for Chapter Eight alone "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" Good enough to get those old Prog Rockers Pink Floyd to name an album after it.
- Gobbolino the Witches Cat - Been years since I read it but I knew it off by heart when I was a kid. I must look for a copy of it for Rose...
- Ronia the Robber's Daughter was another favourite when I was a little girl. Forests, horses, kobolds and robbers of course, oooh and harpies, yes harpies...coooool. Also by the same author: The Brothers Lionheart, another classic adventure tale.
There we are, got that off me chest, back to crocheting that shawl. On the home stretch now. Finished pics tomorrow!
Blogger and/or 'puter is playing up so links and images are proving difficult to load. I'll have another bash tomorrow but enough to say that all links and images come from amazon uk so if you are interested you're gonna have to search for them yourself until I can get this little mess sorted out.
Enjoy
8 comments:
Wow... Thanks for the reading list!!! I don't think I've ever seen any of these books. I'm gonna be looking them up at my library to read.
Have you ever read "Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles" by Julie Andrews Edwards (Mary Poppins/Frauline Maria)??? It's one you might enjoy, if you haven't read it already. It was one of my favorites as a child (right at the top next to "The Little Princess" by FH Burnett).
I love the old Dr. Seuss. For some reason those still crack me up. My favorite of all time is "A fly went by" I can still see the images in my head.
I love all the Mr. Men books, and Dr. Suess.
Shel Silverstein is incredibly funny and creative.
I can't believe you didn't include "The Velveteen Rabbit" on your list... possibly the BEST children's book evah! Mind you... I am an eternal child and read it once a year...
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/williams/rabbit/rabbit.html
What a lovely list. I know most of those you mention - though I had forgotten about Gobbolino, how could I?
I love Jane Hissey's Old/Little Bear books, and everything we've come across by Lauren Child - my older daughter is growing into Clarice Bean while the younger one adores Charlie and Lola. And of course, the incomparable Winnie the Pooh. I like him more than they do, I think!
Mind you, anything is an improvement on the wretched so-and-so the wotsit-fairy series - 50-odd books with virtually identical plots marketed directly at 5 year olds and guaranteed to drive their parents to distraction. Argh. Still, at least it gets them reading ...
i love tarka the otter.i lost myself in that book.the hunt and the dark nights.the owl.sad.book better than film.
Hello, I am visiting you from One Single Impression, and have been spending some enjoyable minutes reading some of your blog entries. I especially am enjoying your children's book recommendations. We used to spend many a wonderful hour reading books together. Alas, though, my oldest child is almost 25 now and the youngest 12, so read-aloud time doesn't happen anymore. I do so miss it.
Kati: I have never read that but what a fantastic title! Didn't Roald Dahl mention whangdoodles in one of his books?
Greg: I think it was Dr Seuss that made me realise what rhyme was when I was a kid. My favourite is the Sneetches with their stars...
Lorraine: The Mr Men are excellent. My girls are enjoying them now.
TD: I only read the Velveteen Rabbit last year for the first time! But yes it is a delightful story. I guess my list is rather British and Eurocentric.
Dotty: No doubt I will be introduced to Clarice Bean in due course. We already have the Plague of Assorted Fairies though :)
Pod: Arrrgh animal books! From Watership Down to Duncton Wood, The Plague Dogs, and The Cold Moons - Animal stories are almost unremittingly woeful. I've read an awful lot of them though and they are all excellent. Tarka is no exception.
Joyce: Hello, nice to meet you :) When I was growing up, reading together was part of the Sunday ritual. After dinner we would sit and either knit,sew or doze off while my sister read us something classic. Jane Eyre or the Hobbit or something. That continued until my sister got married. It was one of my favourite times of the week. Happy days :)
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