Read It Again!

“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.”

-Emilie Buchwald

My Top 10 Classic Young Children’s Books (ages 18 months-5 years old)

Did you know that children who are read to at least three times a week by a family member are almost twice as likely to score in the top 25% in reading compared to children who are read to less than 3 times a week (National Center for Education Statistics, 2019)?  And that the number of books in the home correlates significantly with higher reading scores? It’s true.

If you don’t have books, try your public library, go on-line, many books are free. Borrow from the school, borrow from a neighbor, ask for books from family members, go to Goodwill. If you want your child to have a head start in life, read to them.

I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. I didn’t know these stats then but I knew that someday I wanted to share my passion for reading with my children. I wanted to pass on the thirst for knowledge and the drive to know more about other people, other times, other cultures and I wanted them to understand that deep down we are all alike—we want to be seen and heard and understood. And so I began reading to my children when they were tiny tiny babies. Sometimes I simply read what was on the back of the cereal box. Sometimes I read to them from what I was reading.  

I’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite books. Sometimes we read these stories more than once a night when they’d plead “read it again mommy!”

1. Go Dog, Go! By P.D. Eastman. One of our family’s all-time favorites. As adults, we still quote this book. “Go around again!” and “Do you like my party hat?”

2. Are You My Mother? By P.D. Eastman. Another all-time favorite and we quote this one too “You are a snort.” 

3. The Little Engine That Could By Watty Piper. I read this one many time to my twins. “I think I can, I think I can.”

4. Stellaluna by Janell Cannon. Stellaluna is a fruitbat.

5. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. This is a great book of poetry for any age. And don’t let the word poetry scare you—this book is a lot of fun.

6. There’s a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Mayer.

7. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.

8. Good Night Moon by  Margaret Wise Brown.

9. The 7 Habits of Happy Kids boxed set 1-7 by Sean Covey. I’m cheating here—it is seven books.

10. The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf.

Another bonus, books make the perfect gift for baby showers, birthdays, holidays, and just for fun. Give the gift of the world through books.