Tuesday, July 31, 2012

the books we read

Last week Daniel started reading The Hobbit to Che. I watched his little face as he was introduced to Bilbo Baggins and then I listened to all the questions he had for Daniel. Later the same day my boys went for a walk to see the hobbit house - a home near us that's built into a hill, complete with round windows and a grass roof. Really, truly, it exists. 

Whilst in Melbourne Che purchased his first ever Tin Tin book (top photo). I stayed at the cafe breastfeeding Poet but lucky for me Tamara captured this gorgeous moment; the excitement of a little boy who, with his very own money, bought his first comic. 

Books are such a big part of our life. At least once every day I'll find Che curled up on his bed flicking through the pages of a story book. Sometimes I'll join him for a lazy afternoon reading session and every night, without fail, there's a bedtime story before slumber. So what are our favourite reads? In my opinion, you can't go through the first few years without reading:

  • The Terrible Plop by Ursula Dubosarsky, illustrated by Andrew Joyner, is a rollicking rhyme based on a Tibetan myth. Comical pictures, loveable characters and an upbeat rhythm...it's one of the best.
  • Little Cat and the Big Red Bus by Jane Godwin, illustrated by Anna Walker, is a heart-warming story complimented by the whimsical artwork of one of my favourite artists. 
  • The Amazing Machines series by Tony Mitton - these ten books are written in verse and feature quirky animal characters as they explore a variety of vehicles and machines. I stop each sentence half-way through and Che finishes. Sometimes I read the entire sentence and change the words (and then he changes them back) - tricks encouraged by his Montessori teacher. Each book has a glossary at the end with vehicle-related words...perfect for pre-schoolers.
  • anything by the wonderful Shirley Hughes. The queen of children's picture books, Shirley infuses everyday scenes with beauty and warmth. I love how she glorifies the work of the muma and recognises the wonder of nature and the seasons. We're currently reading Dogger, Out and About and The Big Alfie Out of Doors Book
  • The Way Back Home, How to Catch a Star, Lost and Found and Up and Down - all by the fabulous Oliver Jeffers. These tales of adventure are dreamy and fanciful - perfect for little imaginations. 
  • Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury - I'll admit that I may have shed a tear or two when I first read this book as a new mum. It so accurately captures the joy of having a baby and the illustrations are precious.
  • Hello Baby by Jenni Overend and illustrated by Julie Vivas is a beautiful celebration of home birth - an honest and realistic depiction of the journey. I recommend it to all my pre-natal students who are preparing their children for a new sibling or seeking a comforting story about labour and birth.
  • Alex and Lulu - Two of a Kind by Lorena Siminovick is the sweetest story about best friends. The illustrations are beautiful and the characters....utterly adorable. 

As we begin to venture into chapter book territory I am most excited about The BFG, Pippi Longstocking, James and The Giant Peach and Matilda.  

Of course, there are a plethora of gorgeous children's storybooks out there. What are your favourites? 


59 COMMENTS

  1. The magical world of books! How precious is that first photo.
    My boys loved the Narnia series- in fact my eldest cried when we finished it- (he was about 5.) I think he loved the being read to experience as much as he loved the story.

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  2. We have started the Roal Dahl books with our boys. They loved James & the Giant Peach & the BFG. We are on Georges Marvellous Medicine... a classic. x

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  3. We just had a house fire...everything burnt on the bottom floor, the top smoke-filled... The only thing I could think of were my kid's precious bookshelves lined with picture perfect hardcovers *sigh*

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  4. I have such fond memories of my mama reading LOTR and the Hobbit to us four children! And actually, while my baby was still in utero my husband and I began reading LOTR together; we're half way through The Return of the King now.

    I have so many favourites... but definitely ALL of Tove Jansson's Moomin books, anything by Elizabeth Gouge (especially "Green Dolphin Country"), Oscar Wilde's "The Selfish Giant", Madeleine L'Engle ("A Wrinkle in time" series), Roald Dahl and of course the Narnia books too.

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  5. If you like Shirley Hughes you will love Nothing by Mick Inkpen. Memories of reading both to my daughters have come flooding back. Fortunately they have been retained for the next generation.

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  6. My all time is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Check it out! You'll be glad you did : ]

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  7. I'm loving the sing-song language in Pamela Allen's books at the moment for my littlest (15months), the middle guy (3) and I read Eight last night and the big boy has been reading 'big' books with me (Dahl and Blyton) but can now read independently, so Captain Underpants it is.

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  8. Oh so so many, but a special mention for Maudie and Bear.

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  9. Shirley Hughes is the epitome of my childhood, her books are fantastic and I treasure my old, dog eared, cover less copies of Dogger, Alfie & Annie Rose and all the others too.

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  10. We love Hello Baby here every time we had a hospital visit once we got home she would ask me to read it too her, we also read Olivia the pig, Charlie & Lola & tonight we area actually going to start reading Harry Potter hopefully she likes it.

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  11. What a great list! I must get some chapter books for my four year old, she would love them!

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  12. so pretty! and such a cute list :D

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  13. One of our absolute favorites is pictured in that first photo! Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae!

    Other favorites of ours include..
    -Caps for Sale
    -Go! Dog! Go!
    -Dinner at the Panda Palace
    -Big Red Barn
    -Peanut Butter and Jellyfishes
    -My Lucky Day by Keiko Kaska
    -A Sick Day for Amos McGee
    -Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
    -Miss Suzy
    -Good Night, World
    -Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon

    i just love kids books.

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  14. I love those photos. And I love love love kid's books.
    Mem Fox is one of my favourites. And my 4 yr old is LOVING Roald Dahl. We do a chapter a night - we're onto the 5th RD book :)
    x
    P.S. I still have VERY special fond memories of my Mother reading The Hobbit to me as a small child. Awesome.

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  15. I look forward to checking a lot of those titles out. I love having books around me and I do hope this is rubbing off on the kids. My eldest is far more interested in non fiction weather, fun science books and the Wimpy Kid series. My middle girl in early novel fiction, Enid Blyton and Pippi Longstocking. Violet's favourite is her Playtime Baby book.
    Roald Dahl books bring back such happy memories for me. He was a true genious - and so funny :)
    We also love the original Winnie the Pooh stories, Robert Louis Stevenson's A Garden of Verses, Fox in Sox and Possum Magic. To name a few.

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  16. i love learning of new books.

    if you love oliver jeffers - read stuck, makes me laugh every.single.time.

    also snail and the whale by julia donaldson.

    i love filling their bookshelves with good, gorgeous books. i always give books as presents for all children's parties we go to.

    monkey and me by emily gravett is my baby shower/new baby present.

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  17. We've been reading to our girls since they were tiny. My five-year-old just received the entire Roald Dahl collection for her birthday, so we're working through that. It's lovely to graduate to chapter books. Now I can't wait till she can read them all herself (imagine the spare time I'll have ;) )

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  18. if you don't have amos & boris by william steig in your collection, oh jodi you would love it.

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  19. A love of reading is such a great gift to give to your children, the pictures show perfectly that wonder and excitement for reading.

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  20. This is so precious! Every little boy I know has loved The Little Prince, I even love it! And I surely love The Hobbit :)

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  21. Oh we LOVE books!!! They are more valuable than any toy. We love reading 'Iggy Peck Architect' and 'The Boy Who Bit Picasso' and the most favourite for my 5 year old at the moment is 'Jumanji'!!! I find the NGV and independent bookstores have the best selection of kids books.

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  22. Some titles there that I don't know so my next stop will be my library website to reserve them... Thanks Jodi. Oliver Jeffers, Julia Donaldson and Lynley Dodd are firm favourites here. We love Emily Gravett's beautiful illustrations and simple stories. Luca's also shown an interest lately in Zen Shorts by Jon J. Muth. Sam McBratney's stories are heart-felt - I love reading them over and over. Right now, Kian asks for two books every night: Hairy Maclary and Zachary Quack, and We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Last night, Luca wanted two very old favourites that he could read all on his own: Orange Pear Apple Bear (Emily Gravett) and Brown Bear Brown Bear (Pictures by Eric Carle). When he's tired, he digs these out.

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    1. Zen Shorts is fabulous isn't it. I love the play on words - Hi Koo!

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    2. Yes really fab. I wondered if the concepts were a bit too advanced when I started reading his books, because I struggle sometimes to explain things really simply. But he doesn't ask, he just asks for them to be read again. So I go with that.

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  23. I love books! I am already running out of room in my sons room and he is only one! I can't wait to go look at all of your suggestions. There is a series called Rip Squeak. They seriously have the cutest illustrations and stories. I think you would really like them!

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  24. I used to have a job at Te Papa, NZ's national museum, and part of that job was running "storyplace" sessions where I read/sang/roleplayed with under-5's, so I became quite familiar with picture books appropriate for those age groups. My very favourite picture book (which I have a copy of despite being 23 without children) is The Island by John Heffernan (http://www.spudplus.com/the-island.htm) - it's suitable more for the 4-7 age group as it deals with quite complex themes but in a really beautiful way - plus I think the message is quite an important one. Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard was also popular with younger kids - I think partly because the illustrations are hilarious! Also, Margaret Mahy (RIP), especially "The Man whose Mother was a Pirate" and "The Witch in the Cherry Tree". :-)

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  25. I loved to see you mention The Terrible Plop - Cooper was given this when he was born, and it is read so many times a day, and taken to bed for both afternoon naps and night time sleeps. I know it off by heart, and I have recently spied Cooper reading it to himself out loud, as he remembers particular words from it. So cute! xxx

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  26. oh my how we love shirley hughes books at our house. i think my two year old knows all the words to out and about so that when she is looking at it by herself it sounds as if she is actually reading it. i have a soft spot for any books illustrated by freya blackwood and we love all through the year by jane godwin and anna walker. can't wait until my littlest is up for pippi lockstocking!

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  27. Oh Jodi! That's so weird, I've been reading "10 Little Fingers" to Gus the past few nights, and EVERY TIME I get to "The next little baby way truly divine, a sweet little child who was mine, all mine" I get teary.

    You have fantastic taste in books! I'd also recommend the old-school Each Peach Pear Plum, and Peepo. Even though the illustrations are quite detailed, Gus really responds to the lyrical and rhythmic nature of the words. (I grew up with them too!).

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  29. Thanks Jodi for putting this post together so promptly! I'm really excited to go through your list and those listed by other readers. When I wrote to you about our reading dilemma, I was just stumped as to where to start with the books. The library just doesn't appeal to my son apart from all the puzzles and reading is really important to literacy and further down the track when he goes to school, his NAPLAN (?) tests. This is awesome, thanks again. xx Fi

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  30. my FIL worked at 'Hobbiton' (the location of the Hobbiton set for the LOTR films)...it was MAGICAL! especially in the last couple of years as they have been readying it for The Hobbit film.

    thanks for this gorgeous list.

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  31. Mr Magnolia by Quentin Blake - Joyful nonsense.

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  32. I have had the recent joy of sharing my original vintage copies of the Magic Faraway tree trilogy by Enid Blyton with my 6 yo son who loved them as much as me. Don't forget Charlie and the Chocolate factory which was also a huge hit and every single Richard Scarry book ever written too. We are now onto the Wishing Chair series of Enid Blytons as well and every op shop copy of her books I can find. melx

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  33. I found a series called Classic Starts - all the classic books you could wish for re-written to be a little more digestible for the younger book addict. Finn and I read their version of Peter Pan and he loved it. A great introduction to classic stories and chapter book reading. (Also everything by Julia Donaldson!)

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  34. love your blog Jodi - and this is a gorgeous post. Lots of my favourite books here; just want to recommend Australian writer Joanne Horniman. 'Furry Back and Lizard Thing' is a picture book classic.

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  35. Oh my favourite topic of conversation! Saskia loves Goodnight Moon (my favourite as a little girl) and My Dad (anything by Anthony Browne is ace). Another oldie but a goodie is Corduroy - oh my heart aches just thinking about that little bear with the missing button, who just wants a home....I saw Mem Fox speak at a Sydney Writers' Festival one year - and asked her to sign my copy of Possum Magic. I felt like I'd met a true legend x

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  36. Shirley Hughes 'Alfie' books have been favorites here...and my children love the English children's clothing, yards, and toys... home life while similar in England is very different looking than life here in Ohio!

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  37. will definitely check out your suggestions! thanks. "miss rumphius" by barbara cooney is a lovely tale of a woman who made the world more beautiful. also - "the curious garden" by peter brown is a clever story about a boy who lives in the city, that i think your wee boy would enjoy.

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  38. I can't believe I forgot to mention the one book I read to Luca over and over for a good couple of years and have just started to read to Kian: Peepo (Janet & Allan Ahlberg). An absolute classic. Probably the number one book I'd recommend for children aged 1-3.

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    1. I found a little board book version of Peepo a few weeks ago. Poet loves it! X

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    2. Oh that's wonderful. Our board book is quite tattered, but I will treasure it forever. A real glimpse into life in England all those decades ago.

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  39. what a fun topic, we also love Tobhy Riddle and Alison Lester, to add to all these other wonderful recommendations. we are currently reading Enid Blyton's Circus Collection and it is pretty great, Poe is in absolute delight and as far as Enid's books go she is not too heavy on the scolding etc. Also has lovely characters; Lotta the fiesty and adventurous girl and Jimmy the sensitive and sweet boy. Oh and there is Little House on the Prairie. So much fun. xxx

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  40. How about Hairy McLary from Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd - great fun rhyming stories. Lauren Child's lovely The Princess and the Pea is also a must, along with her illustrated versions of Pippi Longstocking and The Secret Garden or her picture book That Pesky Rat.....the Pigeon books by Mo Willems and his beautiful Knuffle Bunny - the story of one child's favourite toy and how it gets lost and found - surely something that happens to every child. Ludwig Bemelmans' Madeline stories and perhaps my all time favourite of late - Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watts. For chapter style books Neal Layton's Mammoth Academy Books are a lot of fun and he has picture books about the mammoths too called Oscar and Arabella. Or try Russell the Sheep by Rob Scotton - beautifully illustrated and lots of fun - or The Witch's Children by Ursula Jones and illustrated by Russell Ayto - also great fun!

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  41. Oh and I've just remembered my mum's all time favourite (and she taught 5 year olds to read for 30 years) Frederick (Mouse) by Leo Lionni - lovely collage style illustrations and the perfect story of Frederick Mouse who collects warm pictures and memories all summer while his friends collect food for the winter, but it is finally Frederick's memories that help keep the mice happy through winter.

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  42. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK-rtdc9I6U The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore. My current favourite. <3

    My kidlets are loving "Extra Yarn" by Mac Barnett and "Grandpa Green" by Lane Smith (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDbEfsdIGjI)

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  43. Hi Jodi, I'm a illustrator and designer in my final year of study, I love children's books and buy them for myself (I would prefer a beautiful children's book to a pair of shoes anyday!) My most recent purchase I had to wait 2 months for it to come into the shop and was so excited when I went to pick it up.

    Its called 'A Forest' by Marc Martin. It's amazing and book I think everyone should own.

    Thanks for sharing part of your life, its beautiful to see :)

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    1. http://www.penguin.com.au/products/9780670076451/forest

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    2. The cover has me sold! We definitely need this one. Thank you! X

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    3. My pleasure! I would love to hear what you think of it xx

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  44. My son Louis just turned six and we are now entering chapter book territory too. We just finished reading Danny the Champion of the world, and when we reached the finish page Louis said "Oooohhhh! Why can't there be MORE? I don't want it to finish." I didn't want it to finish either, but am so glad our boy is discovering the magic and joy of reading.
    Love the photos, and I'm going to have to check out this Tin Tin bookstore.

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  45. Since leaving this comment, I've realised there is no Tintin bookstore, it was wishful reading on my behalf. But, can you imagine? It would have to have bookcases that you push and open into secret rooms ...

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  46. Oh, such book love! My boys love the Little Bear series, Swallows and Amazons series,Elsa Beskow books, Narnia series, Lord of the Rings, Dirt Boy, The Elves' Adventure, TinTin, Brambly Hedge, and so many more. I will be checking out "The Forest", too!

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  47. I would love to know how you and others display your children's books - so they can see them, find favourites, discover ones they have not read it awhile, etc? Up until now I have had them in an Ikea bookshelf - which is fine for boardbooks/big spines - as they can recognise favourites, but not so good for thin paperbacks.

    Any ideas? Recommendations?

    Also where do you store them? Playroom, bedrooms, all over the house?

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    1. ALL OVER THE HOUSE....and we have a small house!

      We store our thin paperbacks in baskets so the kids can flick through them if you know what I mean. Then I can just rotate the baskets around.

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  48. (apologies for the plethora of comments..I've been meaning to write all these for days, but never get to a laptop!)

    I love this post Jodi. Books offer such enjoyments and excitement in our household and I can't wait to get Josephine started on her own journey into the discovery of fiction. Chapter books, oh Che - you're in for such a treat.

    All Roald Dahl and Harry Potter will be on the top of our 'read to Phiney' list, no doubt. I can't wait to hear Che's opinion on the classics you'll be reading him xx

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  49. We are currently enjoying everything by Mo Willems, a new book called "Don't Squish The Sasquatch!", all of the Maisy books by Lucy Cousins (which my son adores but I don't like quite as much. Perhaps I am too grown up to get them?), and the Harry and Horsie books by Katie Van Camp.

    I work in a Children's Library, so I am always bringing home new stacks of books. We are a book loving family!

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  50. Such a wonderful selection of books. I laughed out lous when I saw The Tiger Who Came to Tea in your list. Hadn't thought about that book since I was a wee one. Promptly went to the boo shop and bought it for my very own wee ones. We love Bob Graham here. Queenie the Bantam, Dimity Dumpty (the story of Humpty's little sister....hilarious, gentle and so divine!) How to Mend a Broken Wing...he writes and illustrates such touching books. Hope all is lovely :)

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  51. the giant jam sandwich, what the ladybird heard, dogger, geraldine the music mouse ("now the music is in me..."), giraffes can't dance, there's an ouch in my pouch, burglar bill, shoe baby, are some of our favourites.

    i've just finished reading 'simplicity parenting', it suggests limiting the number of books (as well as toys), but we love so many i'm not sure we can!

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