Timewaster's Guide Archive

Departments => Books => Topic started by: Nessa on February 12, 2008, 05:24:21 PM

Title: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: Nessa on February 12, 2008, 05:24:21 PM
As a mom of young chidlren I'm always looking for new books, so please post your own recommendations; but at the same time I thought I'd post a few that my children LOVE.

Traction Man by Mini Grey (http://www.amazon.com/Traction-Here-Boston-Globe-Horn-Awards/dp/0375831916): A little boy gets an action figure for Christmas and they have some amazing adventures, fun to read to kids as some of its humor is directed to adults.

Anything in the Nova the Robot (http://www.amazon.com/Novas-Ark-Twinkle-Little-Hedgehog/dp/B000H2MN3I) series. Very colorful and has a variety of age levels.

Anything Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner (http://www.amazon.com/Skippyjon-Jones-Big-Bones/dp/0525478841). These are hilarious and lyrical.

Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: Azhev on February 12, 2008, 08:22:39 PM
How old of children are we looking at here?
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: 42 on February 13, 2008, 03:38:24 AM
I recommend Bad Kitty by Nick Bruell. It's about a kitty who doesn't get the food it likes, so kitty does many bad things in retaliation, then makes up for it when it does get its favorite foods. Funny and it's for early readers.

Other early reader recommendations:
Fuzz Frenzy is okay.

What Color Is Your Underwear is fun, though some parents may deem it inappropriate.

Caps for Sale is just classic.

I Need a Hug is a great book that was written by elementary school children. It makes great use of onset-and-rime. Sadly, you may have to pay a lot just to get a badly used copy.

Mouse Mess is a lot of fun and I like the illustration style.
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: Nessa on February 13, 2008, 04:40:15 PM
How old of children are we looking at here?

Infant through about 7
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: charity on February 13, 2008, 06:46:50 PM
My daughter loves the Mercy Watson books by Kate DiCamillo. I think they are silly but she loves them.

We also like the Olivia books alot, favorite being 'The Missing Toy'

And of course, 'Where the Wild Things Are'

I'll think of more later.
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: Azhev on February 13, 2008, 09:17:33 PM
Green Egss and Ham was a classic for my family, not to mention Monster at the End of This Book

I'd have to say that this is one reading group I'm really not that familiar with.  Guess I'm learning something too.  :)
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: stacer on February 14, 2008, 05:13:55 AM
There's always A Practical Guide to Monsters and A Practical Guide to Dragons. And I have no self-interest whatsoever in recommending them at all.  ;) But really, they're a lot of fun.
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: White on February 15, 2008, 08:10:16 AM
The Sign of the Seahorse by Graeme Base

- beautifully illustrated and all in verse~!

(with seahorses and a 'sign of the seahorse' to find on every page as well as a pair of shrimp.... very enjoyable for adults as well)
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: Brenna on February 15, 2008, 04:29:30 PM
For infants and toddlers, anything by Sandra Boynton.  I really like her music, too.
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: charity on February 15, 2008, 10:51:42 PM
I also liked, 'John, Paul, George and Ben' by Lane Smith

I thought that was a funny book.
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: stacer on February 16, 2008, 02:27:17 AM
Oh, ANYTHING by Lane Smith and/or John Scieczka is hilarious. Must-reads: The Happy Hockey Family, The Happy Hockey Family Goes to the Country, The Stinky Cheese Man, The Absolutely True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolfe, and a whoooole bunch of others. John Scieczka is touring right now for a truck book he just released with several other authors, aimed at boys obviously. I haven't seen the book but I'm sure it's great. He's the Ambassador of Children's Literature right now.
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: readerMom on March 03, 2008, 07:07:33 PM
My daughter just came home with a hilarious children's book called Bad Kitty.  I know it is good when I enjoy reading it as much as the kids do.  There is also an old Golden Book called the Monster at the End of This Book that we really enjoy.
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: Azhev on March 08, 2008, 05:39:41 AM
There is also an old Golden Book called the Monster at the End of This Book that we really enjoy.
.

Ah...good old Grover.  Can't beat that at all.  Much better than the disappointing sequel There's Another Monster and the End of This Book.  That darn Elmo.  >:(
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: Comatose on March 25, 2008, 11:42:34 PM
Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath is amazing, it's a kids book, I'd say grade four and up, but I read it in grade nine, and I still love it, it's amazing, i'd even give it a read through yourself while you're at it.
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: flex on June 01, 2008, 10:43:15 PM
My twin Boy's love Scruffy the Tug Boat, Hop on Pop and of course anything remotely involving Thomas or even just Trains in General. I must say though that for the fathers out there, be careful with Hop on Pop as my boy's are 1.5 years old and started attempting to "Hop on Pop" at any and every given opportunity. Some very unpleasant moments have happened immediately following a reading of Hop on Pop.... Reader-Beware!
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: SarahG on June 05, 2008, 09:57:40 PM
Anything by Dr. Seuss or A.A. Milne.  Also, I second the recommendation for Caps For Sale - that's such a classic.
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: Lazarus404 on July 02, 2008, 06:45:52 PM
I'd recommend anything by Helen Cooper. "Pumpkin Soup" is a good one. Her books are incredibly well illustrated!
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: kevinpii on September 10, 2008, 05:52:01 PM
ive read the first three boxcar children to my four year old and he loved them. im just about half way through my side of the mountian, some times he likes it some times he doesnt  it may be a little old for him, but i like it anyway. my two year old likes the P.K. Hallinan books she picks them every time.
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: Pink Bunkadoo on September 26, 2008, 05:07:10 AM
Mo Willems.  The man is a genius.
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: readerMom on September 26, 2008, 06:06:28 PM
Time to Pee is a great book.  My 3 yr old loves that book.  It gives her the opportunity to brag about how she is a big girl.
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: Elmandr on October 31, 2008, 06:31:20 AM
When their a bit older--or seven, i guess--read to them The Last Unicorn. Its the perfect introduction to fantasy, i think.
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: Bastille on December 13, 2008, 05:20:33 PM
Anything by:

Dr. Suess
Mary Osborn (Magic Tree House)
Brandon Sanderson (Any book by him)
Tony Abbott (Secret of Droon)


Bastille
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: Shaggy on January 07, 2009, 04:26:14 PM
George the Dirty White Dog or something like that. I forget. Something abouta  dog named George. Also—Everyone Poops–and–Why We Fart–and–The Gas We Pass. Nice reads.
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: Crusader808 on February 20, 2009, 08:43:54 PM
My daughter liked Mr Klutz is Nuts (about a principal that goes to extreme ends to get the kids to do their homework) and she reads the various disney short story anthologies regularly.
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: readerMom on February 21, 2009, 12:26:12 AM
I picked up a Looney Tunes anthology for 50 cents at the library and it has been read nearly constantly since it came home a week ago.  You never can tell what your kids will like.  I just pick up random stuff at the library book sale and garage sales.
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: Texcap on June 01, 2009, 04:53:08 PM
You can't go wrong with The Princess and the Goblin and its follow-up The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald if you're looking for a couple of fantastic fantasy books that'll spark your child's (and your own) imagination.  These stories are reported to have been favorites of Tolkien in his youth and speaking for myself, I enjoyed them a great deal as an adult.  I managed to score a really old copy several years back and the musty smell, combined with the sweet story, still stays with me.
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: Patriotic Kaz on July 20, 2009, 11:09:12 PM
In 1st of 2nd grade i started reading Fantasy and one of the series that hooked me on the genre was Diadem (Books of Magic) by John Peel...my reading level was higher than the average person my age so i have no clue if it is a childs book or YA
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: Shaggy on July 29, 2009, 04:20:22 AM
This is maybe a bit older than "children" but for like 9-10 year old kids (and older; I still read them), if you wanna introduce them to a bit of fantasy, The Children of The Red King series is pretty good IMO.

jennynimmo.me.uk/ (http://jennynimmo.me.uk/)
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: mtlhddoc2 on October 02, 2009, 05:22:46 AM
Thomas the Tank engine books are all great, as are the Dora and Diego books. Always good grammar and proper English (and Spanish! lol) and always always moralistic and educational, yet fun.
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: Catcha on November 17, 2009, 04:25:03 AM
When I was little, I always liked 'King Bidgood's in the Bathtub' and 'Piggie Pie.'
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: Patriotic Kaz on November 17, 2009, 09:53:34 PM
Am I in the minority of Americans who think bodily functions are impolite and not funny?
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: Renoard on January 07, 2010, 02:26:08 AM
Captain Underpants is pretty good. I like the classics: Stevenson, Baum, Kipling. George the Ghost, and curious George if they haven't been mentioned. Oh for tweens, I recommend Hitchcocks Three Investigators.
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: KhyEllie on February 06, 2010, 05:31:47 AM
I recommend Pingo, a brand new picture book by Brandon Mull. It's good for little kids.
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: drackmire on March 09, 2010, 09:19:57 AM
You should consider:

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_and_the_Terrible,_Horrible,_No_Good,_Very_Bad_Day)

My son is just over 2 and he loves the book. It has good drawings and reads fairly easy. It also teaches kids that even though they have a bad day from time to time, at the end of the day it's just not so bad.

-Drack

Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: mtbikemom on August 11, 2011, 07:28:31 PM
Best books I got to read to or with my kids:

especially good for boys:
 Little Britches by Ralph Moody
Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff
Red Sails to Capri by Ann Well
The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson
most everything by Lloyd Alexander

Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise J. McGraw
The Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill
Strawberry Girl by Lois Lensky
Little Pear by Eleanor Frances Lattimore
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Some of these are not well-known, but they are some of our family's faves.
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: Renoard on August 21, 2011, 08:24:05 AM
The Mad Scientists Club 1965 by Brinley.

Of course a shameless plug for my self published fairytales would fit here. :P
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: mtbikemom on August 22, 2011, 12:40:01 PM
You probably already know this, Vanessa, but some of Lloyd Alexander's books are not good, like Time Cat.  I was just thinking of the Prydain Chronicles, for other readers.

O.K., Renoard, please post a link to your fairy tales.  I've been meaning to read them!
Title: Re: Children's Books Recommendations
Post by: Renoard on August 23, 2011, 07:04:55 AM
Little Green Stocking Cap (http://www.grenvile.com/?p=327") is the one complete story posted. I have previews up at Fairy Tales (http://www.grenvile.com/?cat=25) but the full tales are only available in the book. Information on how to purchase the eBook anthology is located on the front page of my website.