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Can anybody recommend any good childrens books? :)

So my partner is drawing up a list of books to ask for for the baby shower and i know didly squat about books to read to babies - can recommend any please? :smile:

My current suggestions of sci-fi and pol-sci books have been found wanting apparently :frown:

... or any books on raising babies in general.. they'd be equally helpful :lol:

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by Napp

So my partner is drawing up a list of books to ask for for the baby shower and i know didly squat about books to read to babies - can recommend any please? :smile:

My current suggestions of sci-fi and pol-sci books have been found wanting apparently :frown:

... or any books on raising babies in general.. they'd be equally helpful :lol:

My favourties would include:

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War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

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The Principles of Quantum Mechanics by Paul Dirac

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Moby-**** by Herman Melville

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The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

...but like you, I think the list would be found wanting.

The books that I encountered in my childhood that I recommend passing onto the next include classics such as:

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The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

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Peter Rabbit by Beautrix Potter

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Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne (the classic versions where possible)

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Anything by Roald Dahl (unless the reader has a problem with the author's background)

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Anything by Dr Seuss

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Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

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Disney retelling of classic stories (although I might have some issues with encouraging girls to be brought up with a "princess mentaility")

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Stories based on films by Ghibli Studios (kind of like the Japanese version of Disney, but doesn't promote the "princess mentaility")

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Peter Pan by James Matthew Barrie

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Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish by Michael Foreman

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The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr

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Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson

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The Story of Barbar by Jean de Brunhoff

I found books like Paddington Bear, Where the Wild Things Are, The Gruffalo. These were either a complete bore, or the illustrations disuaded me from picking the books up. The way the books are illustrated can easily disuade or persuade me to read them, particularly if it looks particularly bad, dull, or weird. The illustrations might be helpful from a marketing standpoint, but as a kid it did not encourage me to read the book (I mostly put up with the books because the teachers made us go through the snorefests). My rule of thumb is that anything that resembles bright and cheery is encouraging, anything that resembles something from a Tim Burton movie is not advised.

Personally, I would like to go by the classics written by Hans Anderson or collected by the Grimms Brothers, but these might be a little too dark for children of a young age (if you go by the original sources/first editions). The modern editions are a lot more toned down, but not so much that they resemble something Disney would make.

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 2

Obsidian♡Hart

-The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton
-Other series by Enid Blyton
-Peter Rabbit by Beautrix Potter

Reply 3

Surnia

The Hairy Maclary series by Lynley Dodd!

My niece loved them before she turned 1; they rhyme, so I think it was the sounds that she enjoyed, but she read them when older, too.

Goodnight Moon
Aliens Love Underpants series
That's Not My...series*

*Not to be confused with the paradies OMG That's Not My Child and OMG That's not My Husband. Which are funny, though.

Reply 4

mqb2766

The julia donaldson stuff is good (whale and the snail, ...) as is the Thats not my ...books, not just because they can be chewed when the kids are teething. Poppy and Sam / apple tree farm books went down reasonably well, though weren't a favourite of mine. Finding that damn yellow duck on each page was a bugbear (kids liked it).

Reply 5

bl0bf1sh

Owl Babies
Where The Wild Things Are
Hop into Bedtime
We're Going on a Bear Hunt
– some that I remember in particular

And
Hairy Maclary (and Slinky Malinki) and Julia Donaldson books (The Gruffalo, Stick Man, The Snail and the Whale, Room on the Broom, for example) get my vote as well

Reply 6

Kallisto

Entertainment Forum Helper

Grimm's fairy-tales is the book I would recommend, if your baby is at two years. I don't know another book for babies under that age.

Reply 7

Matilda_Moo

Enid Blyton can be a bit problematic these days, so I'd avoid her books, however well written and fondly remembered.

The biggest hit book wise that I've bought recently, is "Triangle", by Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen. It's part of a trilogy, which also includes "Circle" and "Square".