Buy it: Pumpkin Trouble
Pumpkin Trouble (By Jan Thomas) – “Pumpkin Trouble” is a very funny Halloween story. Duck is making a jack-o’-lantern for Halloween and can’t wait to show his friends. But as he is scooping out the seeds, he falls into the pumpkin and gets stuck. Now Duck is walking around with the pumpkin stuck on his body, with only his feet showing, looking for someone to help him. But when Duck’s friends see him coming, they think he’s a pumpkin monster! When they shout that there’s a pumpkin monster, Duck doesn’t realize they mean him and he starts running. Now Duck is chasing his friends, who still think he’s a pumpkin monster. Finally, Duck smashes into a wall and breaks the pumpkin. Duck’s friends think he’s a hero for saving them from the monster. My daughter, age 6, can read this book on her own and laughs each time she reads it.
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 6, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
Buy it: Look! I Can Read!
Look! I Can Read! (By Susan Hood) – “Look! I Can Read!” is a perfect early reader book. It’s the story of a little girl named Emily discovering all the things she can read from street signs and food labels to her name. The book has great beginning words and sight words. The story also rhymes, which makes it easy for young readers to figure out a word if they get stuck. On one page, Emily asks to reader to find things in her bedroom that start with each letter of the alphabet. The book ends with Emily announcing that she read a whole book, while holding up the book “Look! I Can Read!”
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 6, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
Buy it: We Are in a Book!
We Are in a Book! (By Mo Willems) – Hands down, the Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems are the best early reader books I’ve seen. The entire collection is so funny and clever that my daughter Ally, now 6, reads them over and over and still laughs every time. All of the Elephant and Piggie books offer sweet lessons about friendship and simple words to build early reader confidence. I also love that Elephant and Piggie’s conversations are color-coded, so readers always know who is saying what. We have several of these books, but one of our favorites is “We Are in a Book!” In this story, Elephant (Gerald) and Piggie discover that someone is watching them – a reader! Then they find out they can make the reader say funny words, until they find out (oh no!) the book ends! The story ends with them asking the reader to read their book again. A wonderful set of books for readers, ages 4-8, but Ally has found out that her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles all find them pretty entertaining as well. A great collection to get your young child reading!
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 6, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
Buy it: Some Dogs Do
Some Dogs Do (By Jez Alborough) – A dog named Sid is walking to school when suddenly a happy feeling fills him up and lifts him right off the ground. He flies all the way to school. But when he gets to school, no one believes that he can fly. But now that he’s been laughed at, Sid’s happy feeling is gone and he can’t fly anymore. After school, Sid sits in his backyard looking up at the sky, feeling sad. Then his dad comes out and shows Sid that dogs do fly, but soaring up into the sky over his head. Sid is so happy and he and his parents fly around together. So do dogs fly? As the book says at the end: “Some dogs don’t, and some dogs do.” My 5-year-old daughter loves this fun, rhyming tale. And it makes her wonder what our dog is up to when we’re not looking.
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
Buy it: Ready Set Grow!
Ready Set Grow! – This is a wonderful book for kids who love to dig and play in the garden. It features many easy and fun gardening projects that are perfect for children. The pictures are colorful and the instructions are easy for children and parents to follow. Some of the projects include making a fairy ring of flowers, making a flower-covered tepee, how to grow treats for pets, how to grow a pizza garden and how to plant strawberries in an old pair of rain boots. Each page features easy step-by-step instructions, photos, an estimate of how long it will take to complete and a list of everything you will need. My 5-year-old daughter can’t wait for spring so we can start working on bringing these ideas to life in our own backyard.
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
Buy it: First Big Book of Animals
National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Animals (By Catherine D. Hughes) – This book will give young children an up close look at animals in the wild and will teach them funny and interesting facts about each one. This National Geographic Little Kids book features page after page of amazing, high quality, colorful photos of giraffes, lions, dolphins, turtles, monkeys, frogs, butterflies and many more. When I first gave it to my 5-year-old daughter, she and I spent an hour looking at the pictures and reading some of the animal facts and we didn’t even finish the whole book! There are quick facts listed about each animal, such as where they live, what they eat, how big they are, etc. But some of the other information had my daughter completely engrossed. For example, the book said that a giraffe’s tongue is about 18 inches long and could stretch almost all the way across the open book. Or when a baby koala is born, it’s the size of a jellybean.
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
Buy it: Dance Me, Daddy
Dance Me, Daddy (By Cindy Morgan) – If you have a little girl, you will probably tear up when you read this touching story about the love between a girl and her daddy. Each turn of the page, shows the little girl growing up from tutus, pigtails and tea parties to sleepovers with friends and homework. But through every age, the daughter and her daddy still dance together and the daughter says the same thing – “Dance me, Daddy…” Then she says that if she’s his princess than he is king of the world. Then the girl leaves home, falls in love and gets married. And on her wedding day, she goes up to her dad and says the same thing, “Dance me, Daddy…” And the last page shows the daughter visiting her parents with her husband and her own little girl. The book comes with a CD of the song “King of the World,” which tells the same story in song. The CD also features the author reading the story and an interview with the author.
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
Buy it: Toy Boat
Toy Boat (By Randall de Seve) – A little boy loves the toy boat he has made. He sleeps with the boat and takes baths with it. And every day, he and the boat go down the lake and the boy sails the boat while holding onto a string from the shore. And the boat is happy, but sometimes the boat wishes to sail free like the big boats on the lake. One day, the boy accidentally drops the string and the boat sails out into the lake by itself. The toy boat faces huge waves and bigger boats that push it around. The boat misses the boy. Then little fishing boat comes by and helps the little boat to get headed for the shore, where the boy is waiting for it. The boat and the boy are thrilled to be back together. After that, the boy keeps the boat on the string, but every once in a while lets it sail free. And the boat always comes back. This is a sweet story about growing up, learning to let go, braving new experiences and finding your way back home. It is also filled with wonderful illustrations.
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
Buy it: Hit the Ball Duck
Hit the Ball Duck (By Jez Alborough) – My daughter Ally, age 5, and I have enjoyed all of Alborough’s books about Duck and his friends. This is one of our favorites. In this fun rhyming story, Duck, Frog, Goat and Sheep head to the park to play baseball. But Duck’s hit sends the ball up into a tree, where it gets stuck. Duck, who doesn’t always think things through, decides to throw the bat up to knock down the ball, but that gets stuck as well. He then does the same thing with the glove. My daughter always giggles through this story. Then the four friends decide to climb on one another to make a tower and reach the ball, bat and glove. But they fall over. Luckily, their fall shakes the tree and everything falls out. However, Frog catches the ball, which means Duck is out. A cute story and a great gift idea for little baseball fans.
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
Buy it: Stella: Queen of the Snow
Stella: Queen of the Snow (By Marie Louise Gay) – Stella and her little brother Sam are excited to head outside and enjoy the first snowfall. But Sam has never seen snow before and has lots of questions. He asks Stella if they can eat snowflakes, where do snowmen sleep, what do snowmen eat and why is fog coming out of their mouths. Stella fields all his questions with sweet, childlike answers. She tells him that polar bears eat snowflakes for breakfast, snowmen sleep in snowbanks and eat snow peas and their words freeze on cold days, which makes a fog come out of their mouths. An adorable story about the joy and wonder of children on a snowy winter day.
The book recommendations included on this website are books that my daughter Ally, now age 5, and I have read and enjoyed together. I recommend the books that stand out to me as excellent children’s books for writing, illustrations, originality, story and characters. Ally and I hope you enjoy them too!
