Buy it: Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa – Horse in the House
Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa – Horse in the House (By Erica Silverman) – Cowgirl Kate wakes up to find her horse Cocoa in her bedroom. The young girl needs to get the horse back to the barn before her parents find out. But before they leave, Cocoa wants to explore the house. Cocoa makes a mess in the living room, finds the bathroom too small but loves the refrigerator. When they get back to the barn, Kate explains all the good things about the barn and why her horse should stay there, instead of in the house. But Cocoa explains that the house has two things he loves – Kate and the refrigerator. The whole series of Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa books offer sweet stories of friendship and would be perfect for young girls who love horses. Recommended for ages 6 to 9, they are great young reader books and beginning chapter books.
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: Princess Peepers Picks a Pet
Princess Peepers Picks a Pet (By Pam Calvert) – Princess Peepers isn’t like the other princesses at the Royal Academy. She hangs from trees while the other girls work on their posture. And she ruins their tea party when she accidentally crashes her skateboard into the table. And when the teacher announces there will be a pet show, Princess Peepers finds out she’s the only one who doesn’t have a pet. But when Princess Peepers is out walking in the forest, she bumps into what she thinks is the perfect pet. Unfortunately, the bump knocked her glasses off, so what she thinks is a flying unicorn, is really a fire-breathing dragon. Peepers flies into the pet show on her new pet only to be told it’s a dragon. And when Peepers puts her glasses on and sees her pet for the first time, she thinks he’s perfect anyway. A cute story about being yourself.
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: Hippo and Rabbit in Three Short Tales
Hippo and Rabbit in Three Short Tales (By Jeff Mack) – This early reader book comes highly recommended because my daughter, Ally, age 6, has read it dozens of times and never gets tired of it. Even better, she laughs every time she reads it. The book includes three short stories of two friends, Hippo and Rabbit. Rabbit tries to make Hippo choose vegetables over his cheeseburger; they push each other on a swing to hilarious results; and they comfort each other when they get scared at bedtime. I love the sweet and humorous stories of friendship and the simple words are perfect for beginning readers. It’s an entertaining read that will build confidence in early readers.
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: Ivy & Bean
Ivy & Bean (By Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall) – Bean has short hair and likes to get dirty. Ivy wears dresses and is always reading books. But these two girls find out that despite their differences, they have a lot of fun together. The chapter book, “Ivy & Bean,” is a great choice for kids 6 to 9 years old. Bean plays a trick on her sister and is worried that she’ll get in trouble. Ivy, who lives across the street, invites her to hide out with her. The two girls quickly become friends as they make a witch’s robe and wand for Ivy; dig for worms and run from Bean’s older sister. These two girls find themselves in lots of humorous situations, which my daughter, age 6, loved to read about.
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: Princess Posey and the Perfect Present
Princess Posey and the Perfect Present (By Stephanie Greene) – “Princess Posey and the Perfect Present” is a great chapter book for beginning readers. The story is simple and relatable for first-graders; the chapters are short; and there are cute illustrations throughout. My daughter Ally, a first-grader who is 6, and I enjoy reading these books together. In this story, Posey is excited to be bringing a present to school for her teacher’s birthday. She decides to bring roses that she picked from the garden. But when she gets to school, one of her friends has also brought flowers for the teacher and the bouquet is bigger and prettier than Posey’s. Posey hides her flowers and gets angry at her friend. But after school, Posey’s mom explains that the size of the bouquet is not important and that her friend didn’t know that Posey was also bringing flowers. Posey goes out to the garden and picks just one rose to give to her teacher the next day. Her teacher is excited to have her first “after birthday present.” And Posey apologizes to her friend. This story offers simple lessons about friendship and jealousy.
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: 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: Have You Filled a Bucket Today?
Have You Filled a Bucket Today? (By Carol McCloud) – The award-winning book is a great way to explain to your child the importance of being kind to others. The book explains that everyone in the world carries around an invisible bucket to hold their good thoughts and feelings. You can fill up other people’s buckets by doing or saying nice things. And when you fill someone’s bucket, you are also filling up your own bucket because you feel good about helping others. But when you are mean to someone, you are dipping into their bucket. The book also gives kids some ideas of how to be a bucket-filler. After reading this book, we continued to use the phrase “bucket-filler” around the house. When my daughter was helping me or saying something nice, I would point out that she was filling my bucket, which made her want to do even more good deeds. It’s a simple concept that very young kids can quickly pick up on. A wonderful book!
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: Knuffle Bunny Too
Knuffle Bunny Too (By Mo Willems) – My daughter loved the first Knuffle Bunny book so much, we just had to get the second one. In Knuffle Bunny Too, Trixie is off to Pre-K with her Knuffle Bunny in tow and just can’t wait to show it off to all her classmates. But when she gets to school, Trixie sees that another student, Sonja, also has a Knuffle Bunny. The two girls argue over how to pronounce “Knuffle” and the teacher takes the bunnies away. But when she returns them, they get switched and the girls take home the wrong bunnies. Both Trixie and Sonja realize they have the wrong bunnies and the girls and their dads rush out in the middle of the night to make the exchange. Trixie and Sonja become best friends, and the next day at school decide to swap bunnies again. My daughter Ally, age 5, loves the Knuffle Bunny books for the funny stories and great illustrations layered over black and white photographs.
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: Snowmen All Year
Snowmen All Year (By Caralyn Buehner) – My daughter and I loved the book Snowmen at Night, so we were so excited to get this companion book. In Snowmen All Year, a boy wishes that the snowman he built was magic so he could stay with him all year. The boy then imagines all the fun things that he and his snowman could do, like swimming, going to the zoo, watching the fireworks, flying a kite and going to the beach. The boy wishes that the snow he used to build his snowman was magic and wouldn’t melt away. And on the last page, you see he gets his wish. My daughter and I love the bright, colorful illustrations of the Snowmen books and fun, rhyming text.
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!
