Our Favorite Children's Books

I like good children's books.  One of the more fun parts of parenthood has been reading to our kids.  But I tire of books that are based episodes of TV shows (coughdoratheexplorercoughbobthebuildercough).  There is some good children's literature out there that sparks my kids' imaginations and is fun for me to read. It's been fun to discover (and rediscover) good books and great authors/illustrators. I thought it might be fun to collect some of our favorites here and get your input.

First, the classics:

Dr. Seuss--There is perhaps no author I enjoy reading aloud more.  He has so much fun with language.  We of course love The Cat in the Hat, but I have discovered some of his longer works are just as much fun.  My personal favorite is Horton Hatches the Egg, and Daniel loves The King's Stilts.

Bill Peet--If you are a fan of the underdog, you'll love Bill Peet.  His illustrations are fantastic. The Ant and the Elephant is my favorite so far, but there are something like 30 to choose from.

Shel Silverstein--Funny, funny poems.  Ava loves Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Giraffe and a Half.

Virginia Lee Burton--I love the detail in her illustrations.  We love Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel, Katy and the Big Snow, and The Little House.

Robert McCloskey--His illustrations are beautiful, as is the text.  Make Way for Ducklings, One Morning in Maine, and Time of Wonder are some of our favorites.

Graeme Base--Great Stories, Incredible illustrations.  The details in the illustrations are really fun to search out.  My two favorites are Animalia (an awesome way to learn the alphabet) and The Eleventh Hour (a mystery I haven't figured out yet).

 

Richard Scarry--Our kids love all the funny goings on in his books.  They are a little zany, but our kids especially love them.

Eric Carle-- The pictures.  That's all that needs to be said.

 

 Sandra Boynton--Her rhymes are lots of fun for little ones, and the illustrations are cute.  But Not the Hippopotamus is my personal favorite (probably because I see it as a metaphor for my life).

Some newer ones we've discovered:

Doreen Cronin--Click, Clack, Moo and Giggle, Giggle, Cluck get us giggling every time we read them.

Allison McGhee-- I love, love, love Someday (a book for every mom with daughters) and Little Boy (which everyone with a son should read).  Great books and beautiful illustrations by Peter Reynolds (who has also written some really fun books).

 Amy Krouse Rosenthal--Another new favorite.  We enjoyed Spoon, Yes Day (which Tim wanted us to read to him 10 times a day), and we currently have The OK Book from the library.

Other books we're enjoying right now:

Herve Tullet--Press Here.  Super fun, creative, and interactive book.

Deborah Underwood--The Quiet Book.  Very clever book exploring the "many different kinds of quiet."

Phyllis Root--The House that Jill Built--Aside from the fact that the main character is named after your truly, I love the creative illustrations and the pop ups and flaps in this book.  There is so much going on on each page.  The kids love lifting the flaps to discover what all the nursery rhyme characters are up to.

 
The Monster at the End of this Book--I'm not usually a fan of "character" books, but this one's a keeper.  It's very clever (Grover tries to nail pages together, build walls, to keep the kids from turning pages).  It's gets them giggling every time, and Mama too if I'm honest.

Patricia Thomas--There are Rocks in my Socks said the Ox to the Fox--This is a favorite from my childhood.  I'm not even sure if you could find it if you tried.  Luckily, my mom saved it, so I enjoy reading it to my kiddos.  I love the verse in it.

 What are some of your favorites?