Last year, I wrote an article about our family’s favorite board books. At the time, my youngest was just started to graduate from board books to children’s books and we’ve fully moved into that realm this year. As any parent can attest, some books are your kids’ favorite but can be quite the slog to read aloud. I may or may not have hidden beloved books from time to time (but only temporarily). However, there are so many books that I love reading to my kids, many of which are ones I read as a child.
My kids waffle between their favorite books, getting stuck on some for a week or two and then moving on to another favorite. So while their favorite books can be a bit inconsistent, my favorite children’s books have stayed pretty much the same over the last couple of years. So here is a list of my favorite children’s books.
As a side note, writing this post reminded me to mention Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. If it’s available in your area, you can sign up you child (under the age of 5) and they’ll receive a book in the mail monthly until they turn 5. Once your child turns 5, they send one last book about going to kindergarten and destroy a parent’s soul, but otherwise it’s great! (So sorry for that moment of drama.)
Favorite Children’s Books
If I Built a Car
Chris Van Dusen
Puffin Books, 2007
I first discovered this book at my aunt's house. My aunt was an elementary school media specialist and I always loved going with her to her library when I was younger. She's still an expert in kids' books and the If I Built series are some of my most favorite books to read to my kids. The rhymes are fun, easy to read, and make sense (you don't always get all three in a rhyming book) and the whole premise of this series is creative. While If I Built a Car is my favorite of the trilogy, I highly recommend all three.
The Office: A Day at Dunder Mifflin Elementary
Robb Pearlman
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2020
As a big fan of The Office TV series, this was a must-have for our kids' library. My kids are kind of "meh" about it, but I absolutely love the book. There are so many tiny references and callbacks to the show that make it a truly enjoyable read if you're a fan.
The Greatest Book Ever
Teresa Joyelle Krager
B&H Kids, 2023
The Greatest Book Ever is fun, bright, and piques kids' curiosity about the Bible. I wrote a review of this book earlier this year if you'd like more reasons why I love it so much.
Green Eggs and Ham
Dr. Seuss
Beginner Books/Random House, 1960
To be quite honest, I find a lot of Dr. Seuss books get a bit long in the tooth as read-alouds. I do love Green Eggs and Ham, though. It's a fast-paced, fun read that the kids and I both enjoy.
The Mitten
Jan Brett
Scholastic, 1990
I remember reading The Mitten as a child and the adults around me loving the illutrations. At the time, I didn't appreciate them, but now I totally understand. While some of the stories she uses are adapted from old fables or fairy tales, it's the illustrations that are truly fantastic. We also love her version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
