Books, Books, glorious (piles of) books to win!
We want to know your favourite bedtime books to read aloud to your children. We were working on a list of our own faves, see, and it soon became clear that whilst the ubiquitous Julia Donaldson and Eric Carle undoubtedly rank very highly, there are so many more hidden gems that just don’t get talked about any more. Books from our own childhood, random books our children were gifted, books they picked up at the library or the charity shop… some really truly wonderful books.
So – here’s our plan.
We intend to open a LittleStuff Bookshelf. A brilliant dip-in page for inspiration, where you can find books you might not see on the front page of Amazon or at the front of your local book shop. All recommended by us… or you.
(yes, this is where you come in).
We can’t do this without you – we want your recommendations!
And every book recommendation will get entered to win a pile of books – we have three stacks to choose, one for younger readers, one for 6-9′s and one for 10+.
So – let us know your book suggestion, with a comment as to why you love it and which age range you’d rather win. Every book suggestion will be entered into the draw – the more you suggest, the more chances to win.
(We have posted this on facebook too - doesn’t matter where you post your suggestions)
(Biggest hugest thank you to the lovely Dom at PanMacmillan for being continuously enthusiastic and lovely, and offering up a gurt big stack of books for the prizes.)
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classic fairy tales
Oh it has to be Owl Babies. Got to the stage where both my childen could recite it with me, which was good as the book was falling apart.
Augustus and his smile – catherine Rayner.
My little ones (3 and 5) love this as when their Dad reads it to them he traces their smile for them and it also teaches them that your smile will always be with you wherever you are.
younger readers ones please
Its a George Thing – David Bedford and Russell Julian
A lovely story about each person having their own thing that they enjoy and how friends will join in with it even if its not their thing. George’s thing is dancing and at the end of the book is a lovely double page of dance instructions that we have to do every time we read it
A very proper fox – Jan Fearnely
My kids love this as we have chickens and they think its very funny that the fox ends up tidying up for the opera singing chicken. They also like the phrases that are repeated … he flexed his claws like a proper fox… I’m coming to get you … as they saying these and pretending to be a fox.
younger ones please
I love reading The Gruffalo, it really helps to get the child involved as the repetitive narrative is quickly recognised and learned, it’s also great to help with word recognition.
If I won I’d like the aged 6-9 prize please.
Thank you very much for the chance to win.
Kieran is like me and Roy….. a book fiend!
His earlier faves were the Gruffalo, Going On a Bear Hunt, Owl Babies but now he is (to quote him) “Much cooler” and likes Fairy Stories ie the Ladybird versions of Hansel & Gretel etc. I’m not sure HOW this makes him cooler but I’ll not argue with anything that encourages a 4yr old to read!
If we were chosen we’d go for the 6-9 prize. he is 4 and a pretty good reader but loves being read to still!
Great competition.
At the moment the boys are working their way through mums death and the most wonderful books are No Matter What – Debi Glori. It is just a perfect book for 5 nad under about loving people no matter what happens. Michael Rosen’s Sad book is perfect in so many ways and for so many ages. These books are perfect for so many occasions and will be firm family favorites for many years to come
Currently being read, night after night is “What the Ladybird Heard”, by Julia Donaldson. Obvious choice, but for very good reasons.
Also a nightly read is the brilliant “Hairy Maclary” by Lynley Dodd. The first in the series, featuring the terrifying “Scarface Claw” has Elliot (13 mths) and I both on the edge of our seats just before he arrives on the scene to scare all the dogs! We now have another book in this series (Hairy Maclary’s Bone), and would love to collect them all.
Can’t wait to read (I had it as a child) Bears in the Night, by Stan and Jan Berenstain. I can still remember just how exciting that book was as a child!
Elliot and I would love the younger readers’ stack! Thank you!
Where to start, so many!
Dogger by Shirley Hughes – lovely tale of a big sister’s selfless action to get back her wee brother’s beloved soft toy. Beautifully illustrated
Lucky Duck by Jonathan Shipton – another lost toy book, this one had special resonance as my oldest son has his own ‘Luck Duck’ called Duckie!
The baby Who Wouldn’t Go To Bed by Helen Cooper – just delightful and stunning illustrations
Oldest boy reads to himself now and is voracious, wee girl still loves a cuddle and a good story thankfully! If we won we’d like the 10+ please! Will re-tweet as well!!
‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’ is a perennial favourite in our house, and my younger son (5) loves the illustrations. My older son who is nearly nine loved ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’, and has recently much enjoyed ‘The Mousehunters’ by Alex Milway.
Tyrannosaurus Drip a classic Julia Donaldson and a fav in our house as the hero is a veggie and we are too. The kids love all the repetition and shouting out the lines:)
Oh my word.. I could write you a list of a hundred books.. but if I had to say some basic must haves:
Stick Man & Gruffalo, by Julia Donaldson
Lost & Found (and any other), by Olliver Jeffers
Giraffes Can’t Dance
Harry & The Robots
Mouk
Are some of our favourites
I think I would be interested in 6-9yrs olds – we have lots of the littlies and so thinking ahead!
Thank you
Maggy
Well my first one is ‘What the Ladybird Heard’ by Julia Donldson (sorry here she is again!!! but we love it!)
My daughter loves the rhymes, the pictures, the animal sounds, and the added challenge of finding the ladybird keeps her engaged throughout. It’s a fun story for the adult to read too which is important when reading over and over and over.. !
I’d chose the younger readers, thanks!
Guess how much i love you has been a family favorite for many years. As my daughters got older ‘The Faraway tree’
I love picture books. It is hard to narrow then down. I could list at least 20 favourites. Here are a few of the best.
The Rattletrap Car by Phyllis Root – This is the story of a family travelling to the beach. The car falls apart as they travel and they have to be inventive to replace the parts. Everything is glued on with chocolate, marshmallow fudge delight!
Snip Snap by Mara Bergman. An alligator gets into the house. Are the children scare? You bet they are!
Scared Little Bear by Keith Faulkner – The most fabulous pop-up book following the story of a little bear scared in bed, who hears the most gruesome noise and thinks it might be an elephant, a gorilla….. turns out it is his dad snoring. This book is much loved. The huge animals pop out of the book, but it is really quite sturdy.
My favourite is The Snail and the Whale – I just love the way it sounds.
A new discovery is Oh, the places you’ll go by Dr Seuss. So inspiring.
I like Guess How Much I Love You, but Mr C hates it because he hates saying Nutbrown Hare over and over!
Oh, so many to choose from. As you say Julia Donaldson is always a favourite, but we have found others that MM just loves, mainly picked up at the library and then added to the collection because they have to go back!
My Mum by Anthony Brown – Gorgeous pics and ends with a cuddle.
Goodnight Tiptoe by Polly Dunbar – His current staple EVERY night. Good for that second book, perfect for bedtime and SHORT! Also ends with a cuddle and being tucked in.
Husherbye by John Burningham – Lovely and calming for bedtime, although why there is a baby asleep in a boat alone I don’t know!
We also love The Whisperer by Nick Butterworth (cockney accents required for narrators voice) & anything by Rob Scotton. Russell the Sheep is a classic and Splat the Cat is fab too.
We LOVE bedtime story time!
Any Oliver Jeffers book and also the Mungo collection (Mungo and the Dinosaur Hunters, Mungo and the Spiders from Space and another one whose name escapes me about Mungo and Captain Horatio Fleet…)
Our favourite at the moment is Good Night Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt with lovely retro illustrations.
Little Beauty by Anthony Browne is a sweet story about a gorilla and his friend. K loves pointing out Beauty on each page.
‘I’m not cute’ by Jonathan Allen is a good one to read aloud and put on voices for the different animals.
Richard Scarry’s ‘The Great Big Mystery Book’ has 2 stories about Sam and Dudley who are a crimebusting cat and pig duo. Very funny, I remember these books as a kid and they are still excellent.