I’m not about to tell you about The Gruffalo, or titles by Janet and Alan Ahlberg – chances are you’ve already heard of them/own copies. Instead I thought I’d share some perhaps less well known books that make wonderful gifts (I’m a big book giver me) and are a genuine joy to look at and immerse yourself in with your littles.
Because let’s face it, when you’ve been requested to read a story for the 58th time it’s not uncommon to lose the will to live. Or at least think about the unopened bottle of Sauvignon in the fridge to the point of no return. At least really excellent books, combined with beautiful illustrations and a dash of imagination, make the whole process that little bit more bearable.
The Bear And The Piano (David Lichfield)
Magical magical magical. The illustrations are beautiful. The message is clear (never forget your life long friends) and I’m a slave to anything that’s based around music. I randomly bought this from the posh services at Gloucester off the M5 (anyone been there?!) along with a pair of ridiculously expensive Hatley wellington boots (I was having an overtly “Mum Guilt” kind of day – it’s a long story).
You don’t have to go to Gloucester services – you can just go to Amazon.
How To Catch A Star (Oliver Jeffers)
We also have “Up and Down” by the same author but this is my favourite. I refer to the two main characters as Mabel and “Sebastian” (her best friend at nursery) which makes her laugh out loud. Which in turns makes me do the same. I love the bright colours and the obvious humour.
When An Elephant Falls In Love (Davide Calli & Alice Lotti)
This is my most recent find. The most heart-warming story with a generous dose of romance and hilarity. At almost-3 I’m not sure Mabel really appreciates the story line but she loves the imagery, and I’m sure she will appreciate it even more in a year or two.
Dear Bunny….. (Katie Cotton & Blanca Gomez)
A lovely tale of friendship and adventure, it’s also essentially about a bunny, which is Mabel’s favourite creature of fluff. And it has gold foiling on the front cover – which makes it undeniably fancy and thus perfect for a special occasion gift.
It’s the most expensive out of my top picks (about a tenner on Amazon) but well worth the investment.
A Bit Lost (Chris Haughton)
I’ve saved the best for last. This is a board book – and I started reading it to Mabel at about 18 months. It’s very different to anything else we’ve got in the reading cupboard, the illustrations are vivid and bold, almost “computer generated” (if I was to even endeavour to give a decent description) and Mabel loves it. It’s essentially the tale of an owl trying to find his mother. Mabel and I do impressions together as we come across the different animal characters – we think we’re hilarious. Obviously.
It’s witty, it’s clever and it’s extraordinarily engaging. I’ve not met a family member who hasn’t fallen in love with it at first browse. And I imagine Mabel will enjoy it until at least she starts school.
You can buy a copy for £5.99 on Amazon.
What are your children’s favourite books? Do you own any of these titles? Please do share your top picks in the comments section and include ages if you can – I think it will be really helpful to the community.
I love this! I will definitely be adding some of these to our collection. That said, with our books going into a shipping container shortly we’ve been making a lot of library trips. ‘When an Elephant Falls in Love’… I love that book. Especially the page with the elephant deciding what to wear in front of the mirror with two ties. Cracked me up. Ethan always points to the elephants at the end and says “That’s Daddy & that’s Mummy”.
My favourite book of Ethan’s at the moment is Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett (https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=sam+and+dave+dig+a+hole). It’s full of visual humour and honestly would span any age from 2 upwards. The illustration is amazing too.
Ps. There’s no such thing as an unopened bottle of Sauvignon.
There is in my fridge! Ha haha! Maybe not by tonight though admittedly 🙂 The elephant at the fridge makes me laugh every time (probs because that’s basically me – ignore the fruit/veg and go straight for the cheesecake) x
Same a Dave Dig a Hole is still my sons fav book, I don’t understand why at all!!!???
Really Madi?! I just love it. I love the humour and the fact that it’s all about the adventure rather than the treasure. Such a lovely life lesson.
I love getting books for E through recommendations, or gifts from other families who love them. I’ll definitely be picking up a couple of these Charlotte, thank you.
When E came home, my friend Philippa – who’s little girl is the same age, and will no doubt have some suggestions of her own too – sent a couple as a gift. She absolutely adores them, especially One Bear Lost, which is a tale of ten bears who go about their day, then lose a friend (only for half a page so its not too stressful!)
A more recent favourite is a story called Moon Rabbit by Natalie Russell, which I picked up in one of those bedtime story bundles and E just keeps going back to. It’s a beautiful book about a little rabbit who lives in the city and longs to meet another rabbit just like her, an almost love story about friendship. If Mabel loves rabbits she’ll love it, and you’ll love the illustrations!
She is coming up to two now, so I find both of these the perfect length for a bedtime story & a cuddle.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bear-Lost-Picture-Board-Books/dp/1407591428
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0230701868/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_bsQPybHEKZFZK
Looking forward to seeing some more recommendations! Xxx
You DO have to go to the posh services. A trip down the M5 is not complete without stocking up on artisanal baked goods and middle class soft drinks. Oh no! LOVE IT.
Anyway, I digress. Thanks for these recommendations, Charlotte. I too am an avid kids book buyer and am always on the lookout for suggestions off the Julia Donaldson path – love her – garuanteed hits every time, but nice to add variety and buy a book gift you’re quite confident the recipient won’t already have.
We love A Bit Lost too, and Chris Houghtons other titles, Oh No George is fun to read aloud and Shhh We Have A Plan is loved by Fern and tolerated by me…. I love the sound of Bear and Piano, right up my street.
I’ll certainly be checking out all of your recommendations; here’s some of my own….
My friend introduced me to Babylit books, reimaginings of classic titles with toddler-friendly text and beautiful illustrations. Secret Garden is a firm favourite here and Fern can now identify different types of flowers in the garden which is very sweet.
Our top 2 (non Julia) are The Bog Baby and One Bear Lost. I recommend the Bog Baby to everyone as it is so unusual and captivating and ALL OF THE FEELS at the end. Don’t hesitate. Just buy it. One Bear Lost is the surprise hit and our most dogeared book that we read before EVERY naptime and bedtime. The rhyming rhythm and snugly ending are perfect for pre-sleep and I’m a sucker for the snowy, bear-y scenes. Fern knows every word of this by heart so woe betide I miss a page/stumble over a word.
I couldn’t leave a book recommendation comment without mentioning Fern’s two Julia faves, the lovely Karen bought squash and a squeeze which Fern asks for over and over, not least because it features a pig raiding the larder which she finds hilarious, pig fancier that she is. Last but not least, our all time favourite, the Paper Dolls. I defy any Mama not to get choked up towards the end and if you don’t you’ve a HEART OF STONE.
There’s masses more but these are the stand-outs. Looking forward to hearing other readers recommendations!!
You know, our Bog Baby went AWOL! I suspect it’s hiding under the bed, but we do need to dig it out.
I’ve also commented (not sure if it’s showing, it seems to have disappeared one minute and showing twice another) giving big love to One Bear Lost, how could I have not mentioned the Paper Dolls though… heartbreaking and gorgeous! Xx
“A trip down the M5 is not complete without stocking up on artisanal baked goods and middle class soft drinks”
Ha ha hahahahaha! I think James watches the bank balance every time I tell him I’m going to Gloucester services to meet Adam (It’s quite a convenient place if we’re going to London). It’s like another world – I’m glad I don’t live near it, I’d be in there all the bloody time.
Loving the sound of the secret garden, I’ll have a butchers at that x
Molly loves The Paper Dolls too. Very sweet as she now reads it to us. xx
Lottie can you imagine the state I was in when Philippa bought it for us and I read it the week E came home, with no idea how it ends??
I still haven’t recovered to be honest. x
Paper dolls is one of my all time favs! Its magical
These sound lovely, my son adores his books. On the other end of the scale we were gifted a book called ‘Poo Bum’ by Stephanie Blake (my husband’s best friend – thaaaanks!) it’s the heartwarming story of a baby rabbit who can only say ‘poo bum’ until he is eaten by a wolf. Needless to say they both learn their lesson and the rabbit is saved. However, my toddler now has these words as a solid part of his vocabulary! I think I may investigate your suggestions and add some more books with a touch of class! X
Love “A bit lost!” My brother gave it to Silv for her first Christmas- it’s so cute. The author has another funny book called “Oh no George” all about a dog who wants to be good…
Other favourites here are Helen Stephens (Lion books, Fleabag) and after seeing Becky recommend it here Never Tickle a Tiger!
I love getting books for E through recommendations, or gifts from other families who love them. I’ll definitely be picking up a couple of these Charlotte, thank you.
When E came home, my friend Philippa – who’s little girl is the same age, and will no doubt have some suggestions of her own too – sent a couple as a gift. She absolutely adores them, especially One Bear Lost, which is a tale of ten bears who go about their day, then lose a friend (only for half a page so its not too stressful!)
A more recent favourite is a story called Moon Rabbit by Natalie Russell, which I picked up in one of those bedtime story bundles and E just keeps going back to. It’s a beautiful book about a little rabbit who lives in the city and longs to meet another rabbit just like her, an almost love story about friendship. If Mabel loves rabbits she’ll love it, and you’ll love the illustrations!
She is coming up to two now, so I find both of these the perfect length for a bedtime story & a cuddle.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bear-Lost-Picture-Board-Books/dp/1407591428
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0230701868/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_bsQPybHEKZFZK
Looking forward to seeing some more recommendations! Xx
Love these suggestions! Thanks Karen!
Mabel is never satisfied with one story – always ALWAYS says “just one more Mummy, just one more!” And I nearly always give in. x
It’s too hard to say no, I’m sure I enjoy bedtime a hundred times more than she does. ❤❤❤xxx
Thanks for the Moon Rabbit reminder, keep meaning to get that one….
I’d leave it a few days ??x
Love this post and will definitely be making some purchases. I find it quite hard choosing books as its hard to tell just browsing online what will actually be decent. Great tips! My kids always want read the same books over and over and I need an injection of new ones for my own sanity!!!!
Nikki same same! I’m pretty good at bargain hunting for clothes etc these days so I can justify a monthly splurge or two on a decent book x
We love “A Bit Lost” – my 17 month old requests it by saying “uh oh, bump bump bump” which is very cute! Will look at the others too – I am getting a little bit tired of the many spin offs of the Gruffalo…
Another avid book buyer / giver here ??
I love the ‘Little People, Big Dreams’ books by Isabel Sanchez Vergara. Good, inspiring books for little girls which can be hard to find. We have the Maya Angelou and Frida Kahlo versions. I’m not sure my little one quite follows the story yet but both have beautiful illustrations and look rather nice on the book shelf!
Our girl is OBSESSED with the Mr Men & Little Miss series. It all randomly started with a Mr Bump bruise soother from the first aid box (she’s very accident prone). I picked up a whole load of them in W.H. Smith recently for £1 each!
YES!! A friend bought E the Frida Kahlo at Christmas and she loves the illustrations. I love them too of course as I’m hopefully raising a brave and beautiful feminist! ??xx
Yes! ?? I have my eyes on the Coco Chanel one mainly because it looks lush!
What is this Frida Kahlo you both speak of?! I think I need this! x
You need to get at least one (under a tenner on Amazon)! Like I say, empowering stories for little girls with beautiful illustrations. There are quite a few in the series; Coco Chanel, Maya Angelou, Frida Kahlo, Agatha Christie, Marie Curie, Amelia Earhart…
Oh Charlotte, its a whole series of child friendly biographies of inspiring women! Frida Kahlo, Coco Chanel, Amelia Earhart, Maya Angelou and Marie Curie. YOU NEED THEM.
They’re beautifully and brightly illustrated too which helps. Xx
What Lynsey said! ❤
Love the sound of these! Will have a look later and undoubtedly purchase them all (As an aside, did anyone see Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo? – I’ve never seen the film but have always meant to) x
Me neither… funnily enough, there’s actually a screening in Liverpool of it on International Women’s Day. I may pop along!x
Thanks for the recommendations. We love the bear and the piano too. Have you tried “There’s a bear in my chair” – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Theres-Bear-Chair-Collins-Ross/dp/0857633937. We love it.
ha ha this looks great Kat!
If you’re after any book suggestions then a good friend of mine is a baby book blogger. She runs BookBairn. Her blog is fab with loads of recommendations, pictures of her little ones and book shelfies.
She is a primary teacher in mat leave with a librarian mummy. I don’t know many others that are that qualified to review baby books ?
I head to the library to pick up her recommendations. I’m also considering joining some of her recommended subscriptions. They look fab and who doesn’t like getting cute things in the post.
She honestly hasn’t paid me to write this post! I haven’t even spoken to her in far too long! I just think that I get so many interior and family ideas from yourselves that it’s good to share names of other bloggers too.
My favourite book of all time is probably Dogger by Shirley Hughes. I also still have my original copy (now 25 yes old) of Six Dinner Sid. X
Another vote for Book Bairn https://www.instagram.com/bookbairn/ and also SmallPrint Books https://www.instagram.com/smallprintbooks/
Our current favourite is an oldie – Eric Carle’s 1,2,3 Zoo which has become the regular bedtime choice. There’s no words so you have to make it up but good for numbers and counting.
We’ve pretty much every Julie Donaldson book going in our house and favourites are Detective Dog Nell and Charlie Cook. Non-JD books we love are the Oi Frog/Oi Dog ones.
Hi Gem – share away, this sounds like a super blog x
Oh my gosh Gem, Dogger was by absolute favourite. I loved it xx
A Bit Lost is my favourite too! I can’t even remember where I came across it, but you’re right it is so different and lovely and also a fab gift. Shh We Have a Plan by the same author is a good one too.
Another favourite is Stanley’s Stick, I bought this as my boy is called Stanley, but it is brilliantly written, lovely to read (even 500 times!), the illustrations are fab and if you live over Stockport way and have ever been to Blackpool on the train you will be able to relate to it! xx
I also bought one called Super Stan by Matt Robertson on a recent mooch around Waterstones, again I bought it as it is about a boy called Stan and the lovely man in the shop told me it had recently been nominated for an award of some sort. It’s brilliant, baby Stan is a super hero and everyone thinks he’s great, apart from his older brother – if you have siblings that don’t always get on this would be a great book to read to them! xx
Ahhh I love this post, I will definitely be investing in some of these, we read the same stories over and over so I love a new book! Just discovered Oliver Jeffers recently when someone bought us ‘Lost and Found’ and I love it, such gorgeous illustrations. I’ll definitely be trying a few more by him. X ps LOVE the Gloucester services, have u discovered the kids play area tucked away at the back?! Amazing. I wish all services were like that!
I did not know of the kids play area. I’m usually too distracted trying to decide which local seasonal pressé to purchase. But I’ll be sure to seek it out now, thanks!!!
No I didn’t know about this either?! Thanks for the tip off Sarah. Lost and Found is on my “to buy” list x
It’s not very obvious, you have to walk right to the far corner of the big eating area and it’s sort of tucked away but it’s brill, and there’s a microwave etc for sorting out baby food. Think we only found it on our second visit because we happened to go to the far corner to sit down x
We’ve recently discovered Oliver Jeffers too and Lost and Found is now a firm favourite, to the extent that penguins are pointed out at every opportunity. Hairy McLary from Donaldson’s Dairy is the other current fav. Lots of pictures of dogs to look at but the difficulty is getting all the words out before madam turns the page to see who the next dog is so it’s a bit of a speed read.
Ahhh my son loves A Bit Lost too, which he’s had since very little. When he first started talking he used to shout “bump bump bump!” as soon as he saw the front cover. And now we have lots of fun changing what the little gang eat at the end (last week it was hummus…?!) He also loves Hooray for Fish (the author has brought out a new one on birds too) but I think Mabel might be too old for that now. My absolute essential for all little girls is The Paperbag Princess – I real feminist/empowering story for little girls about a princess who saves herself from a dragon by being smart rather than relying on a useless prince. I’ve bought it for every baby girl I know!
Ahh Lizzy I used to have The Paperbag Princess when I was little but had completely forgotten it until now! DEFINITELY getting it for Lyra x
Another vote for smallprint books, lovely selection of more unusual ones! https://smallprint-online.com E loves music and her current favourite is Vivaldis four seasons one, https://smallprint-online.com/collections/books-2-3/products/vivaldi-the-four-seasons it doesn’t have any words and perfect for tiny hands that like ripping paperbacks! Anything with flamingos is a win in my book! I have my eye on the Mozart one. I invested in the older version The story orchestra for when she’s a bit bigger, a lovely story and beautiful illustrations https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1847808778/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487322575&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=story+orchestra&dpPl=1&dpID=616WCnSeAkL&ref=plSrch
We are big fans of the Learning Garden books too, E loves lifting the flaps and they are pretty robust https://smallprint-online.com/collections/books-2-3/products/the-learning-garden-colours
Giraffes can’t dance is my current favourite and Elmer reminds me of reading to my baby brother! Definitely adding A Bit Lost to my amazon basket!
We are big fans of the Herve Tullet books. Amazing fun and so interactive for the littles ones. They are all very simple but encourage interaction and make believe. The game in the dark (with actual glow in the dark pages) is brilliant as you take a trip through space as is ‘Press Here’ which basically makes you do what it says. Worth a look. Our other favourites are the Peter bentley books like Cats Ahoy. So much fun. I also discovered some amazing illustrated books here which are all really unusual http://howbraveisthewren.com
xx
I’ve just had to create a Pinterest board for all these book recommendations … after adding 3 to my Amazon order! My son is one and just loves books so it’s great to get some recommendations for new story books for bedtime. The Gruffalo sound books and A Squash and a Squeeze are big favourites of his at the moment. I also find Sainsburys is really good for picking up books at good prices, it’s hard to resist popping a £4 book into my shopping basket!
Oh no – I now have to buy all of these! I definitely have a problem with books, the boy is not even a year old and already has a small library!
Lovely post ?
And I forgot to mention favourites – although there are so many I’m not sure how to pin it down. I recently got all the Mog books and I think they’re lovely. We have three dogs and a cat so I think the boy will be able to relate to the stories. As sad as it is, I particularly think Goodbye Mog will be poignant in the future and I thought it’s really well done and very touching.
Hi Maike, We have a Mog book (not the Goodbye one) and it’s one of Mabel’s favourites, she loves the fact he eats eggs for breakfast x
Our current favourites are “The Lion Inside” as it has a lovely moral message! “Oi Frog” and “The Day The Crayons Quit” although that one is more funny for the adults. We also have an illustrated book of “A Wonderful World” which we sing every night before bed, its so lovely. x
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lion-Inside-Rachel-Bright/dp/1408331594
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Oi-Frog-Kes-Gray/1444910868
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Day-Crayons-Quit-Drew-Daywalt/dp/0007513763
https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Wonderful-World-Bob-Thiele/dp/019274447X
Hi Carlie, my recommendations were also Oi Frog (so so so so funny when read out loud especially) and the day the crayons quit is my personal fav… i agree i think it has been totally lost on my little girl but she does love the incredible illustrations (and i love the moral of the story for her) – i will check out your other recommendations – thanks!
SO this is a Julia Donaldson, but definitely a move away from the norm. Paper Dolls is such a gorgeously illustrated book with a very sweet story – if you dig a bit deeper there’s a really sentimental and poignant understory and had me in tears on the end page.
Love all these recommendations! Our favorites right now are ” Make way for Ducklings” by Robert McCloskey, ” steam train, dream train” by sherri duskey rinker and ” the story of Ferdinand” by Munro Leaf, a beautiful story of a bull who did not want to fight, so was different, but was happy being different.
Some fab books here…Felix seems to enjoy my vintage Spot books at the minute (which my husband was amazed at how well looked after they were!) although he ripped one last week :-(.
I bloody love Gloucester services we went just after they opened in 2015…they also own Tebay services on the M6. The sausage rolls are epic….
“The sausage rolls are epic” honestly – some of these comments today have had me in stitches 🙂 x
Love this Charlotte…a couple of my little boys favourites on here. His favourite (and mine…the books are hilarious!) are The Day the Crayons Quit and The Day the Crayons Came Home https://www.amazon.co.uk/Day-Crayons-Came-Home/dp/0399172750#immersive-view_1487329570816 – Finn is 3 and we are reading them most nights at the moment! X
i need to get the day the crayons came home… (more for me than my little girl!)
My top recommendations were also mentioned by Carlie above (Oi Frog and The day the crayons quit)
But some others are:
Emma Dodd – Everything (Me is also lovely)
http://amzn.to/2kwHvGC
This is just soooo soooo sweet!!!! And very snuggly.
Also makes for a great present as the illustrations include beautiful metallic foil detail
Ready Steady Mo! – laugh out loud funny
http://amzn.to/2m1WULu
Written by Mo Farah and the same author and illustrator of Oi Frog
Wombat jumped over the moon – our Aussie friends bought our little girl this and it is just wonderful
http://amzn.to/2kQiGle
A Bit Lost is a firm favourite in our household too. She’s had it literally since day dot though so doesn’t tend to choose it anymore now! (Sob!) She is nearly 4 now and was bought a lovely book for Christmas called I am Jane Goodall by Brad Meltzer which is a lovely book with strong messages about doing what you want with your life and going against the grain, and to be kind to each other and animals. I think it’s a lovely message (particularly for little girls) and my daughter loves it even though she’s not one of those littles who loves all things animals, princesses on the other hand…. 🙂
Wonderful post Charlotte, we are always looking for new book recommendations and will definitely be looking up the blog’s that readers have mentioned. My son is 3 and our recent favourites have been Please, Mr Panda by Steve Antony, lovely simple illustrations and a grumpy panda which my son found hilarious. We also love Jon Klassen’s I Want My Hat Back and This is Not My Hat. I’ve discovered a couple of books in my local library that I ended up purchasing by Barroux which I just loved for a very early introduction to ecological issues, beautifully illustrated, really engaging and clever messages about deforestation and migration. We both loved them. They’re called Where’s the Elephant which is a search and find book (son is really into these) and Welcome. There’s so many more that we love I could go on and on, discovering and rediscovering children’s literature has been one of my favourite parts of parenting!
Great collection of recommendations – thanks! On a selfish note my favourite JD book is Monkey Puzzle – a lovely storey and I always am guaranteed a big cuddle at the end! We also have a particular fondness in our house for I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen – there is always giggles with the different voices that seem to come out when reading aloud! Love the sound of A Bit Lost as we already have Oh No George! which is a favourite but is usually followed up by two days of “can we get a dog?”. My recent purchases have been Hello Sunshine: a little book of happy – mainly drawn in by the illustrations as well as Fantastically Great Women who Changed The World! – one for a few years time! X
We have an 18 month old Gruffalo obsessed boy – in fact Gruffalo was one of his first words when he was about 1! So I’m always on the look out for alternatives or for when people ask what to buy him. It does get a little wearing after the fifty thousandth time…. I LOVE kids books and always like buying them for people too. We love Oi Dog at the moment. Also, not a story book but Look and Say what you See in the Countryside – a National Trust book – is such a hit – he can spend ages looking for all the animals. It helps we live in the countryside so identifies with them but for an 18 month old it’s a brilliant book – lovely illustrations & lots to talk about.
Oh and also Owl Babies ??
Love the Emma Dodd books although my 15 month old doesn’t seem as fussed on them quite yet. They’re really simple books, lovely illustrations and make great gifts.
One of the first books she loved was Dilys the Duck which is a Jellycat book. We literally wore it out and it fell to pieces so had to buy a replacement. Great for a first baby book.
I always pop into charity shops to see what I can find. I’ve bought lots of the classics from charity shops in near perfect condition, Peepo or Each peach Pear Plum anyone?
[…] I loved the chat that followed this post about Kindles vs Books, and Charlotte’s post about Mabel’s favourite books prompted me to write a post about the best Christmassy books for kids over on Rock My Family today. […]