Books for 3 - 4 year olds

[creations]

What are your 'must reads' for this age group and are there are any series or box sets you'd recommend?

[michaeljacknnugg]

The snail and the whale, one of my favourite books to read aloud ever!

[LovelyLilyandJack]

"You Choose" by Pippa Goodhart has been a very popular book this year.  Not so much a story as one to sit down and talk about together.  Lily loves going through and choosing where she'd live, who her friends would be, what she'd have in her house, what she and I and Daddy would wear, pointing out people who look like people in real life that she knows etc.  Definitely a favourite....

[*Liz*]

My favourite is 'The Paper Dolls', and I also like the Winnie the Witch books.

Funny Bones books are quite fun as well.

Really though it's a case of any 'real' picture book at this age, anything with a proper rhyme or a story.

Julia Donaldson is prob my overall favourite. Superworm is fun, Monkey Puzzle, The Gruffalo of course.

Princess Spaghetti, Norman the snail with the silly shell, Supermarket zoo.

Goodness, there are SO many I like  .

[Khalam's Mama]

Also love Julia Donaldson. We have room on the broom, stick man, a squash and a squeeze, gruffalo and gruffalo's child. I love them because the kids love them and because they rhyme I find them more enjoyable to read for the millionth time.

[anna*]

Oh yes, we got LOADS of mileage out of You Choose - also it was a real icebreaker. Stan was (so funny to remember, he is so confident now) pretty shy so we travelled with this book and he would use it as a conversation starter with unfamiliar adults ie at a family get-together (not strangers, obvs).

All the Alfie books by Shirley Hughes, oh we read those a million times.

Where the Wild Things Are

The Neighbourhood Mother Goose

Of course everything Julia Donaldson

Dr Seuss - The Cat in the Hat, Fox in Socks, Mr Brown Can Moo, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

The Tale of Two Bad Mice

The Enormous Crocodile - Roald Dahl.

[Katet]

The snail and the whale, one of my favourite books to read aloud ever!

Was going to say any thing that is Julia Donaldson (Gruffalo etc) would be top of my list

Not sure if you get them in the UK/Nth America, but also LOVE Mem Fox books.

[We Three]

All time faves here are the "Bear" books....incredible rhythm and rhyme, and FANTASTIC stories...so sweet, with themes of true friendship and understanding....we ADORE them, and have since dd was 2! They still hold up today at almost 7!  They are just perfection, from the characters to the illustrations.....just perfect! And they will last a long, long time! 

  http://www.amazon.com/Friends-Collection-Paperback-Includes-Christmas/dp/0545423406

  http://karmawilson.com/books/main.htm

[*Ali*]

Another Julia Donaldson fan here. Room on the broom and the gruffalo are the most read here.

We also love Harry and the Dinosaurs series and the tiger who came to tea and Hairy Maclary books.

We also have a traditional nursery rhyme book that both boys love reading.

If you are thinking of the kid actually reading themselves then the ORT Biff, Chip and Kipper series are good.

[Mashi]

I like a couple of Julia Donaldson but I think most were a rush to put something out and they are just not that good!

DS likescthe "Once there was a Boy...." set and it is quite cute.

Meg and Mog.

The Little Critter booksxare American and harder to find in the UK but worth it.

Richard Scarry, although a bit dated, they are lovely.

There is one that DS hascwhich he has read at least once a week sincem he was nearly 3yo and still criescwithnlaughter, called A Lark in the Ark...a lift the flap book where the animals get up to tricks on the Ark while Noah sleeps. Rhyming and silly.

[creations]

LOADS of mileage out of You Choose

We've had this for several months now (from around 2.5yo) and DS loves it, I can see it will continue to be a fav after he turns 3 too.
Another, in a similar vein which gets lots of attention is an old Oxford Children's Picture Dictionary (1981 L A Hill and Charles Innes, illustrated by Barry Rowe ), it's not the standard dictionary with one picture per word but instead scenes of various subjects with various items numbered which goes to a key on that page with the words.  There is so much to look at and talk about even without the words. It's not available new but can be found second hand and in various languages - looks tacky and old but it's fabulous.

Dare I admit I don't think I have ever read a Roald Dahl or Julia Donaldson book  I realise this must be rectified before DS starts nursery or he'll be outcast.

I shouldn't really comment on this thread as DS isn't 3 yet so I have no evidence of the books he will enjoy however, we get a lot of mileage out of the various Dr Seuss books we have, the most recent favs are
Oh the places you'll go
Inside your outside
No place like space

[Buntybear]

You must have read the Gruffalo?!

I love Stick Man for it's rhyming. Room on a Broom is ok some of the others are pretty boring tbh you have to pick and choose

[creations]

You must have read the Gruffalo?!

No 
Closest we came was a toddler yoga class where the lady read the Gruffalo (or was it Gruffalo's Child - see I can't even remember) and did yoga moves for each animal but we were so focused on the moves I have no memory of the story whatsoever.
Yeah, odd isn't it.

Keep them coming ladies - we have an entire year to fill

[*Ali*]

I tend to think of Roald Dahl as chapter books for older kids but I've never tried. I'm sure most nursery aged kids won't have read them though.

We also have the Room on the broom DVD because the kids liked the book so much. It has some lovely music and extra bits in. Other JD favourites are Stick Man, A Squash and a Squeeze, Smartest Giant in Town, Zog and cave baby. We have several more and they are all well-liked.

Some other books they like are giraffes can't dance, the Charlie and Lola books, the bedtime bear and the mr Men series.

[C&B&E]

We love Shirley Hughes books and anything by Sarah garland http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/184507727X/ref=redir_mdp_mobile. I love books that the kids resonate with-so ben has loved the alfie books and the Sarah garland ones are about real life activities like doing the washing or the gardening, but in a lovely way. Oh, and I like the way that both authors have pictures of untidy, realistic homes! It always makes me feel better 

[speechie]

The Frog And Toad books,
Jenny Linsky stories by Esther Averill are read aloud books
Nonfiction National Geographic kids books
Richard Scarry books!
Anatole books
Mudge books
Tacky the penguin books
The gingerbread baby by Jann Brett
We also read a lot of OLD books from second hand stores , cool old stories.

[Hedgehog17]

DS is really loving pop-up books right now 

He can use them easily and be trusted not to break them at this stage 

He's also into a 'noisy' chuggington book he got ages ago where there are different buttons to press at the bottom of the book as you follow the story..

[anna*]

The enormous crocodile (Dahl) is definitely for the older end. It's not a chapter book but is a LONG picture book so could easily go over 2-3 nights.

[creations]

The enormous crocodile (amongst others) is listed as an age 3+ on redhousebooks (Thebookpeople).
Ali there's a 15 book box set just now for £15.99 (saving £82) if you wanted to stock up for when the boys are older.  I've just ordered it as I figure he will ready for them at some point if not just yet and they don't always have those lovely box sets.

[michaeljacknnugg]

That's the set that got us started on chapter books! Definitely more suitable for the over 5s.

I am not keen on the portrayal of women and what they are allowed to do in the Richard Pcarry book we were given (can 'only' be hairdressers or secretaries or stay at home - nothing wrong with any of those, but I am bringing up a boy and want him to expect women and men to be able to do any job they want) so we have a copy of What do people do all day?  going spare.

What about the usborne beginners books for a start on factual info? Lovely big pictures and short explanations. We have several plus the encyclopedia, which DS adores. I think as they start reading they can puzzle a lot out themselves, but we first got a couple about sharks and the seashore when DS got into Octonauts at around three.

[*Ali*]

Ah yes, I see some age 3 and some 8. I never realised that. That is a great set. Shame the crocodile book isn't in there.

[Buntybear]

What about the usborne beginners books for a start on factual info? Lovely big pictures and short explanations. We have several plus the encyclopedia, which DS adores.

Think I might start getting some of these. The Atlas one looks great for pre-schoolers (just found on Amazon). Olly takes in so much more than I realise and I don't think I push him enough so something like this that is aimed at his age would really teach him a lot I think.

LOADS of mileage out of You Choose

We've had this for several months now (from around 2.5yo) and DS loves it, I can see it will continue to be a fav after he turns 3 too.

Got this from the library today. Was dubious as not a story book but WOW. We must have spent ages living out the 'where do you want to go today' page! We had to get 'in' his red and yellow balloon - he would pump it up - then we went to each of the  places. We had a picnic in the forest, made sand castles on the beach, found his home in the city, went swimming in the lake. I was totally and utterly amazed that this book could trigger such an imagination in him. I don't think I will forget today in a long time  Such a proud mummy moment 

[gogomama]

I have also never heard of the Gruffalo until reading this thread Must make a note to pick it up. My son is literally obsessed with Going on a bear hunt by Michael Rosen, knows the whole thing by heart..there is a youtube video with the book and an action play that he does almost everywhere. He also loves Wheres Waldo,  fables like the Lion and the Mouse and some children's fairy tales such as Gingerbread baby, the Sweet Little Wolf. There were a couple of storybooks without words that were a big hit..one was called the Crocodile Blues.

[Mashi]

We bough "You choose" last year for DS and it has been looked at all of once.    DH and I really disliked it too....maybe we are missing something???  Once the stickers are down there is nowhere to put them if you want to take them up and change things on the scene pages, if that makes sense. The other pages he finds a bit blah....fun to look at but not a story for him. Maybe I should get it out again and see if we can make it more appealing.

Another loved story here is called "Pete the Cat" ... a cat with white shoes who steps in different messes which turn his shoes all different colours.  Very cute.

[cath~]

I think most of our favourites have already been mentioned!

I love reading the books I used to read when I was little:

Alfie and anything else by Shirley Hughes (esp Dogger)
The Tiger who came to Tea
Victor and Maria
The boy who was followed home (not quite as sinister as it sounds..)
Beatrix Potter (esp Mrs Tiggywinkle, Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddleduck, Jeremy Fisher - we got a lovely box set of them all really cheap from The Book People before L was born!)

I love books that the kids resonate with-so ben has loved the alfie books and the Sarah garland ones are about real life activities like doing the washing or the gardening, but in a lovely way. Oh, and I like the way that both authors have pictures of untidy, realistic homes! It always makes me feel better 

Yes - this is exactly why Shirley Hughes is so popular with us too.  L loves all the little details like saying exactly how Alfie and Annie Rose each get down the stairs in the morning (Alfie - forwards holding the bannister, Annie Rose - backwards, feet first).  And the messy houses are great Haven't read any Sarah Garland so must have a look for those.

We also have an old Usborne Childrens Encyclopedia which L likes dipping into on occasion.  Some of the the technology stuff is quite out of date now(!), and of course lots of the book is beyond her for now, but she loves reading about the seasons, the life-cycle of the frog and things like that.  I just pick something she might be interested in and we talk about it.  She likes looking at the maps in there too and I tell her about the different places.

[creations]

We bough "You choose" last year for DS and it has been looked at all of once.    DH and I really disliked it too....maybe we are missing something???

Mashi I think you have a different book, the You Choose mentioned doesn't have stickers.  I see on amazon there is a You Choose colouring and stickers book, perhaps that is the one you have?  The one I have (and I guess others on the thread who have found it so good) has no colouring or stickers pages at all, minimal text but lots of pictures to explore and talk about.  I personally don't find the pictures much to my liking and didn't choose this book myself, Nana arrived with it one day and I thought it looked a bit grim - but when you see how fascinated kids are by it, well suddenly you love it too!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/You-Choose-Pippa-Goodhart/dp/0552547085/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381917375&sr=8-1&keywords=You+Choose

Buttonbobs, thanks for sharing your You Choose story   Sounds wonderful!

[Mashi]

That is the one I have There are 3 "scene" pages that are included, with about 100 stickers that go with it.

[creations]

Maybe it's better without the stickers then.  Mine didn't come with stickers or anything stuck in.

Cat in the Hat Young Readers Collection arrived and looks fab. I know DS would enjoy these now (to be read to him I mean) and I'm sure they'll be a hit when he turns 3.

[weaver]

Some more ideas:

Have you seen the Jez Alborough's 'Duck' books?  Duck in a Truck, Fix-it Duck etc. Really great. 

We love 'Moon Rabbit' and 'Brown Rabbit in the City' by Natalie Russell. LO1 apparently *is* a bunny right now.  Beatrix Potter, Shirley Hughes. The Little Red Tractor Books. We found a Lars the Polar Bear book in a second-hand shop and LO loved it. (Had to open the front door at breakfast time to let Lars and his friend Hugo in..!).

Quentin Blake's Mrs Armitage books are hilarious for everyone reading them.

[michaeljacknnugg]

Oh yes, we love the Duck books too! Plus we have another one of his called Hello Beaky which is gorgeous.