A Book List for Little Ones

On By mrsjschonIn Baby, Children, Family
A Book List for Little Ones
Because I have been asked more than once what books I would recommend for young children I thought I would do a post devoted to a few of my recommendations. Some of these are not readily available anymore so you’ll have to keep your eyes open at garage sales, thrift stores, etc. I’m listing these in alphabetical order by the authors’ last names not necessarily in order of favourites. Not all of the lists are a complete list of every book written by the author, but they are the ones we have read and enjoyed.

Jim Arnosky

  • ALL NIGHT NEAR THE WATER
  • COME OUT, MUSKRATS
  • DEER AT THE BROOK
  • EVERY AUTUMN COMES THE BEAR
  • GRANDFATHER BUFFALO
  • OTTERS UNDER WATER
  • RABBITS AND RAINDROPS
  • RACCOONS AND RIPE CORN
  • WATCHING FOXES
Beautiful, realistic artwork. Simple stories – only one phrase or sentence per page. Some of his later books have more writing on each page. 
Grandfather BuffaloRabbits and Raindrops
  

Mary Calhoun

  • AUDUBON CAT
  • BLUE-RIBBON CAT
  • CROSS COUNTRY CAT
  • HENRY THE SAILOR CAT
  • HIGH WIRE HENRY
  • HOT-AIR HENRY
Most of these books are about a cat named Henry and his adventures. The story is told from Henry’s point of view, and being a cat his view of himself is pretty high.
Cross-Country CatBlue-Ribbon Henry
 
 

Nancy White Carlstrom

  • BETTER NOT GET WET, JESSE BEAR
  • GUESS WHO’S COMING, JESSE BEAR
  • LET’S COUNT IT OUT, JESSE BEAR
  • JESSE BEAR, WHAT WILL YOU WEAR?
Jesse Bear is a cute little bear that two to four-year-olds will especially relate to. The books are written in rhyme that easily trips along. He experiences what many little ones do and makes it all seem like fun.
 
Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear Better Not Get Wet, Jesse Bear
Barbara Cooney
  • ISLAND BOY 
This story follows the life of one boy Matthias from babyhood to grandfather and his life on an island on the eastern seacoast. Life was hard but simple and full of character.
Island Boy
 
Lee Davis
  • P. B. BEAR 
A series of books about a little teddy bear and his adventures. Pictures are realistically set up photos of real stuffed animals and their toys and etc. Little ones especially love these appealing stories and real and make-believe adventures.
 
P.B. Bear's Birthday PartyP.B. Bear's Treasure Hunt
 
Amy Hest
  • IN THE RAIN WITH BABY DUCK
  • MAKE THE TEAM, BABY DUCK
  • OFF TO SCHOOL, BABY DUCK

Baby Duck is a “preschooler” who is afraid of rain, swimming and the first day of school. Her parents don’t understand her, but her grandpa does and always seems to say and do the right thing.

In the Rain with Baby DuckOff to School, Baby Duck

James Herriot

  • BLOSSOM COMES HOME
  • BONNIE’S BIG DAY
  • MOSES THE KITTEN
  • ONLY ONE WOOF
  • OSCAR, CAT-ABOUT-TOWN
  • SMUDGE, THE LITTLE LOST LAMB
  • THE CHRISTMAS DAY KITTEN
  • THE MARKET SQUARE DOG
These are stories taken from James Herriot’s books for adults and rewritten for children. The illustrations are gorgeous. Any child who loves animals will love these stories. These books can be bought individually or in one “Treasury” volume.
 
Only One WoofMoses the Kitten
 

Shirley Hughes

  • ALFIE GETS IN FIRST
  • ALFIE GIVES A HAND
  • ALFIE WEATHER
  • OUT AND ABOUT
  • TWO SHOES, NEW SHOES
My children love the “Alfie” books. He’s just like any average little boy and has adventures easily related to. His little sister Annie Rose is absolutely adorable and tags along on Alfie’s adventures.
 
The Big Alfie and Annie Rose StorybookAlfie Gets in First
 
Jane Pilgrim – BLACKBERRY FARM SERIES
  • A BUNNY IN TROUBLE
  • EMILY THE GOAT
  • ERNEST OWL STARTS A SCHOOL
  • HIDE AND SEEK AT BLACKBERRY FARM
  • WALTER DUCK AND WINIFRED
These books are written in a similar way to the Peter Rabbit books. They have sweet stories and beautiful illustrations to match. The stories are the tales/adventures of the animals who live at Blackberry Farm with a small, moral undertone. We love them. They are hard to find though. We’ve found most of our at thrift stores and used book stores.
 
Walter Duck and WinifredHide & Seek at Blackberry Farm
Brinton Turkle
  • THE ADVENTURES OF OBADIAH
  • OBADIAH THE BOLD
  • THY FRIEND OBADIAH
These books record the troubles and triumphs of a little Quaker boy living on Nantucket Island around the time of the founding of America. My children (2 and 4) love these stories. In the first book Obadiah tells “stories” of adventures no one believes. Then he has a real adventure and cannot understand why no one believes him. In Obadiah the Bold a gift of a spyglass makes Obadiah want to grow up and become a pirate. A talk with Father finally helps him see what a truly “bold” man is. Finally, a seagull, much to Obadiah’s dismay, adopts him as a friend. In the end Obadiah comes to love the seagull.
Of course, we also have all the classic favourites: Winnie-the-Pooh, Peter Rabbit and friends, Madeline, Babar, Curious George, Richard Scary, Dr. Seuss. In case you haven’t figured it out yet our home is full of books. We read all. the. time. What do you recommend that we add to our shelves?

 

 

75 thoughts on “A Book List for Little Ones”

  3. Hi Jenn. Looks like a great list of books. I am forwarding it on to my daughter. Her children are 5 and 3 and they love to read. My daughter gets her reading addiction from me, and they get it from her. If you are going to have an addiction, this one isn’t bad.

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  6. Thanks for sharing such an extensive list. It’s been a while since I’ve read picture books to my kids. Now I have college students and teenagers, but those are some great memories! By the way, your site is very appealing! I look forward to visiting frequently.

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  8. Thank you for sharing! As a mother of young children, I am always looking for new reading material that will keep them engaged and the colorful artwork definitely helps. Also, can you tell me which commentathon group you’re in? I haven’t received an email with the link. Thank you!

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  18. My family also has lots of children’s books. My husband has books from when he was a kid and I have books from when I was a kid and our kids have acquired books as gifts. Our 2 year old loves to have short stories read to her. Our 7 year old reads out loud for 20-30 minutes each night before bed. On Sundays my husband and I read out loud from a family book to the whole family while we all sit in the living room. He and I alternate reading chapters. Right now we are reading the Indian in the Cupboard series like that.

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  21. Nice list…I have not heard of any of these books, but I really enjoyed seeing the beautiful illustrations that these books have. My brother bought my nephew a bundle of books from the thrift shop, and I think a Jim Arnosky book was in there because the illustrations/book covers you featured, and the fact that he writes about animal characters look familiar.

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  26. I remember reading “Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear” to my now 15- and 17-year-olds when they were little. Many of these books I’ve never heard of. We had lots of Dr. Seuss and Curious George in our house, but I can’t think of anything to add that you didn’t mention. I’m going to pass this list along to some friends with little ones.

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  28. Really great list here! I’m surprised I actually have NOT heard of most of these, but I love that many of them focus on animal characters. One book that I would recommend also is, Jumping Mouse which has great illustrations and a touching moral.

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  29. I’m always looking for new books to check out to read to my kids! We are partial to Dr Seuss! Go dog Go, Are You My mother, And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street…but we also love Winnie The Poo, and Curious George… Thanks for sharing!

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  30. What a great list! There are a lot I haven’t seen before! One of my favorites was the Frances series- I loved this as a child and bought it for my children when they were young.

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  31. We love the Jesse Bear books! And I did find a blackberry farm book at the thrift store the other day that I took a chance on and liked. You might really like “Stand Back” Said The Elephant “I’m Going to Sneeze!”… It always makes my kids giggle uncontrollable. Also, we love Little Blue Truck and All The Animals Are Almost Asleep. My son has both of these memorized!

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  34. It is wonderful that the stories used animal characters. The illustrations look lovely, and the morals of the stories are magnificent. Thank you for sharing a list of timeless stories!

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  36. What a great list! I always loved “I’ll Love You Forever” and “Guess How Much I Love You?”. I had those for my son since he was born and read them to him often. Aw, now I’m feeling nostalgic. 🙂 By the way, I love your blog design: clean and yet so colorful. Wonderful! ~ Bobbi

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    1. Books are great for making us feel nostalgic. I’m reading one to my children right now that I read several times as a girl.Thanks for liking my blog design. Since “simplicity” is part of who I try to be, I’m glad my design reflects that.

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