No James Breakwell books here yet? OK
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Thank you for the correction.
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When mine was little, we liked “Elmer” by David McKee:
Elmer’s a multicolored elephant in a drab grey elephant world. He’s the happy joker who brings the mood of the herd up, but clearly wonders what it’s like to be “normal”, and seems to wonder if the other elephants are laughing with him, or at him, so he dyes himself drab grey, and blends back into the herd. Noticing that the herd isn’t what it usually is he startles them all, and the herd enjoys the joke, wishing that Elmer were there with them as he would have enjoyed the joke. A rain cloud washes him back to his normal patchwork, and the elephants love his joke even more because he tricked them on top of the startle, and the elephants start an “Elmer Day” where everyone paints themselves in outlandish patterns.
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My favorite books that I read to my kids include
A) “The paperbag princess” by Robert Munsch (but it absolutely has to be read with the commentaries, just like the Tanach, and the prince has to sound like the count from Sesame street. "OH NO. THE Dragon has me by the pants and is carrying me off to eat me. Count them one doomed prince, Ah Ah Ah).
B) “We share everything” by Robert Munsch (it’s really funny because of the underlining fear the teacher has of getting labelled a perv)
C & D) “Secret Pizza Party” and “Big Bad Bubble” by Daniel Salmieri (they also did the squirrel series as well).
E) “Where’s my cow” by Terry Pratchett.
F) “A child’s Guide To Anarchy” by two happy punks (a boing boing reccomendation that did NOT dissapoint)
G) “Rosie Reviere Engineer”, by Andrea beatty (I love inventor related stories, but you HAVE to sing this one in lounge jazz style)
H) “The most Magnificent thing” by Ashley Spires (I love invention related books, this one is magnificent).
I) “The Hannukah Goblins” by Eric Kimmel (you have to read this one with a Borscht belt accent, and I nearly tore a vocal cord doing the goblin king)
J) “The zombie makers” (a science book about parasites that infect insects and modify behaviour. Minimize the funny voices when reading this one).
Reading to the kids is one of the only ways I have of indulging my fantasy of being a voice actor in a cartoon series.
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Perhaps not an appropriate subject for children,(or maybe it is?) but after building a large Stegosaurus Halloween costume a couple years ago it got me thinking: how the heck, geometrically speaking, would a Stegosaurus be able to mate? And can I find the answer in this book?
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They hsve a good Hannukah story as well.
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I loved “The princess and the Pony”
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A fave in my house as well. Beaton’s art is hilarious and I like the messages:
- Some Princesses aspire to be brawling warriors instead of prim and proper beauty queens
- It’s important to show appreciation for gifts even when they don’t quite match your expectations
- Different people and creatures have different talents
- It’s OK for barbarians to embrace their cuddly sides
- Ponies can fart a lot and don’t always make great indoor pets
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I love “Where the Wild things Are”. I always give it that dramatic reading like the one Sideshow Bob does when he was reading on that Simpson’s episode.
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It’s been an awful long time since I selected children’s books, but in my opinion, you still can’t beat The Sneetches and Other Stories.
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These are all great (I have them all). May I also add Jack’s Worry by Sam Zuppardi as a great “learning” book.
Jumping topics to books that are just fun reads for little ones my toddler daughter loves Sandra Boyton books (there are many). We have been reading them since she was pre-verbal. My daughter loves to sing along to snuggle puppy.
For boyton books a little more on topic, I like the pair (the stories connect) of “But not the hippopotamus” and “But not the Armadillo”. The hippo just wants to play with everyone and joins the group at the end, but the armadillo prefers to do his own thing and thats OK too. Not too serious but the story is sweet.
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My daughter spends so much time pointing out what they are doing wrong. I love those books. But daddy he isn’t wearing his helmet he will get a boo boo! - no consideration to the fact that its a giant dinosaur on a standard bike 
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Beautiful book. So meditative. “I am a bunny. My name is Nicholas. I live in a hollow tree… In the summer, I like to lie in the sun and watch the birds.”
Also recommend Jamberry, any of Leslie Patricelli’s books, Little Blue Truck, Little Excavator, Row Row Row Your Boat (with the animals), and always Dr. Suess—especially Horton Hatches the Egg.
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I noticed someone above mentioned Boyton too. Seriously just buy them. I have an entire shelf of her books.
Also I am currently working towards getting all of the “little people big dreams” series. My daughter is particularly fond of the Maya Angelou and Marie Curie stories at the moment.
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We got the pout pout fish as a gift (from someone) for our daughter. We read it and then discussed both consent and the fact that its okay to be grumpy and that no one has the right to tell you to smile or look happy. Now when the kid is feeling sad, she states, “I’m a pout pout fish,” and this lets us know she’s not happy. We tell her its okay if she’s grumpy and if she wants cheering up we’ll be there to help.
We also really like “I like myself” but really take issue with one scene in which it appears that the girl and her dog are taunting the scared caged lion.
I guess no book is perfect but you can always discuss the issues… 2.5 year olds have quite the take on the world
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To the many great suggestions above, I’d like to add Click, Clack, Moo by Doreen Cronin. The illustrations are great, and it’s never to early to learn about the power of collective bargaining.
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Any of the ‘hairy maclary’ series. Nice stories, and wonderful rhyming rhythms.
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Yes! It’s one of the funnest reads. Farmer Brown’s voice I especially love doing.
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Personal favorites:
Antoinette Portis: Princess Super Kitty, Not a Stick, and Not a Box
Many of the Patricia Polacco books; I’m particularly fond of Chicken Sunday
A Wish for Wings that Work, by none other than Berke Breathed
A Pussycat’s Christmas by Margaret Wise Brown, just for the gorgeous illustrations by Anne Mortimer
Mo Willems is this generation’s answer to Dr. Seuss. Yay Elephant and Piggie!
NO, David by David Shannon is subversive fun
Llama Llama, Red Pajama and the other books by Ann Dewdney
Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester I adore
and others too numerous to count
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