The Top Five Books You Should Read To Your Children

Books for 0-5 year olds

Even before Charlie was born, my husband and I read children’s books to my growing stomach. For one thing, it was a great way to bond with our unborn children and helped him to recognise our voices. As soon as Charlie was born, I signed him up online for his first library card and his love of books only grew from there!

We have such an extensive collection of children’s book and we add to it all the time. However, in this house, we do have our top 5 favourite children’s books we all love to read.

Therefore, in today’s blog, I want to share with you my top 5 children’s books recommendations to share with your children.

1. Cave Baby by Julia Donaldson and Emily Gravett

This book is a fun, poetic rhyming book that follows a fast paced rhythm and. It is about a baby who is restless living in a cave and he wants to paint and make a mess. However, mum and Dad don’t like it but there’s one animal who could do with Cave Baby’s help.

Furthermore, the pictures are bright and colourful and it is a book you can put on voices with too. We read this book to Charlie when he was tiny and it’s a book we still enjoy now. Charlie, also enjoys listening to it in audio format that I recorded for my podcast.

2. I’ll see you in the morning by Mike Jolley and Mique Moriuchi

This is a beautifully written, bedtime lullaby book that my husband and I now know off my heart. The artwork is dreamlike, engaging and bright. Through this, it tells a lovely little tale of a child who needs comfort whilst drifting off to sleep. Again, this book is suitable from birth-6 years old and would help any children who are scared of the dark. It is incredibly soothing and brings a great comfort to my little boy.

3. Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

This book can be enjoyed by children of all ages. However, for a child to fully get the benefit from this book they need to be able to grasp the flaps. This is a great learning book to help them name animals and their sounds. It is easy to read and is a book that can be enjoyed time and time again. It is also a book that you can use to ask other questions with like ‘what animal would you keep?’ or ‘what’s your favourite animal’. Children adore lift the flap books and keeps them engaged throughout. I also recorded this book for my podcast too found here.

4. Big Red Bath by Julia Jarman and Adrian Reynolds

I couldn’t do a top 5 book list without mentioning this super fun, repetitive rhyming book! This book is a favourite in our house at the moment and Daddy has to read it over and over again when it’s bath time. The artwork is stunning, the children can join in with the animal names and noises and helps a child to enjoy their bath time. It is all about a brother and a sister who are being put in the bath by dad. The children make believe imaginative scenarios with their bath toys.

5. We’re going on a bear hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury

This is an absolute classic of a book and gets better as the child gets older as you can start incorporating more and more into the reading. It’s emotive as well as on the last page you wonder what the bear’s intentions were – did he just want some friends? It’s repetitive and rhythmic and when your child can walk you can encourage them to do the actions, too. The story follows a family who are going on a bear hunt through grass, mud, forests and rivers and have to navigate problems along the way.

Mummy the Fibro Warrior Top Tip:

1. Read to your child as much as possible. It’s a free activity that doesn’t require much effort and is something that has the greatest benefit on their development. Books don’t need to be expensive; join your local library, visit a charity shop or ask for books for your child’s birthday. For further books suitable for 0-5 do check out the Book Trust page too.

If there is one takeaway I’d like you all to remember today is that the greatest gift you can give your child is the gift of reading! I need you to know you are doing the best you can, your child/children love you just as you are and you are Mummy the Fibro Warrior.

Until next time,

x

p.s. What books do your children enjoy reading? Pop any suggestions in the comments below – I’d love to hear from you!