Best children bird books according to redditors

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Rainbow Fish

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

No, David!

Are You My Mother?

The Berenstain Bears

Amelia Bedelia

Stellaluna

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

Max

Clifford

The Little Engine That Could

The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Madeline

Corduroy

Arthur

Franklin

Edited: to add some more.

Congratulations! :D

My first thought reading this was that he was saying men don't kiss ANYONE, not that it was about same-sex kissing. Like, maybe girls/princesses/women/whoever can give kisses but not boys/men. Which obviously is still not true and not a good thing to be saying, but at least it's not quite as bigoted as the other interpretation.

Either way, I agree with your decision not to make a big deal out of it, and just to make it clear that anyone can kiss anyone who is okay with it. You can also reinforce that message with diverse picture books, actually for both the issue of gender stereotypes and same-sex couples -- you might check out this list, this list, and this list for ideas. One of my personal favorites is And Tango Makes Three, a true story about two male penguins raising a chick together :)

> Dr. Seuss would be proud

You remind me of that delusional little bird in the Dr. Seuss story who thought a steam shovel was her mother

Mentor, investor, and potential business partner is a lot to ask someone to bring to the table, when you haven't said what you're bringing to the table. Nor said how someone will benefit from working with you. Put yourself in the other person's shoes. Most people want more time, money, or fulfillment. How can they get one, two, or all three with you?

Regardless, how do you find someone?

First, become the person you want to attract. So remove phases from your vocabulary like, I don't know how-to, I don't have the time, I don't have the motivation, knowledge, etc. The conjunction n't (can't, don't, won't, etc.) is no longer allowed in your vocabulary ever again. If you can't do something, then figure it out. If you don't want to do something, then you must do. If you won't do something, then find someone who will. This is tough love, every entrepreneur must face.

Second, ask yourself what are you bringing to the table and become the best version of it. Then either network with people online or offline (so you will have to make time), to find someone who complements your skills and you theirs. If this is a symbiotic partner (meaning you bring equal, but different value to the table), then you must give before you ask. If this is a non-symbiotic relationship (meaning the other person clearly brings more value to the table), then they must see something special in your raw material that they can mold.

​

I'm thinking about the book, Are You My Mother? ( https://smile.amazon.com/Are-You-Mother-Beginner-Books-ebook/dp/B00480OHWK/ )

​

Substitute the word mother for mentor and my response is, you don't go around asking, because your mother/mentor will come to you.

​

Now, entertain me, if someone on this sub says they're interested in being your mentor, what's next?

Owl Moon

Definitely this. Both of my children love this book to death.

And Tango Makes Three

And Tango Makes Three is an absolutely precious children's book too!

Link for those who don't "get" it.

There's a gay penguin couple with an adopted baby at the Central Park Zoo as well! My 1 year old loves the picture book about them.

It's called "And Tango Makes Three."

https://www.amazon.ca/Tango-Makes-Three-Justin-Richardson/dp/0689878451/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536280486&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=and+tango+makes+three&dpPl=1&dpID=51g5Su9qUtL&ref=plSrch

You should check out this book, And Tango Makes Three, which tells the adorably true story of a gay penguin couple at NYC Zoo which wanted a baby together. It's so cute!

My favorite books as a kid that I remember fondly:

The Rainbow Fish

Stellaluna


Longer books for when she is older

Amelia Bedelia

Madeline

Maybe it's the bird from [this book] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0394800184/ref=mw_dp_img?is=l&qid=1370347374&sr=8-1)

How about And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson? Other books are listed in the "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" section. PS don't read the customer reviews unless you want to blow a gasket at the stupidity of people.

Amazon

Never heard of it, but it apparently exists:

http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Poppers-Penguins-Richard-Atwater/dp/0316058432

Stellaluna!

Seriously though, I actually like Stella more (it was also my great-grandmother's name!) but my husband doesn't like it :(

And Tango Makes Three, the true story of two male penguins at the Central Park Zoo in New York City. Baby Tango was a female penguin who later paired with another female penguin.

You should get this book, sounds like your daughter will love it. It lets the kids say no in a fun way.

There's a children's book based on this story. I read it to my First Graders when we talk about what makes up a family/group/community in Social Studies.
http://www.amazon.ca/Tango-Makes-Three-Justin-Richardson/dp/0689878451/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407780114&sr=8-1&keywords=tango+makes+three

Owl Moon and Goodnight, Moon.

Those were my two favorite books when I was younger.

Little Owl's Night and I Love You, Stinky Face are my son's favorite bed time books. Little Owl is super calming and has a lot of opportunity for sound effects and "can you find the..." type questions. Stinky Face is a silly and fun book that just begs you to do funny voices and faces.

We just had a second baby so my son's favorite day time books all revolve around being a big brother.

The Big Animal Book is Jane's favorite right now. She likes it when I make animal sounds -- especially the pig and the wolf. She also likes Little Owl's Night, which is so sweetly illustrated and has such cute little things happening in the pictures. (Badger steals bear's fish! Skunk can't find snails to eat, but they are right behind him!)

I mostly try to avoid flaps because they seem to get torn off when I'm not looking.

Owl at Home

http://www.amazon.com/Owl-Home-Can-Read-Book/dp/0064440346/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

The Gaurdians of Ga'hoole books are pretty great and meant for kids around that age. There are 15 or so books and each one is only 100-150 pages. Its all about an owl who breaks tradition to save the world from his evil brother.

here is a book about this very subject.

Edit: formatting fixed

My kids would love I love daddy or Stellaluna Thanks for the contest!

Great stuff, and some excellent nostalgic recs in this thread. If you're interested in filling up the shelf with some more contemporary (but excellent) picture books, I recommend...

Yoko by Rosemary Wells

No David! by David Shannon

Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

Bark, George by Jules Feiffer

The Whole Pigeon Series by Mo Willems (board book sets are readily available if I'm not mistaken)

Little Hoot by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (I like her book Little Pea as well)


And two of my own nostalgia picks that I haven't seen mentioned but that really stuck with me through the years:

Drummer Hoff by Barbara and Ed Emberley

Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag

Oh, Verdi! I also love Stellaluna!

Reminds me a bit of this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Mountain-That-Loved-Bird/dp/0689833199

I've never cried so hard reading a children's book.

Books for Young Children

• Good Night, Sam
  
• Skippyjon Jones
  
• Skippyjon Jones in the Doghouse
  
• Those Darn Squirrels
  
• Oh the Thinks You Can Think!
  
• Bad Kitty Does Not Like Dogs
  
• The Itsy Bitsy Snowman
  
• The Littlest Elf
  
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
  
• The Good Dinosaur
  
  I Can Read - Books
  
  
• A Kiss for Little Bear
  
• Little Bears Friend
  
• Amelia Bedelia
  
• Merry Christmas, Amelia Bedelia
  
• Eloise Visits the Zoo
  
• Eloise Throws a Party
  
• May I Please Have a Cookie?
  
• Pete the Cat: At the Beach
  
• Mac and Cheese
  
• Splat the Cat
  
  Books for Older Kids
  
  
• Disney Fairies, The Never Girls Collection
  
• Ivy + Bean’s Secret Treasure Box
  
• The Ramona Collection
  
• Pippi Longstocking
  
• Mr Popper’s Penguins
  
• The Chocolate Touch
  
• Magic Tree House Boxed Set
  
• Girls Think of Everything
  
• Knock-Knock Jokes for Kids
  
• Owl Diaries
  
• 5,000 Awesome Facts
  

Yay! Congratulations. I love children's books unabashedly. I'll limit myself to the 0-5ish age range, as you have some time for the rest.

First books:

• Goodnight Moon is pretty much recognized as one of the greatest children's books of all times.
  
• Black on White is great for very early infants. Did you know babies are color blind? They'll stare at this for a while, but outgrow its simplicity fairly quickly.
  
  Next, for narrative and fun!
  
  
• All of Sandra Boynton's books are great, but I'm partial to But Not the Hippopotamus
  
• Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs is so much fun.
  
• Don't let the pigeon drive the bus is great for when he learns to say "NO!" Actually, just check out Mo Willems at the library.
  
• I want my hat back is super enjoyable.
  
  Going into the children's section at the bookstore/library can be intimidating-- Dora and Elmo and Barney assault you at every turn, but there are some real gems in there. Look at Caldecott winners for glorious artwork and storytelling.
  
  Finally, try reading a book out loud to yourself. If it's taking forever or if you're getting bored, it's probably not worth trying to read it to a kid. I once got a three-year-old Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, which is very text heavy. Poor choice.

Oh, I <3 looking for books for my kids!! They are 14, 13, 12, 11, and 5. Our son is the youngest, and he loves all the books that his older sisters loved when they were younger. :D

Oh my gosh...Get those kids some books!

• This is my favorite children's book.
  
  
• The Story of Ferdinand.
  
  
• This is one of my son's favorites...IronMan!.
  
  
• The Day My Mommy Quit.
  
  
• Dragons Love Tacos.
  
  
• If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.
  
  
• I'd Know You Anywhere, My Love.
  
  
• The Day The Crayons Quit.
  
  
• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.
  
  
• Boom Chicka Rock.
  
  
• Jake and the Never Land Pirates: Mama Hook Knows Best: A Pirate Parent's Favorite Fables with CD.
  
  
• Are You My Mother?.
  
  
• Love You Forever.
  
  
• I Love You, Stinky Face.
  
  
• The Runaway Bunny.
  
  
• Oh, The Places You'll Go. Cool idea I saw on Pinterest with this book: Buy a copy and have each of your kids' teachers write a little note somewhere in it at the end of every year. Give the book to your kid as a graduation gift. I am doing this with our son now, I saw the idea too late to start it for our girls.
  
  
• Ten Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed.
  
  
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
  
  
• The Velveteen Rabbit. -- A HUGE FAVORITE!!
  
  
• Locomotive.
  
  
• Sleep Like A Tiger.
  
  
• The Lion And The Mouse.
  
  
• Blueberries for Sal.
  
  
• David Gets In Trouble.
  
  
• Press Here. This is a very fun book!
  
  
• The One and Only Ivan.
  
  
• The Polar Express.
  
  
• Flotsam.
  
  
• Only One You.
  
  
• Beautiful Oops!.
  
  I would love this book for our oldest daughter if I win, please.
  
  /u/DrUsual...can you think of any?
  
  Thank you for the contest!

I devoured the Magic Treehouse series when I was younger. I thought it was so great that they went to all these cool places (and they were very easy to read chapter books, so I flew through them!) :)

Edit: I ran a Reading Buddies program at the local library and a couple of our younger readers really liked them because the writing style is simple, but interesting. There are new words, but nothing terribly difficult and since the main characters are the same throughout, it's easy to follow :)


In terms of other books, I thought all of these were great:

1. Dr Seuss
   
2. Shel Silverstein
   
3. Alexander
   
4. Amelia Bedelia
   
5. Frog and Toad
   
6. Henry and Mudge
   
7. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
   
   Those were all pretty popular with my kids (and with me)! :)

My mom is a strong lady. She has been through the fight and survival of three cancers - hers, my dad's and my sister's. One of those things is often enough to break a person. I'll never know how she survived three.

This book to read with my son. :)

Hey Bean! I'm sorry to hear about your mom. This is such a cool contest in her memory.

When I was very little it was Millions of Cats and The Mountain That Loved A Bird. When I got a little older it was... too many! And the list just keeps growing the older I get!

The first book that comes to mind is:

"The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon"
Written by Jacqueline Davies, Illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Excellent story format autobiography of Audubon with beautiful illustrations. Great introduction to environmentalism as well.

Speaking of Audubon, any of the Audubon Society field guides are great to use with kids, even if they can't read the text. Ditto for the coffee table style books of his watercolors, such as "Audubon's Aviary: The Original Watercolors for The Birds of America" by Roberta Olson and The New York Historical Society. I worked at a summer camp that had a ahem fledgling bird watching program and the kids loved paging through the guides.

I'm a school librarian and all of our National Geographic Kids books, regardless of topic, are constantly checked out and on hold. They have a book about birding that looks pretty good. Birds of North America

For the little guys, I would recommend:

Charlie Harper's Count the Birds

Birds

If all else fails, you can use Angry Birds (in all its many current manifestations including the upcoming movie) as a gateway drug and angle in from there. :)

As a kid, I always really loved Stellaluna and Verdi. Another favorite was Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse (and other Leo Leonni books in general!).

Big Brother has never read to me, though I've never asked him to. I'm more of a Middle most of the time anyway, though taking a bath and being read a story would be sorta silly and fun. ;P

Owl Moon was a favorite growing up:
http://www.amazon.com/Owl-Moon-Jane-Yolen/dp/0399214577

Sonya, Your Momma wouldn't tell you this but...

I'm not sure of your beliefs but what I will instill in my children from a young age is finding their identity in Christ. One you stand firm in the fact that you are a child of God (at any age), then nothing of this world can touch you. <3

Every 9 year old should have this.

Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

Reminds me of the bird in this story

Speaking of a bus, there's a children's book called Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus that my therapist and I reference regarding my dissociated young parts (pigeons) dictating my life (driving the bus).

Too close to Stellaluna (one of my favorite children's books!) imo.

http://www.amazon.com/Stellaluna-Janell-Cannon/dp/0152802177/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1457672873&sr=1-1&keywords=stellaluna

Edit: just saw that OP said she liked the Stellaluna link.

Elephant and Piggie books are awesome, and great for later when she's reading on her own. Pete the Cat picture books are also very good read alouds (not the easy readers). Children of Noisy Village is one of my favorites, and currently my son is in love with Gaston and Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog.

I am already looking on Amazon :)

Some ideas for OP:

http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Let-Pigeon-Drive-Bus/dp/078681988X/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1419580113&sr=1-4&keywords=pigeon

Plus - the boardgame that about the pigeon driving the bus. So cute, and great for social skills.

For your 7 year old: http://www.amazon.com/Book-No-Pictures-B-J-Novak/dp/0803741715/ref=lp_10238950011_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1419580437&sr=1-1

It is meant to read out loud - hilarious!!

These are awesome: http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-Gel-Pen-48-Piece-Value/dp/B000S161FO/ref=sr_1_1?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1419580561&sr=1-1&keywords=gel+pens

And should go with this for the 7 year old:

http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Doodle-Book-Pictures-Complete/dp/0762435062/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1419580657&sr=8-14&keywords=doodle

And if you have some tolerance for crafting :) this: http://www.amazon.com/Klutz-Spiral-Draw/dp/B00BEKOAYW/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1419580776&sr=8-9&keywords=spiral+art

Does your little one need jammies? http://www.amazon.com/Leveret-Stars-Piece-Pajama-Cotton/dp/B00P1NL1JU/ref=sr_1_9?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1419580939&sr=1-9&keywords=pajamas

What about a backpack? This might work for the 7 year old: http://www.amazon.com/Everest-Backpack-Front-Pockets-Orange/dp/B00DQMWN6S/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1419580816&sr=8-5&keywords=kid+backpack

:)

I don't remember what books I liked at such a specific age but one of my favorite early childhood ones was Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel. I also liked the Troublemaker Street series by Astrid Lindgren.

I'm not a regular contributor, but I felt like making a top-10 list of my favorite books so far. (My son will be turning 3 soon.)

The rules mention links to facebook or blogs; I'm hoping non-referral links to Amazon are okay. I'll link board books where possible, because pages get ripped and torn until at least two-and-a-half years of age.

• Little Blue Truck: Most parents probably already know this one. Great book for when children are starting to speak - you can point to each of the animals and ask what it "says."
  
• Jamberry: Beautiful illustrations, and it can be read as a song. I'm pretty sure two verses were switched - I think it should be "Three berry four berry, my berry your berry, hayberry strawberry, finger and pawberry." Bugs me a little bit.
  
• Chugga Chugga Choo Choo: Another singable book with rhymes and good illustrations, and a good means of prompting child participation - they can fill in the "whoo whooo!" part.
  
• Planting a Rainbow: Great eye-grabbing book for learning colors. Can also be read with a rhythm, though it isn't as singable as the others.
  
• Little Owl's Night: Great book for pre-empting any fears of the dark. "Owls wake up at night time, and sleep when the sun is up." Surely if this little owl is chilling at night with his fox and turtle buddies, that means nighttime is nothing to be afraid of.
  
• The Little Dump Truck: Has a good rhythm and good illustrations. Helps give your kid, who loves dump trucks but doesn't know why, an idea of what dump trucks actually do.
  
• Twenty Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street: Fantastic counting book, and has a good rhythm as well. Highly recommend for getting your kid to count past ten.
  
• Potty: A godsend for potty training. Start reading it a couple months before you introduce the potty, and read it often. We potty-trained our son at about 34 months with a combination of this book and Season 2, Episode 1 of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. He used a little plastic thing for about two weeks before we moved him up to the integrated seat, which is great because it can just be wiped down after use.
  
• Julia's House for Lost Creatures: Beautifully illustrated, and a great introduction to cleaning up after yourself. "What do good boys do if they make a little mess?" "Um, clean up!" The text doesn't flow well in some parts - I get the impression that this was intended for comic-book reading children - but it isn't overly wordy and has more than enough art to compensate.
  
• Why is the Grass Green? First Questions and Answers about Nature: If anyone knows about a more recent version of this, I'd be very interested. We found this one in a library's outdoor "take one, leave one" box. Some of it is still too advanced for our little one to wrap his head around, but the way this book distills concepts into concise explanations with simple wording is amazing. Highly recommended for any child that asks a lot of "why" questions.

Relevant children's literature

My (3-year old) son likes some traditionally "girly" stuff and has been getting some flack from other kids about it at school. His teacher and my wife and I talked about strategies (his teachers are awesome) and one thing we did was check out a bunch of books about being different.

Two of them pull pretty strong on my heart strings:

Neither

https://www.amazon.com/Neither-Airlie-Anderson/dp/0316547697

Jamie is Jamie

https://www.amazon.com/Jamie-About-Being-Yourself-Playing/dp/1631981390/ref=sr_1_1?crid=31CS9009VZAPK&keywords=jamie+is+jamie&qid=1570198131&s=books&sprefix=jamie+is+%2Cstripbooks%2C137&sr=1-1

They're both great. The drawings (of all sorts of odd hybridized creatures) in Neither are fantastic, as is the story. It is the "younger" book of the two.

But Jamie is Jamie brings me (a reasonably masculine man) almost to tears. It's about a kid (Jamie) that likes doing girly and boy-y stuff, and their classmates like Jamie a lot and have an interesting conversation about whether they are a boy or a girl, then decide they don't care.

But what really makes it special in my mind is that it doesn't end there--it shows how after that, the other kids start playing with whatever they actually want to, regardless of gender norms, and are happier for it.

I think it touches me because I can remember being a kid and having interest in some "girly" things--gymnastics, dress-up, cooking... but never letting myself do those things. I think books like this would have helped me try things I wanted to do but was afraid to, and I hope it is that way for my son.

Mo Willems knew this LPT and wrote yawns into Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late. It works, if only for the reader......

We loved that book and it's sequel

Never read them myself, but I've heard good things about The Legend of the Guardians Series. I loved the movie so I'd definitely give the books a try!

And even though everyone has already said it, DEFINITELY DEFINITELY WITHOUT A DOUBT HARRY POTTER WHEN HE GETS OLDER! :) Every kid should grow up at Hogwarts...

Are You My Mother

From my wishlist - This is cool, and cheap!

From /u/kyriya's wishlist - Baby K probably needs this

Or, for funsies, since it's not cool to poke your own eyes out when your job sucks (looking at you, /u/dblue236), maybe a little something from their wishlist that's not a pencil?

tangent: my favorite fictional interspecies adoption

pigeons love hot dogs

It was pretty good. I went to the Sketchfest recording last year, with Alex Borstein, Brad Bird, and Dan Savage, and I have to say, because all of them were better in front of a camera (so to speak), it was definitely not as funny this year, but overall the experience was great. They have a routine, I guess.

Ophira comes out, and does maybe 10-20 minutes of stand-up (both times mostly jokes about San Francisco). Jonathan comes out and plays a song (last year First of May (Fucking Outside), this year it was IKEA). Then Art comes out. Then they give the usual audience warnings (don't shout answers, clap when the Make Noise signs flash), and then they record some sample applause (they asked for "medium and then Holy Shit applause," to put in as a transition between segments, then the actual recording began.)

The normal guests were good, everything went normally there, not much you'd miss on the edited version.

The first VIP was Steve Sansweet, a former Lucasfilm employee who's the founder and owner of a collection of Star Wars memorabilia with, he claims, over 350,000 items (www.RanchoObiWan.org). He was moderately entertaining in an old-guy way, and he brought a rare Jar-Jar Binks lollipop which you eat by opening Jar-Jar’s mouth and sucking on the tongue… And he tried it (Both Ophira and Jonathan refused)

The next guy was probably the funniest. That was Phil Johnston, a screenwriter who wrote Cedar Rapids, Wreck-it-Ralph, and Zootopia (Disney’s new movie). He told stories about having to get his cat gender-reassignment surgery to save it from a medical condition, and how in 7th grade he would buy porn magazines from high schoolers and then resell them. (I’m guessing they’ll release his uncensored interview).

Then the third VIP was Mo Willems (he’s been on the show before; he wrote the Pigeon books. He played a game with Phil (and they re-recorded Ophira announcing the actual score as 8/10 to a modified 7/8), then they did the Ask Me One More, and the show ended.

TL;DR - It was really fun, and I’ll definitely go next year, or if they come back again before then.

Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog

Wanted to chime in and mention the book Neither. Great for discussing the topic of social inclusion, and empathy.

Reminds me of Are You My Mother?

"You are a snort!"

https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Let-Pigeon-Drive-Bus/dp/078681988X

Beautiful tattoo. It reminds me of the children's book Stellaluna, which was a go-to bedtime story for me and my siblings when we were young.

Love love love reading to my two daughters - 1 and 3. My grandmother was an elementary school teacher, so we grew up always being read to and were quick to learn to read ourselves - and now am definitely passing that along to my kids. Each of them get three books before bed at the very least, and are always bringing books over for us to read to them. I love it when they're at the stage where they're just really learning to talk, and babble their way through pretending to read a book. :-)

Some of our favorite books lately have been:

• So Big!
  
• Bear Stays Up for Christmas
  
• Zen Shorts
  
• How Do Dinosaurs Count to Ten?
  
• What Makes a Rainbow?
  
• Is Your Mama a Llama?
  
• The Very Quiet Cricket
  
• Five Little Monkeys
  
• Are You My Mother?
  
• Goodnight Moon
  
• I Love You Stinky Face
  
• (Any number of Clifford books)
  
• (lots of Dr. Seuss books)
  
  I still have my collection of books from when I was young - I am looking forward to introducing them to Beverly Cleary and Roald Dahl as they get older.

Yes I thought of that also! It’s called Are You My Mother?

When I was little I was a fan of [Are You My Mother] (https://smile.amazon.com/Mother-Bright-Early-Board-Books/dp/0679890475)

Every book in The Guardians of Ga'hoole Series, which is about an owl society on the bring of war. Teaches a lot of moral and life lessons, but in the disguise of owls. I loved this series as a child.


Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and any other book written by Roald Dahl. Just a warning for The Witches (although I couldn't find it in Kindle Format), it really spooks some children. I tried to read it to my little cousins and it just outright scared them. Although they are skiddish in the first place.


The Tale of Despereaux, Which is a book about a mouse (Desperaux) who goes on a quest to save a human princess. Great book.


The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, I'm not sure if this is too old for him or not, but it's super cute. And a real boy book too.


If he hasn't read them yet, every Dr. Seuss book ever.


Ella Enchanted, absolutely loved this one too. I re-read it countless times when I was younger.


The Phantom Tollbooth, which is just another great book!

Carl Hiaasen is always great - [Hoot] (http://www.amazon.com/Hoot-Carl-Hiaasen/dp/0440419395/ref=la_B000AQ2LMO_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396532174&sr=1-20), [Flush] (http://www.amazon.com/Flush-Carl-Hiaasen/dp/0375861254/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=12A7NQRXS1G2QA9GMBWP), and his other one-word titles for younger readers. Amazon says ages 10 and up, but you might check them out -

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0152062874

Green eggs and ham. Oh how many times have we read that book here? Millions? Surely. I think your daughter (aged 1) might love any of the Margaret Wise Brown books. Our personal favorite was Big Red Barn. Because children's books are my absolute passion though, I'm going to throw out a couple more. If your daughter loves to look at faces (mine did) - I loved this book, Global Babies. It's a picture board book and the photography is stunning. My daughter also loved Touch and Feel books, have you guys tried those? And if she likes bright colors, my daughter loved Planting a Rainbow.

Can I throw out a few for later? Just because I love these books so much. A lesser known book that came to me by chance and became my favorite thing ever is Open Me, I'm a Dog by Art Spiegelman. Also, make sure that you get Janell Cannon's books, Verdi and Stellaluna as she gets older, especially if she is an animal lover. Stellaluna can be scary though, or at least it was for my daughter, so in a few years might be best. OH and we love the Alexander books.

My son is a wee bit obsessed with the Lego Movie, which is odd since we still haven't seen it. But he's wanting to read this novel about it for $4.61.

Mostly though, I wanted to talk about books. And kids. Because I love them both very much. Thanks for a great contest!

My daughter was(is) a big fan of Little Blue Truck.

We also like Goodnight Gorilla and Peek a Who

For ones that can grow with her, I'd recommend:
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
Press Here
How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight

Honestly, anything by Mo Willems or Jane Yolen is going to be good! I have some books on my daughter's gift list too.

For more suggestions, a friend of mine is a librarian and has a TON of books pinned on Pinterest. Here's just one of her boards.

For us? My daughter can always use more books. We have a ton, but she loves them. I think I'm most interested in The Day the Crayons Quit for her right now. It looks really good and funny and we like to read a little above her level to her anyway (she's almost 4 so at the bottom of this one.)

Green eggs and ham.

Green eggs and ham. Yummy!

My three Tiny Turtles are big bookworms, so this contest is especially appreciated! <3 We love Mo Willems, so I'm sure The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog is a good one! (A used copy is just fine by us!)

these are fun if you're theatrical when reading it

Hell yeah, these were so good. Did you ever see the claymation movie? Also fantastic. And don't forget about Owl at Home, also by Arnold Lobel.

http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Poppers-Penguins-Richard-Atwater/dp/0316058432

Hmm...books I liked as a kid...well, apparently they tended to involve animals, and mostly realistically drawn ones. Here's a few:

Good Dog, Carl.

Stellaluna.

The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses.

Fritz and the Beautiful Horses. I liked horses, what can I say.

How to Hide an Octopus. This one is fun because it shows you each animal and then you have to find it camouflaged in the environment. Very colorful, light on words, if I remember correctly.

The Story of Jumping Mouse. This one had just the slightest amount of creepy. But it was just the right amount I could handle, and it made the book kind of intriguing? I believe it's based on a Native American folk story.

Are You My Mother by P.D. Eastman :)

Bridge of Birds by Barry Hugart

The Miriam Black novels by Chuck Wendig

You can read the first couple of pages in the preview. No shell hat.

Penguins have been my favorite animal ever since I read "Mr. Popper's Penguins" in 2nd grade (circa 1992, probably).

Has he read this book? There's a Jim Carrey movie, which totally delivers as well.

Amazon link to the book

If she likes animals she may like the Guardians of Ga'hoole series and its follow up set in the same universe; Wolves of the Beyond. Guardians has a fantasy spin with owls battling with blades and armor.

For your daughter, if you want to "fight" the heteronormativity and cisnormativity that she'll be exposed to, you can slip a couple story books on the shelf. Children aren't born prejudiced- they need to be molded into that by the people around them and by society. Heteronormativity means assuming everyone is straight (so think of how in every disney movie the princess always winds up with a prince, etc.) Casually reading a story book and making it just "not a big deal" will enforce in your daughter's head that we LGBT people are, well, not a big deal.

This one will be coming out in June and is about a trans teddy bear.

"And Tango Makes Three" is a famous story about two real life penguins.

"It's Okay to Be Different" talks about all sorts of differences.

Dr. Seuss's story about the "Sneetches" talks about differences and is a classic that is applicable to all sorts of prejudice.

And "The Different Dragon" has a main character with two moms.

I hope that helps- you sound like a great parent who wants your child to be accepting. Best to plant the seed now, while she's young, rather than waiting until she's older. Maybe if you plant the seed, she'll call out grandma for being "mean", which would be pretty satisfying, right?

Edit: if I had been read a story as a kid where it was ok for two women to fall in love, I probably wouldn't have repressed my bisexuality for over a decade. It's the subconscious/internalized/pervasive cultural stuff that really messes with our heads, and reading her picture books with characters of different colors, sexual orientations, etc. will help plant a seed to make her truly an accepting person deep down. Best of luck with your mother in law, by the way.

now someone can shoot her. kidding. this is basically the plot of "Are You My Mother" just with a deer. dude's a baller for sure.


Are You My Mother

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CUTE Children's Book. Doctor Dodo in the Outback. Free TODAY

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PNKJ5V9

My daughter is 6! She likes Legos and Lego video games. Does your daughter have any consoles? You said she is getting in to video games. I can recommend Lego Harry Potter and the Lego The Movie video game. Spring is coming. Does she like birds? She might like a set of binoculars and this bird book. My daughter has that book and loves trying to find all of the birds listed in our area. Peeler beads are something your two girls can do together. They might also like a spin art machine.

I'd love a painting of a giraffe in Africa. Or something else. Idk. I just love giraffes, so anything with a giraffe in it would be awesome :p

1984 is an awesome book and it really introduced me to dystopian books and now I love this sort of stuff.

Flipped is just an overall awesome book. There's no reason it SHOULDNT be on this list. Such a classic.

Hoot has to be put on this list because I read it again and again in middle school. Yep. This is was such a great book.

I thought of this.

Some of my favorites when I was around 10 or so:

city of ember

Anthem

Guardians of Gahoole

Count of monte cristo This is the ebook which is free but perhaps an abridged version would be better. Also many of these classics are a bit brutal so perhaps when she gets a bit older.

Many of these are about failed utopias, and if she likes series of unfortunate events City of Ember is would be a good pairing.

There's fun curriculum here from the folks at Penguin Science, including a fun "Did You Know" page. My favorite fact from there is that an Adélie penguin waddles at a rate of 2 km/h! There are also cute children's books on penguins, like And Tango Makes Three, which is about penguins I used to work with at the Central Park Zoo in NYC.

Totally happened to us too. She got water in her eyes one day while we were washing her hair and that was it. She was terrified for months and months of getting her hair washed or even her head wet. I had a similar fear of water when I was her age after some aggressive fever treatments. Thankfully now she is quite happy to bathe. The solution came in the form of a book. She loves books and we were gifted a special book that really helped calm her. It is called "The Pigeon Needs a Bath by Mo Williams. Here is someone reading it and here is an amazon link. She really loves all of Mo's books but this one is especially good. We read the book while she bathed and I think having her problem understood by something external and kind of silly helped draw her out.

And Tango Makes Three. Penguins, not people, but still gay.

No, what? I'm not your mother. Consult this book for further reference. Good luck on your search sir.

I highly recommend the children's book based on this, called And Tango Makes Three.

Or THIS BOOK.