My Top 5 Children's Books (Plus One Bonus)

My son started Kindergarten this past Tuesday, and it made me think of all the children's books I've acquired for him/read to him.  I, of course, have the classics--like Seuss.  In fact, in just glancing over at my bookshelf, I see that I have more Seuss than even I realized.  But as much as I love Green Eggs and Ham and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, I realized that freakin' everybody knows those books.  Even if they don't have kids, they grew up with those gems.  I also realized that the books I have had the most fun reading to my boys were not actually the Seuss books.  They were books I had stumbled upon while looking for specific topics--you'll get this later on my list here.   So, without further ado, here are my top 5 favorite books I've read to my kids (whether they got them at the time or not), and a bonus book.

1. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

 This one is a pretty popular one too, I think.  It's basically there just to teach your kids colors--and maybe a few animals along the way.  But it has a nice flow to the reading that makes it almost feel like you're singing a little song as you go.  My oldest got this book as a Christmas gift a few years ago, and I think he asked me to read it to him like five or six times in a row.  It's cute but very simple.  The youngest of children would love this one.

2. If You Give a Moose a Muffin

This author has written a ton of these.  I can't even remember which one was the first one.  I have another one on my shelf as well, If You Give a Dog a Donut.  But I went with this one for a couple of reasons.  One, I feel like the follow-through on this one was a lot more fun.  (These books do a pretty good job of playing with teaching your kid the idea of cause and effect.)  Two, the moose in this book is just freakin' adorable.  I mean, at one point, he/she is wearing a red sweater, and it is just too damn cute.  I used to think that moose were the ugliest creatures on Earth, but I have slowly been coming around to the so-ugly-they're-cute side.

3. Julius, The Baby of the World

Okay, so I first read this book when I worked in a library.  I was supposed to be straightening the shelves, but I was told of this book--and that I had to read it.  This book is absolutely perfect if you are going from one child to two.  The story is cute and heartwarming.  The heroine's mother has a little baby boy--Julius--and everyone dotes and fawns over his cuteness.  She's jealous.  Obviously.  I don't want to give away the ending, but let's just say... She gets over it.  But it's the way that it happens in this book that makes it so great.  And really funny.  Though, full disclosure, when I read this to my oldest when I was expecting my youngest, I cried.

4. Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich

 

 It's a book of poetry about monsters--the classic ones, like Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman, etc.--for kids.  Though, I have to admit there are poems in this book that, as a fan of the classic Universal-type monsters, I laughed out loud at as an adult.  This might be for an older audience, since I bought this book--and the next one on the list--for my kids when they were young.  They were kind of "eh" about it.  I need to pull it out and give it another try now that they are a little more aware of the characters.  It's hilarious and very clever.

5. Frankenstein Takes the Cake

Okay, maybe having the sequel to the above book as number five is kind of a cheat.  But, honestly, I loved this one more than the first one--and that's saying something.  It's another book of poetry--some written in comic and blog form--about monsters.  This time, it is more centered around the idea of the wedding of Frankenstein and his Bride.  The monsters are joined by the likes of the Headless Horseman, Edgar Allan Poe, and The Phantom of the Opera.  Poe's sections--along with a rather salty Raven--are my favorites.  They read in the same cadence as Poe's actual poem The Raven, and are downright hilarious with the little additions of the Raven putting in his two cents.  Also on that list of favorites, the Haikus (those are Japanese poems of three lines in which the first contains five syllables, the second has seven, and the last has five) are about Godzilla and the monsters associated with that character.  Another one that my kids weren't crazy about at first, but I will definitely  have to drag out and try again now that they are older.

Bonus Book

The Spider and the Fly

Why is this a bonus and not a fave?  Two reasons.  One, I've never read it to my kids.  Two, I don't own it.  This was one of those I read while I was supposed to be straightening library shelves.  As if the classic poem wasn't spooky enough, the art added to this book--while gorgeous--makes it creepy on a whole new level.  Like, almost serial killer level.  It's kind of done in a 1920s film style--as I'm sure you can tell from the pic--and while it's made clear to the reader through the ghosts (yes, ghosts) of flies past, it also comes off as a little... seductive?  Like, this Spider is definitely trying to play it off like he wants to romance this fly.  This might be one I acquire soon, but I'm uncertain--honestly--of how my oldest would handle it.  I loved it, already knowing the poem.  Seeing it imagined in this way definitely breathed fresh life into the words.

And that's it, my top 5 favorite children's books--plus one bonus.  Got any favorites out there that you think people might not know as widely?  Let me know, because while there are a couple on my "to acquire" list, I'm always looking for more!