NationStates Jolt Archive

I'm talking from the 3-6 range or so, before you really started reading for yourself, back when your parents/whomever read to you. What were your favourite stories?

I ask because my youngest sister is four, and she misses her big big sister Amarenthe very much, so I like to send her little presents - and lately, I've been sending her books that I really loved as a child, so that my mom can read them to her, and so that I can read them to her when I head home in a few weeks. So far, we've gone through "The Velveteen Rabbit", "Guess How Much I Love You", "Goodnight Moon", "Where the Wild Things Are", "Love You Forever", "Time For Bed"... and that's everything that comes to mind.

So, any suggestions? The Velveteen Rabbit was my favourite as a kid, followed by Guess How Much I Love You, since apparently I had a thing for bunnies.

(Alternately, were there any stories you were told that weren't actually books, but just stories passed down orally?)

I liked Amelia Bedelia, Berenstein Bears, that book about the 3 little pigs from the wolf's perspective, Clifford, and stuff I cant remember right now.

Hamster Huey and Gooey Kablooie!

If you would prefer to give real books, I'd suggest something by Tim Wynne-Jones (Zoom at Sea) or Graham Oakley (The Church Mice series), though the latter might be a for an audience a bit older than you have in mind.

Edit: Berenstein Bears is seconded

Hamster Huey and Gooey Kablooie!

If you would prefer to give real books, I'd suggest something by Tim Wynne-Jones or Graham Oakley, though the latter might be a for an audience a bit older than you have in mind.

I can think of tons of books for the next age group up, 5/6 onwards, but she's not quite there yet... we're still doing the really simple short stories. The Velveteen Rabbit is the longest book we've tried, and she still doesn't like that one quite as much as the others. The prefers them short enough that she can recite along from memory, basically. :p

I can think of tons of books for the next age group up, 5/6 onwards…

But I can't remember anything from before then… ;)

A few faded memories: Robert the Rose Horse, Gregory the Terrible Eater, and The Giant Jam Sandwich. (That took some Googling).

Disclaimer: I can't remember if I liked them, only that they were.

I had a set of children's encyclopedias I used to read. I still enjoy reading reference books more than fiction, actually.

I like the classics like Heidi and Black Beauty. I know not every kid is ready to read for themselves at that age, but she should enjoy having these read to her. Another good collection is Nathanial Hawthorne's Wonderbook and Tanglewood Tales - this is a retelling of Greek myths for children - it's out of print, but you can probably find it on Amazon or at a used bookstore. Again, she's probably too young to read this herself, but she'll enjoy having it read to her. She might also enjoy Alice in Wonderland and the real Peter Pan - not the Disneyfied version.

I can't think of anything that would discourage a child from reading more than those idiotic "See Spot, See Spot run" type of book.

'K, I just dug out The Velveteen Rabbit (I knew we had a copy somewhere) and if your sister can handle that, then Graham Oakley (who I really do recommend) or Tim Wynne-Jones would be fine.

Graham Oakley (http://ils.unc.edu/~david/oakley/) (The Church Mice series) is the kind of children's author who is rather entertaining for the child and far more entertaining for the reader.

Edit: That's a lousy link I provided, but it's the best I could find.

I loved Where the Wild things are.

May I also recommend, The Hungry Caterpillar and really any of the Beatrix Potter Books

'K, I just dug out The Velveteen Rabbit (I knew we had a copy somewhere) and if your sister can handle that, then Graham Oakley (who I really do recommend) or Tim Wynne-Jones would be fine.

Graham Oakley (http://ils.unc.edu/~david/oakley/) (The Church Mice series) is the kind of children's author who is rather entertaining for the child and far more entertaining for the reader.

Edit: That's a lousy link I provided, but it's the best I could find.

Excellent, thank you. I'm not familiar with either, but I'll check them both out. :)

I can't think of anything that would discourage a child from reading more than those idiotic "See Spot, See Spot run" type of book.

Ugh, "Dick and Jane". I have no idea how a child is suppose to learn to read when THOSE are the educational materials provided. "This is Jane. This is Dick. Jane likes Dick. Dick likes Jane. This is Spot. Spot is a dog. Jane likes Spot. Dick likes Spot. Spot likes Dick and Jane."

Shoot me now. :p Anyway, I definitely go for stories that, even when simple, are slightly more complex and engaging than "here is this. here is that."

I will definitely check out your suggestions - though Alice in Wonderland still, to this day, gives me nightmares. :p

"This is Jane. This is Dick. Jane likes Dick. Dick likes Jane. This is Spot. Spot is a dog. Jane likes Spot. Dick likes Spot. Spot likes Dick and Jane."

:eek:
Children's books + bestiality = not a good mix.

Dr. Seuss... I mean, how could you possibly go wrong with him?

I also liked Richard Scarry's stuff too, enough to make sure to get the books for my own son.

And, finally (But not least) Winnie-the-Pooh.

Dr. Seuss... I mean, how could you possibly go wrong with him?

I also liked Richard Scarry's stuff too, enough to make sure to get the books for my own son.

And, finally (But not least) Winnie-the-Pooh.

Oh my god, Winnie-the-Pooh. How the heck could I forget those stories; I loved them as a kid. Thank you. :p

Il Romanzo di Cipollino ,"the Adventures if the Little Onion" by Gianni Rodari,would be my favourite childhood story.I somehow lost it and can only remmeber that my mother used to call me Cippolino because I so loved the story.

Where the Wild Things Are
There's A Nightmare in My Closet
The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales
One Thousand and One Nights
Watership Down
The Spiderwick Chronicles

More I Just remembered:
Madeline
The Little Mermaid (the book)

A little older:
Aliens Ate my Homework
My Teacher Fried My Brains

Crud; more coming to mind now:
Arthur
Nancy Drew
The Hardy Boys
Encyclopedia Brown


gah... whats going to pop into my mind next.

I don't remember much pre-kindergarten, by which point I was reading The Hobit, the Rings trilogy, and the Narnia books on my own. I'm probably not a good benchmark here.

I did like Amelia Badilia (which I probably spelled wrong), they were quite funny.

Umm...geez, I'm only 14 and 1/2, you'd think I'd remember this stuff. Uh, I still really like Green Eggs and Ham (which PWNs the stupid Dick and Jane books, by the way). I also really liked the Curious George books, Good Night Moon was one of my favourites, and the Madeline books, too. Probably too much for a young child to read on their own (although, I don't know, I read it when I was four or five) but Roald Dahl's Matilda is a really good book, it might be a nice one for someone to read to her. Any of Roald Dahl's books, really, are great for stimulating the imagination, and they're also really easy to understand. Another good one to read aloud would be Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. One that my brother used to like a lot was Henry and the Purple Crayon. I forget who wrote that one, but it's pretty cute. There was also a really sweet Sesame Street book we used to have about Grover, and he was trying to find the monster at the end of the book, that one was kind of cool.

I hope I helped a little. :)

Aladdin and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow were my two primary bedtime stories.

"The Elephant's Child," pretty much all the Dr. Seuss books (especially "The Lorax" and "The Grinch who stole Christmas" and "The Butter Battle Book,"), Little House on the Prarie, King Arthur stories, The Chronicles of Narnia and Watership Down.

The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales
One Thousand and One Nights

Childrens versions I should think, dont want to scare the little blighter.

Frog and Toad stories were awesome.

Bartholomew and the Oobleck rules.

The Battle Of Zormla was my personal favorite as a little kid.

The Amazing Bone was another favorite, though when I showed it to my boyfriend he said it was a disturbing children's story.

I loved (and still love) everything from Edward Gorey.
They have lots of pictures and you can still learn a lot about English language.

Rikki Tikki Tavi

Great story for a little boy. Mongoose killing evil snake ftw.

I loved (and still love) everything from Edward Gorey.
They have lots of pictures and you can still learn a lot about English language.

I learned my ABCs from the Gashlycrumb Tinies!

A is for Amy who fell down the stairs, B is for Basil assaulted by bears...

I'm talking from the 3-6 range or so, before you really started reading for yourself, back when your parents/whomever read to you. What were your favourite stories?

<snip>

I don't know if I can help you there, Amarenthe. All the stories I loved from when I was a little girl are either in Spanish or Asturian. For reference I could give you the story of the Xanas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xana) (Asturian fairies or little water goddesses). The legend of the Xanas was one of my favorites when I was growing up.

Also, The Green Children of Banjos was one of my favorites. Here's the English translation (http://anomalyinfo.com/articles/sa00018.shtml) of the tale. Hope these help. What you're doing for your baby sis is beautiful.

I learned my ABCs from the Gashlycrumb Tinies!

A is for Amy who fell down the stairs, B is for Basil assaulted by bears...

"Basil could you use the doll to show the court how the bears touched you..."

I read "The Little Prince" to both of my girls when they were about 3ish, the loved it, we did a chapter a night.

I don't remember what books I liked as a child that age, and my children moved on much too quickly for me to have an extensive list. "Chicka-chicka Boom Boom" is fun and new-ish. "Horton Hears a Who" is a favorite. We also like "Don't let the penguin drive the bus" and "Click-Clak Moo: Cows that type"

Edit: OH! and the whole "If you give a mouse a cookie" series... it's great fun!

Ranging from young kiddies books to 'young adult' fiction, and in no particular order:

Fungus the Bogeyman
The Hobbit
Truckers
The Carpet People
Goodnight Moon
Dark Materials Trilogy
Where the Wild Things Are
The Dark Is Rising
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Little Prince
The Wind in the Willows
Neverwhere

And many, many others.

Maybe you could introduce her to poetry, Shel Silverstein was a favorite of mine when I was in elementary school.


Lazy
Lazy
Lazy
Lazy
Lazy
Lazy
Jane.
She
wants
a
drink
of
water
so
she
waits
and
waits
and
waits
and
waits
and
waits
for
it
to
rain.

Where the Wild Things Are (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Where-the-Wild-Things-Are/Maurice-Sendak/e/9780060254926/?itm=1).
Goodnight, Moon (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Goodnight-Moon/Margaret-Wise-Brown/e/9780694003617/?itm=1).
I Am a Bunny (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/I-Am-a-Bunny/Richard-Scarry/e/9780375827785).

The greatest thing about having children is the excuse they give you to buy every childrens' book you ever had or wanted.

Ranging from young kiddies books to 'young adult' fiction, and in no particular order:

Fungus the Bogeyman
The Hobbit
Truckers
The Carpet People
Goodnight Moon
Dark Materials Trilogy
Where the Wild Things Are
The Dark Is Rising
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Little Prince
The Wind in the Willows
Neverwhere

And many, many others.

Those 2 books aren't exclusively for children. I believe that you can go back to the pages of "The Little Prince" and to "The Wind in the Willows" and you'll always always find something meaningful for that period of your life. I love those books so much!:)

I used to like the one where my dad didn't hit me with a belt.








Oh wait, I never heard that one.


Also, I was a big Shel Silverstein fan.

I liked books illustrated by...Peter Sís, I think his name was. He also writes books, now, which I still look at in the library. They're beautiful.
Ranging from young kiddies books to 'young adult' fiction, and in no particular order:

Fungus the Bogeyman
The Hobbit
Truckers
The Carpet People
Goodnight Moon
Dark Materials Trilogy
Where the Wild Things Are
The Dark Is Rising
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Little Prince
The Wind in the Willows
Neverwhere

And many, many others.
How could I forget The Wind in the Willows? That was probably my favorite from age 6-14.

Those 2 books aren't exclusively for children. I believe that you can go back to the pages of "The Little Prince" and to "The Wind in the Willows" and you'll always always find something meaningful for that period of your life. I love those books so much!:)
I'd say that for most on the books on the list. I'm currently re-reading the Truckers Trilogy for the umpteenth time.

The Stinky Cheese Man

The war stories my grandpa used to tell. *nod*

Where the Wild Things Are
There's A Nightmare in My Closet
The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales
One Thousand and One Nights
Watership Down
The Spiderwick Chronicles

More I Just remembered:
Madeline
The Little Mermaid (the book)

A little older:
Aliens Ate my Homework
My Teacher Fried My Brains
for the 3-6 range? :eek: yeah, nothing like a story where the heroine gets turned into sea foam (or are you talking about the disney version) or little bunnies killing each other. ;)

Maybe you could introduce her to poetry, Shel Silverstein was a favorite of mine when I was in elementary school.
agreed. and it's the perfect thing to read to her

you also have Clifford:The Big Red Dog.

but the best thing is to send a gift card every to the local book store now and then and see what she picks out (that would show what kind of books she'll be interested in.)

for the 3-6 range? :eek: yeah, nothing like a story where the heroine gets turned into sea foam (or are you talking about the disney version) or little bunnies killing each other. ;)

Read "Tales from Watership Down". I loved that. It's way milder than the Commie ridden "Watership Down".:p

Read "Tales from Watership Down". I loved that. It's way milder than the Commie ridden "Watership Down".:p

true, but still...

It irks me when they put the Watership Down DVD/Video in the kids section. When I mention the scenes of bloody bunnies being hunted and killed, most of the workers seem shocked yet there it remains.

I'm tempted to have them play that on their tv screens and hang around to see the viewer's reactions.

Just like the time some store had "Macross: Do You Remember Love?" playing in their toy section. I pulled the stock boy over to the screen and said
"in ten seconds, you will see a person being cut into three sections" and yep. that scene came up with a nice close up of his head being crushed by a person in powered armor.

as he pulled the tape out, I said, "The bad new is that the shower scene was already shown a while ago."

people really don't realize that "cartoons" from Japan are not automatically Kid Friendly.

Like the parents who let their little girl (we're talking 5 yrs old) rent DevilMan! :headbang:

true, but still...

It irks me when they put the Watership Down DVD/Video in the kids section. When I mention the scenes of bloody bunnies being hunted and killed, most of the workers seem shocked yet there it remains.

I'm tempted to have them play that on their tv screens and hang around to see the viewer's reactions.

Just like the time some store had "Macross: Do You Remember Love?" playing in their toy section. I pulled the stock boy over to the screen and said
"in ten seconds, you will see a person being cut into three sections" and yep. that scene came up with a nice close up of his head being crushed by a person in powered armor.

as he pulled the tape out, I said, "The bad new is that the shower scene was already shown a while ago."

people really don't realize that "cartoons" from Japan are not automatically Kid Friendly.

Like the parents who let their little girl (we're talking 5 yrs old) rent DevilMan! :headbang:

I agree with you. Plus, there are several scenes on the Watership Down movie where hallucinations are the rule.

True, Japanimation isn't kid friendly. People in the US have to remember that.

Maybe you could introduce her to poetry, Shel Silverstein was a favorite of mine when I was in elementary school.

T.S. Eliot is another good one. Mostly the poems about cats, but I guess you could always try out "The Waste Land" on a five-year-old.

true, but still...

It irks me when they put the Watership Down DVD/Video in the kids section. When I mention the scenes of bloody bunnies being hunted and killed, most of the workers seem shocked yet there it remains.

I'm tempted to have them play that on their tv screens and hang around to see the viewer's reactions.

Just like the time some store had "Macross: Do You Remember Love?" playing in their toy section. I pulled the stock boy over to the screen and said
"in ten seconds, you will see a person being cut into three sections" and yep. that scene came up with a nice close up of his head being crushed by a person in powered armor.

as he pulled the tape out, I said, "The bad new is that the shower scene was already shown a while ago."

people really don't realize that "cartoons" from Japan are not automatically Kid Friendly.

Like the parents who let their little girl (we're talking 5 yrs old) rent DevilMan! :headbang:

"Where the Red Fern grows" should not be a 'children's book'.... I'm still traumatized from reading it in the 3rd grade......part of the book IIRC talks about the kid pulling his dead dog's intestines off his shoe so he can run faster........:eek:

The 9/11 Commission Report.

you also have Clifford:The Big Red Dog.

Don't forget Franklin the turtle. And get Hairy Maclary of Donaldsons Dairy

And there was also from my youth a bunch of books know as the Golden Classics, or something I remember some of the names of the books like the Curious little pup, and Tootle. There is also a seris of books called Serendipity, these stories all had an underlying theme in them stuff like how gluttony was bad and lead to obesity (this was before obesity was a catchcry) and how lending a hand to people would mean that they would help you out in your times of need.

Also get the Mr. Men series and don't forget Grug.

はらべこあおむし, かいじゅうたちのいるところ and ブーツのぼうけん

I only have the Japanese versions, but the first two are equal to English-language stories, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Where the Wild Things Are. The last one is just a cute collection of comics about a cat named Boots :D.

I just remembered the ¨Redwall¨ tales. Those books were excellent. Now, if only I could remember the name of the author...

I just remembered the ¨Redwall¨ tales. Those books were excellent. Now, if only I could remember the name of the author...

It… it was Brian Jacques.

I know that off the top of my head. God.

*is ashamed*

It… it was Brian Jacques.

I know that off the top of my head. God.

*is ashamed*

Him! Yes! Brian Jacques. His mice and gophers and rats were adorable!!

I can't believe I forgot this series, Jenny and the Cat Club. I think they are out of print now, but I remember reading them over and over again. I checked The Hotel Cat out so many times that the librarian finally told me to give it a rest and let someone else read the book before I read it to death.

Grover Goes to School was my favorite book around, maybe 3 or 4? Although it also made me cry. I was even angsty as a child!

Others:

Make Way for Ducklings
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Lion and the Little Red Bird
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs