This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own.
I read a lot as a child. And I want to instill the same love of reading in my kids too. What this means is that I’m just as busy keeping up with finding the next children’s book to read to them as I am with finding books for me. Or finding time to read my own books. If you’re looking for some recommendations, here’s a children’s book or three that we’ve enjoyed recently.
Everyone Says Please (Except Cat) by Jamie Michalak
It’s perhaps a little odd that the first book I’ve ever read from the Chicken Soup for the Soul series is this one. Technically, Everyone Says Please (Except Cat) belongs to Chicken Soup for the Soul Babies. Same, same. The premise is a rather demanding toddler of a kitty really wants cheese, but the parental figure feline isn’t giving in until kiddo kitty says the magic word. It’s a book about learning manners and I’m all for that, given the rather demanding nature of little ones around this age, feline or otherwise.
Better Than New: A Recycle Tale by Robert Broder
Children can learn a lot of important lessons through the books that they read. They can learn not only about the world around us, but also how they can help this dear planet of ours. Better Than New, offered through the folks at Patagonia (yes, the outdoor clothing folks), tackles two related topics and in two languages no less. First, it educates children about all the waste that pollutes the Earth’s oceans and seas. Second, it shows them what we can do with the rubbish to make something new. The bilingual book is beautifully illustrated with words in both English and Spanish.
Something’s Wrong! by Jory John
You’re never too old (or too young) for a little undergarment humor, right? You might recognize Jory John from some of his other books, like The Smart Cookie, The Good Egg, The Bad Seed and The Cool Bean. With Something’s Wrong: A Bear, A Hare and Some Underwear, we start with a snicker about a bear wearing his underwear atop his fur. But, we eventually move onto a life lesson about fitting in and making friends.
My Day with Gong Gong by Sennah Yee
As I said in the Instagram caption, representation matters, perhaps especially in children’s literature. I’m not sure I ever really saw myself in a children’s book growing up. That’s one of the many reasons why our whole family is now in love with My Day with Gong Gong. It’s about a little Chinese-Canadian girl who doesn’t speak Cantonese, but learns a few phrases as she spends a day with her grandpa in Chinatown. That sounds a lot like my childhood! Gimme some cha siu bao, please.
Yum Yum! by Yusuke Yonezu
You could say I’m something of a food blogger, though most of my foodie adventures now live on Instagram. It seems that, in addition to our love of reading, we’ve also passed on our love of eating to our kids. So, putting the two together just makes sense. As you might imagine, Yum Yum is a children’s book about food and eating. As you flip each page in this board book, the food item goes into the character’s mouth. Yum yum, indeed.
Rory the Dinosaur Wants a Pet by Liz Climo
You may or may not know Liz Climo from her work on The Simpsons. These days, most of us know her better for her adorable online comics with adorable animal characters doing adorable things. In this book, our cute dinosaur friend is looking for a pet, but he can’t quite find the right one… until he does. And it’s not at all what you might expect. I’d also recommend some of her other books, like You’re Mom, You’re Dad and You’re Loved. Cuteness overload.
What Children’s Books Are Your Kids Loving?
Given the length of a children’s book over a more grown-up book, it’s no wonder that we literally go through dozens of these books in a matter of days. One other key thing that differentiates a children’s book from other books is the re-readability. I may or may not ever re-read many of my books, but I can’t even begin to count how many times we’ve gone through My Day With Gong Gong these past few weeks. And we’ll keep reading it again and again.
With that in mind, do you have any recommendations for children’s books that we should check out? Our older kid is currently really into the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and Bleach manga series.
Disclosure: As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. An editorial copy of Better Than New was provided by Patagonia for consideration at no cost to me. All opinions are my own.
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