MY TOP 7 CHILDREN'S BOOKS AND SERIES THAT ARE A MUST

Greetings once again. This article will focus on some of my daughter's favourite books, and some of the ones that i enjoy reading to her.

As any parent knows, there are a few household staples that help to make the job of raising a little one much easier. Books that they will enjoy and eagerly follow along with, are one of those necessities. A good story can entertain, occupy, fuel imagination, teach lessons, and even calm a child of almost any age.

The list that I am going to share with you today, is one that my wife and I have found to be the key to our daughter's love of books and reading. I will also point out a few different book packs that have captivated her interest in a couple different genres. We have 3 different book shelves in her room alone, and I'm almost positive that there isn't a single book on them that she has not either read, or had read to her.

Several of the book packs that we have gotten here from the book fairs at her school, are learning based books that doesn't seem like learning to a child at all. We have read through these packs with her, and it has helped her pick up certain aspects of reading that would have otherwise been more difficult to teach. There is the Disney princess sight word work pack (also available in a Pixar pack, I believe, for a more gender neutral option), a lego phonics work pack, and a Shimmer and Shine level 2 sight words pack. All of these packs, I'm pretty sure come in different variants depending on your child's interests. Feel free to check them out on the scholastic website.

So, let's get to the list, shall we...

#1. 5 - MINUTE STORIES

This entry is more of a series of books than a single book, as there are quite a variety. The cover photo of this article, shows some of the books that we have from this collection. We have found these books at a variety of stores. Some from Walmart, and some from used venues such as Value Village. Many of the books are Disney themed, while others contain various other beloved children's characters like Peppa Pig, or Paw Patrol. They have been such a time saver when it comes to choosing our bedtime stories. With 10 -12 stories in each book, we can read 2 each night, and have 5 or 6 nights of reading material. The stories are well written on a variety of topics, and pretty familiar, with some of them being straight out of a show or movie, and others being spin-offs containing the same characters. Definitely my #1 pick to start a library of your own.

#2. WHAT I DO BEST - A BOOK CELEBRATING DOING THINGS WELL

This book is published by Reader's Digest and, as the name suggests, shows children that the possibilities are endless when it comes to things that different people are good at. I really love the lesson in this one. It is a shorter book, but gets the point across none the less. If you haven't found your talent or talents yet, just keep trying!

#3. THE KISSING HAND

This book is perfect for those little ones out there that are soon off to their first day of day care, kindergarten, school or even just their first sleep over. After we read this book to her, Savhanna would ask for the "kissing hand" every morning for the first couple weeks of pre-school. It eased her mind enough, knowing that our love will always be with her throughout the day no matter what, that it took the edge off of getting her to go in without a fight or scene. Sometimes, its the simple physical gestures like this, that get the job done. Excellent read.

#4. THE COMPLETE POEMS OF WINNIE THE POOH

This is a wonderful collection of Winnie the Pooh inspired poems and shorts, all contained in one book. The writings focus on various topics from friendship to fear and sadness. They don't take long to read, so you can make it through a few of them before settling your little one into bed. It will give them the sense that they are not alone in their everyday feelings or problems, and leaves them feeling that there truly is someone there for them whenever or whatever their circumstance. A real must read for Winnie the Pooh lovers.

#5. TROLL STINKS

Offering little ones something to ponder or even relate to throughout the story, this tale focuses on the ever increasing bully problem in today's society. It shows the effects of harmful behaviour towards others, from both sides of the coin. With my daughter, the story invoked a sense of empathy towards those dealing with a struggle of similar nature at her school. We actually received an email from her teacher, commending her on advocating for her fellow classmates who were being picked on.

#6. GOODNIGHT DRAGONS

This particular story makes the list for one singular reason, it just seems to be one of those calming stories that slows the pace, and sooths the mind before bed. The excitement is mild, but the writing has a flow that keeps you following along. It emulates a child's own calming down routine before bed, but remains a great read for ant time of day.

#7. NAT GEO KIDS BOOKS

Lastly in this list, but not necessarily least in popularity, is the National Geographic Kids series of books. Whether your child's interests lie with animals, science, geographical places and features, or somewhere in between, there is a book/books in this series for them. These books are largely available from book fairs or book order forms, but can also be found directly on the Scholastic website. Our daughter has a broad array of interests, and therefor, a great deal of variety from these books. We have everything from baby animals, to animal habitats and characteristics, geology and landscape sciences, crystals, volcanos and landscape sciences. There is literally something for every interest. The great thing about these books, is that because they are targeted at kids, they are shorter and have explanations/definitions that kids can understand.

With the mass quantity of books that she owns, I'm sure there are many others that would make my daughter's favourites list. However, this would be a much longer article. Thank you once again for joining me, and I hope to bring you many more articles in the future.

Until then, so long and fare well friends...

Darren