Best Children’s Books to Read With Your Kids

Photo Courtesy of Wix

Reading is an amazing and fruitful experience no matter what age your children are. But with so many t.v. shows and movie options, the act of reading has some serious competition nowadays. Children already have short attention spans, and the increased variety of visual media has only made the challenge to get your little one to sit down and read just *a bit* harder.

But as most parents already know, there is a simple joy in reading that many children still cherish. Often, reading is a complimentary morning or bedtime practice in the United States, and it can offer parents a special time when they can bond with their child(ren).

So, to encourage more reading bonds between parent and child, we’ve compiled a list of the best children’s books to read with your kiddos. Whether you’ve read these before or if it’s your first time around the block, these goodies (new and old) are great reminders to sit down and revisit the age-old practice of reading.

Year-Round, Timeless Favorites

• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? By Bill Martin Jr. (1967)

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (1969)

• If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff (1985)

• Love You Forever by Robert Munsch (1986)

• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault (1989)

• Oh the Places You’ll Go Dr. Seuss (1990)

• The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister (1992)

• Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney (1994)

• Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Williams (2003)

• Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney (2005)

• Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin (2012)

• The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt (2013)

• Uni the Unicorn by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (2014)

• The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin (2015)

• How to Catch a Mermaid by Adam Wallace (2016)

• The Bad Seed by Jory John (2017)

• Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang (2018)

Seasonal Favorites

Fall

• Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson (2001)

• Skeleton for Dinner by Margery Cuyler (2013)

• How to Catch a Turkey by Adam Wallace (2018)

Winter

• The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (1996)

• How to Catch an Elf by Adam Wallace (2016)

• How to Catch a Snowman by Adam Wallace (2018)

Spring

• How to Catch a Leprechaun by Adam Wallace (2016)

• How to Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace (2017)

Early Readers

Photo Courtesy of Wix

Series Books

• The Magic Treehouse series by Mary Pope Osborne (1992-2022) Personal Favorites: Vacation Under the Volcano and Tonight on the Titanic

• Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park (1992-2013)

• Clarice Bean series by Lauren Child (1999-2006) Personal Favorites: Utterly Me, Clarice Bean and Clarice Bean Spells Trouble

• Elephant & Piggie series by Mo Willems (2007-2016) Personal Favorites: Should I Share My Ice Cream? and Waiting is Not Easy!

Oldies But Goodies

• Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White (1952)

• The Little Leftover Witch by Florence Laughlin (1960)

• Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein (1974)

Comment below to share which of your favorite books made our list!

Amanda Sosa is a college graduate from California State University, Long Beach with a MA in English (emphasis Rhetoric and Composition) and a BA in English (emphasis Rhetoric and Composition; minor in American Studies). She currently works in higher education English classrooms at Golden West Community College and as an instructor at Platt College. Her love of writing has prompted her to additionally pursue copywriting and copyediting professionally.