I was one of those children who would receive a book as a gift and screech as loudly with glee than when it was a Barbie.  My mother would take my sister and I to the library every two weeks so that I could check out a stack of books sometimes nearly half my height.  I’m pretty sure the librarians knew us by name.  In fact, I loved books so much that when I grew up, I earned my degree in Literature. 

When I became a mother, I vowed that I would try to raise a child who was as voracious a reader as I am.  So far, it’s working.

To me, a good book is one that makes such an impression that you fondly remember it, even years after.  There seems to be a misconception that “great literature” must make a sweeping moral statement or somehow evoke the pathos of the human condition.  That they must be gilt and leather-bound tomes that you must gird yourself for before even opening the book. To me, what makes great literature is it’s ability to resonate with the reader.  Because a book that makes you giggle uncontrollably is just as important as one that imparts a lesson. These are some of my favorites, in no particular order. 

Younger Children

The Rainbow Fish
Goodnight Moon
Officer Buckle and Gloria
Guess How Much I Love You
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Hundred Dresses
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Spot (series)
The Snowy Day
Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type
Alexander and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
The True Story of Three Little Pigs
Tikki Tikki Tembo
The Cat in the Hat
Green Eggs and Ham
Frog and Toad (series)
Where the Wild Things Are
Madeline
The Real Mother Goose
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Harold and the Purple Crayon
If You Give a Mouse A Cookie
Lon Po Po
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh
The Velveteen Rabbit
Arthur (series)
Olivia
The Polar Express
Jumanji
Aesop’s Fables
Peter Rabbit and Other Tales

All right, what did I miss? 

And next up- Best Books for Older Children