Great Children's Books for the Early Years

Part 1 of 2 - next month: Great Books for Older Children

Reading to your child is so important in their early years. Why? Well, it’s been shown that children who live in households where reading is encouraged and where books are made readily available have a better aptitude for learning in all areas of study. A child who is read to at home will have a really good head start when they enter kindergarten. They already know that it’s fun to read! 

Reading aloud to your child will help a young child learn basic language skills, sounds, enunciation, and other speech skills, and how words are put together to form sentences. They’ll more quickly learn how to express themselves. They’ll learn social skills, increase their ability to relate to others, and learn fundamentals such as color, sound, numbers, and more. Children will be able to grasp cause and effect, develop judgment skills and logic, and begin basic memorization skills as they recall and repeat scenarios back to you from the stories you’ve just told them. They’ll be exposed to characters dealing with stressful situations and social situations, and be exposed to various places, people, and parts of the world that they’ll not experience otherwise at their young age. By enjoying longer and longer stories children will develop longer attention spans, better memory, and stronger self-control. One of the best benefits of all? You’ll be developing a stronger bond with your child as they sit quietly with you, nestled up to look at the pictures on the pages. 

Reading is so important, and spending this special time with you will benefit your kids, no matter what their age. By reading to them you are giving them a firm foundation for learning and setting them up for a lifetime of vicarious adventures.

Below is a short list of wonderful books, grouped by ages. Head to your library or local bookstore and check them out!


2 to 4 year olds

The Carrot Seed, by Ruth Krauss and illustrated by Crockett Johnson. A little boy’s adventure as he watches his carrot grow to a huge size. Patience and faith persevere! 




Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault, and illustrated by Lois Ehlert.  Kids just love the rhymes in this storybook as they learn the alphabet. They’ll ask you to read this one to them over and over again.




Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd.  This gentle story is perfect for bedtime. The illustrations are sweet and your kids will quickly learn to recite the “goodnights” as they wind down at the end of the day.


The Tale of Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter. Frankly, all of the Beatrix Potter books are must-reads. The characters are adorable, the illustrations are heartwarming. Many of these are cautionary tales, and if you’re lucky you’ll find reprints of the original editions which are made to fit perfectly into the hands of small children.



The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle.  Eric Carle’s colorful illustrations will capture the attention of any child. In this book your child will experience counting and days of the week and see the wonder of the caterpillar turned into a beautiful butterfly. 



4 to 8 year olds

The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss.  Did you know that Dr Seuss wrote this book as a response to an article about how boring traditional reading lessons were? He managed to use 223 words from school reading lists. The Cat in the Hat is a must in your child’s library. 




Curious George, by Margret and H.A. Rey.  Remember how much you loved the story of this adorable monkey when you were a kid? Your child will love George just as much as you did. Timeless.




The Frog and Toad series, by Arnold Lobel.  Frog and Toad are loyal best friends and their adventures are wonderful in this series of four books.





Madeline, by Ludwig Bemelmans.  Miss Clavel leads a troupe of 12 little girls, including the wonderful Madeline, on adventures in France.





Make Way for Ducklings, by Robert McCloskey. A wonderful story about a duck family in Boston’s Public Garden who crossed a busy street with the help of the police department. This book is so popular that the actual Public Garden in Boston erected statues of the duck family in its center. Illustrations so lovely you'll want to own this book.


The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg.  Magical illustrations by this Caldecott Medal winner. Gentle, heartwarming, and full of the wonder of childhood. 


The Story of Babar, by Jean De Brunhoff.  Remember Babar? He’s a young orphaned elephant who dons a suit, packs his suitcase (including his jar of marmalade), and heads off into high society. 




Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak.  Every child needs to experience a Maurice Sendak book, and this is probably the best loved Sendak adventure of all. Let the wild rumpus begin!