Top 5 Children's Books

A parent came to me the other day and asked what books I would recommend her to read to her son. I told her that I thought any book that she could read to him would be perfect as that is such a valuable thing.

Most of my first memories include my parents reading to me. My parents made it a big part of our day to read. Before I got out of bed in the morning, my mom would read me a story and before I went to sleep at night, my dad would read to me. I believe that not only is reading obviously important for development but it is such a bonding experience. 

Of course being that I am a teacher I can rattle off tons of story titles but I started to think about my absolute top favorite books and this is what I came up with:

1. Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney. This will forever and always be my favorite book because of the memories I have attached to it. My dad would read this to me almost every night after we read a book of my choice. He would read this right as I was on the verge of crashing. He would(and still does) tell me that he "loves me to the moon..and back".

2. Oh The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss. This book is another all time favorite again because of the memories it holds. Both of my parents have always been so supportive of my sister and I and have told us that we can do anything or go anywhere as long as we put out minds to it. At my high school graduation, my parents gave me a copy of this book with the sweetest notes inside.

3. Is Your Mama a Llama? By Deborah Guarino. I love this story because in each toddler class I have taught, after reading it once they keep asking me to read it and will pick it off the shelve themselves. They start to guess the animals before I say them and they just seem to really enjoy the story. 

4. The Moon Shines Down by Margret Wise. This story is actually fairly new to me. Each year we ask every parent to donate one book and we separate them based on classroom ages. This book was donated this year and put into my classroom. I don't necessarily think that it is "toddler material" but, it is a very thoughtful and cute story nonetheless and my two year kids love to look at the bright and colorful pictures. 

5. Horton Hears a Who! By Dr. Seuss. I am a huge Seussfan obviously! I love this story though because the message is that everyone matters no matter their size. I like this because I have one of the smallest and youngest classes at our center and I like them to feel included and important no matter what. 

What are some of your favorite children's books? 

Sarah