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50+ Children’s Books About Empathy to Help You Raise Kind Kids

Kelly Holmes, Certified Parent Educator — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 13:30:00 +0000

Inside: Read these empathy books for kids to nurture your child’s empathy so they grow into kind adults. But as you read, don’t forget to ask this important question.

Every parent I know wants to raise their kids to be compassionate and caring towards others.

We want our kids to be the type of people who:

Listen when a friend is struggling, instead of interrupting to put the focus back on themselves
Drop off a home-cooked meal when someone in their community is recovering from surgery or illness
Try to understand others with differing opinions or values—not blurt out, “You’re wrong!” and storm off

But if we want that for our kids when they’re grown, we need to nurture the seeds of empathy in our children now.

Empathy is a prerequisite for kindness and compassion because it requires you to take someone else’s perspective and imagine how they’re feeling. If you struggle to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, you won’t feel compelled to show compassion towards your fellow humans.

And with a low level of empathy, you’ll have poor communication skills, struggle to maintain healthy relationships, and be less likely to help friends and family when they need support.

On the other hand, when your ability to empathize is strong, that correlates with a positive well-being and improved life satisfaction.

If You Want Your Child to Learn Empathy, This Is a Must

Research shows that empathy isn’t just an innate trait you’re born with (or not). Rather, empathy is like a muscle you can develop. But if nothing engages your child’s empathy while they’re growing up, they might struggle to feel empathy as an adult.

Just as you supported and encouraged your child as they developed the muscles they needed to sit up, crawl, and walk, your child needs your help to develop their empathy muscle, too.

Luckily for us as parents, we have one powerful parenting tool that will build our children’s empathy like nothing else: children’s books about empathy.

Why It’s So Important to Read Kids’ Books About Empathy

Studies have found that one of the best steps you can take to develop your child’s empathy is to read books that foster empathy.

Plus, reading books works way better than lecturing kids on the meaning of empathy.

Lectures typically go in one ear and out the other. But when you read fiction, research shows that the brain reacts the same way as if you were living the story in real life. In other words, reading kids’ books about empathy is akin to setting up a virtual reality simulation where your child can fully enter the experience and understand different perspectives.

But Don’t Miss This Essential Step

To make sure your child gets the maximum empathy boost while you’re reading books together, what works best is to talk about the book you’re reading. Experts recommend pausing here and there to ask your child how the character might be feeling.

You can ask, “How do you think they’re feeling?” and then give your child time to think about it. If they seem stuck, you can point out facial expressions or remind them what just happened in the story. You can also reframe it like this: “If that happened to you, how would you feel?”

That one simple step encourages your child to step into that character’s perspective, which is exactly what empathy requires.

Bonus: For kids who can consistently articulate the character’s perspective, you can help boost their empathy skills even more by asking them a follow-up question like, “What would help them feel better?”

50+ Best Children’s Books About Empathy

A while ago, my kids and I spent months putting together a list of the best children’s books about kindness, and parents wrote back with sweet notes of gratitude. But they also had another request: What are the best picture books about empathy?

And so my family set out on another months-long research project to find kids’ books about empathy that both kids and parents will enjoy. (Because if kids are going to ask us to read it again and again, it may as well be something we’ll appreciate, too!)

Every week, I put 30+ books on hold at the library, plus at every visit I browsed the shelves for even more books about empathy for kids. All told, my kids and I read hundreds of picture books on the topic of empathy.

The list below is the cream of the crop from those hundreds of books: the books I loved reading, and the books my kids couldn’t get enough of. Read these children’s books about empathy, and you’ll be priming your child’s brain to grow into a kind, compassionate soul. We all know the world could use more of those!

Note: indicates my family’s absolute top favorites on the list. These are the books my kids can’t get enough of!

Classic Children’s Books That Teach Empathy

Some children’s books about empathy have stood the test of time, decade upon decade—not just with book critics but with kids and parents, too. Here are the best classic picture books that teach empathy.

1. A Chair for My Mother†

This is a classic children’s book about empathy, but it’s a little wordy for younger kids. With that said, my kids couldn’t get enough of it starting around 3.5 years old. They’ve loved the display of kindness from the community in this story, and the book has been a jumping-off point for great conversations about what would most help others in need.

^† This site is reader-supported. When you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

2. Where the Wild Things Are

This is one of the classics for a reason. Kids love this story because they can relate to Max feeling shame for disappointing his grown-up. One study even showed that this book in particular is excellent for helping kids learn to recognize others’ emotions.

To boost your child’s ability to empathize, you can go beyond just asking how Max feels and also ask how the Wild Things are feeling and how the parent might be feeling.

3. Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge

The way the boy in this story puts himself in the old woman’s shoes will melt your heart! As an added bonus, the special friendship between the boy and the woman shows kids that friends come in all shapes and sizes (and ages).

Funny Books About Empathy

Kids’ books about empathy don’t all have to be heavy. Humor can be a powerful tool for the learning process because research shows it improves a child’s ability to remember what they learned.

1. Dragon Was Terrible

This is one of the best stories about extending empathy to someone you’re not getting along with by assigning positive intent to that person. Plus, it’s hilarious.

2. Good News, Bad News

A silly little story about two friends who see the same situations in completely different ways. By the way, this book has only four unique words, which is perfect for beginning readers.

3. Horrible Bear

This picture book does an excellent job of teaching kids how to see a situation from another person’s perspective while also making them giggle.

4. Poe Won’t Go

One of the most important lessons about empathy I ever learned was from a (fairly dry) adult book about communication. When someone is behaving in a way that you can’t understand, ask yourself: Why would a reasonable person do that? But I wish I’d come across this funny picture book first because I could have learned that lesson much quicker—while laughing.

When you stop to wonder what reason someone might have for acting a certain way, you’ll tap into new levels of understanding and compassion.

5. We Don’t Eat Our Classmates

This hilarious picture book shows kids the true meaning of the Golden Rule. When their new classmate turns out to be a dinosaur, the kids at school are cool with that—until the new ~~kid~~ dinosaur starts eating them. Humor + powerful life lesson = SCORE.

6. Who Done It?

Each spread of this picture book is a puzzle for kids to solve. But in order to solve the mystery, they’ll have to look at the facial expressions and body language of the characters for clues as to what each person might be feeling. An excellent exercise in empathy!

Books About Being a Good Friend

Part of being a good friend is extending empathy to your friend when they’re struggling. Here are the best kids’ books about empathy and friendship. For more books about what it means to be a good friend, check out The Ultimate List of the Best Picture Books About Friendship.

1. The Girl and the Bicycle

This is a wordless picture book about a girl who saves up for something she wants but then sees the situation from her little brother’s perspective. And in the end, she decides to brighten her brother’s day instead.

2. A Hat for Mrs. Goldman

Such a sweet book! My kids love this story of doing something kind for someone even when it’s hard. Bonus: This story also shows kids the power of perseverance and a growth mindset.

3. How to Apologize

Friends make mistakes, and when they do, they need to apologize. But an effective apology requires more than just saying “I’m sorry”—you need to first think about how your actions have impacted the other person. This heartwarming book teaches kids how to do that in a fun, approachable way.

4. Maybe Tomorrow?

This book is so good. No matter how many times I read it, it still makes me tear up.

This is the best children’s book I’ve ever read about how to empathize with a friend who’s going through a hard time. Because sometimes what you need most of all is a friend to look you in the eye and say, “That must have been really hard for you.” This is a book every child should read!

5. My Friend Is Sad

You can’t go wrong with the Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Willems. Technically, these books are early readers not picture books, but even babies and toddlers love these stories.

This one in particular is about how to be there for your friend when they’re upset. Funny and heartwarming!

6. The One Day House

In this heartwarming story of empathy, a young boy promises his elder friend that one day, he’ll fix up her house for her so she can be more comfortable and happy. She assures him that his presence is all she needs, but the story doesn’t end there. This one will give you all the feels!

7. The Rabbit Listened

I never get tired of reading this picture book to my kids. It’s a simple but perfect example of how to be there for a friend who’s struggling with an everyday bump in the road, without trying to jump right into fixing it.

My kids ask for this little gem at least once a day. This is my favorite picture book in this whole list!

8. The Remember Balloons

For any child who has a grandparent struggling with dementia or other memory problems, this is a must read. This gentle story will help your child understand what their loved one is going through in a powerful way.

9. A Sick Day for Amos McGee

Being a good friend means being there for them when they’re having a hard time, even if all you do is offer your calm presence. No other picture book demonstrates that as beautifully as this charming story does. The main character Amos McGee works in a zoo, so when he doesn’t show up to work one day, the animals check in on him. Adorable!

10. Thank You, Omu

Omu makes herself a delicious stew for her supper, and one by one her neighbors smell the deliciousness and show up at her door. Acting out of empathy, she gladly shares the stew with everyone. But when it comes time to dig in for her own supper, it’s all gone. Then her neighbors practice empathy in return and come back with a surprise. This is a sweet story of the power of sharing and community.

11. Virginia Wolf

This heartwarming story of empathy between siblings is based on the real-life relationship between author Virginia Woolf and her sister, painter Vanessa Bell. When young Virginia is in a “wolfish” mood, her sister tries to cheer her up to no avail. But she stays with her through the growling and howling, and eventually she helps her sister crawl out of that funk.

Books About Putting Yourself in Another’s Shoes

Just like adults, children can struggle with extending empathy to someone they don’t know yet, something who different from them, or someone they aren’t getting along with. These empathy children’s books will give your child powerful examples of how to take the perspective of someone else, even when it’s hard.

1. Adrian Simcox Does Not Have a Horse

In this lovely story, a girl named Chloe knows her classmate Adrian Simcox is lying about having a horse. How could a boy with holes in his shoes afford a horse? But Chloe’s frustration leads her on a journey towards finding compassion for Adrian, which she discovers is more important than being correct.

2. Boy

A young deaf boy lives in a kingdom where a dragon and the kings’ knights are constantly battling. One day, he wanders into the middle of a battle without realizing it, and everyone stops fighting. By asking an innocent but important question, the boy helps both sides see things from the other’s perspective.

3. The Digger and the Flower

While digging up earth to build a city, an excavator spies a lone flower and sees the situation from the flower’s perspective. This is a heartwarming story of empathy—and taking action from a place of compassion.

4. Each Kindness

Fair warning: This thoughtful story does have a sad ending. However, my kids enjoy talking about what the main character could have done differently. We ended up having an ongoing discussion about regret and how we all have those moments in life we look back on and wish we’d acted differently. So many great conversations come out of this one every time we read it!

5. Enemy Pie

This children’s book about empathy encourages kids to see a situation from someone else’s perspective—even when it’s an “enemy.” So clever!

6. The Fox Wish

This magical tale will spark an important discussion about why you might decide to give away something you love, simply to make someone else happy.

7. Great Joy

In this story set in the 1940s, a young girl notices an organ grinder and his pet monkey out in the cold on the street. The girl’s journey of awareness to empathy and then to finding her voice for change is powerful. The ending also sparked a lot of discussion with my kids about how we can help those in need during the holiday season. Beautifully illustrated and written.

For more holiday stories, check out The Most Heartfelt and Meaningful Christmas Books for Kids.

8. I Walk With Vanessa

For a child who witnesses someone being mean to another person, empathy can feel overwhelming because they often don’t know what to do with those feelings. This book shows kids exactly what it looks like to move from feeling empathy to acting with compassion.

9. If You Plant a Seed

A rabbit and a mouse decide to plant a garden, but when it bears fruit, they don’t want to share their bounty with hungry birds. A food fight ensues, but the mouse has a moment of clarity and acts out of empathy, which leads to a beautiful outcome.

10. Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla

If you’re familiar with the bestselling chapter book The One and Only Ivan, this is a picture book version of that same story. This is a powerful book that encourages kids to reflect on what life is like for animals in captivity. A must read!

11. Last Stop on Market Street

On the surface, this book is about an ordinary slice of life as a little boy and his grandma take the bus together through town. Ultimately, where they’re traveling to delivers a powerful message about acting out of empathy, but to me, how the grandma and the boy approach their journey is the bigger message of choosing kindness in those small, everyday moments. So many great conversations with this one!

12. Leonardo, the Terrible Monster

Mo Willems strikes again! This picture book shows kids the power of choosing empathy and kindness even when you’re “supposed to” exclude someone.

13. Little Fox in the Forest

In this beautiful wordless picture book, a young fox cub finds a child’s lovey and falls in love with it. But instead of taking it back from the cub, the child sees the situation through the cub’s eyes and makes a difficult decision.

14. Mogie: The Heart of the House

This is a sweet (and true!) story about a service dog who supports a sick boy during his time at the Ronald McDonald House. When you share this book with your child, you’ll kick off important conversations that will open your child’s eyes about kids who are sick, service dogs who help them, and the people who train those service dogs.

15. Nerdy Birdy

This book shows that everyone deserves to be treated with compassion, even if they’re different from you. Kids who feel like they don’t quite fit in tend to especially love this story.

16. The Other Side

One of the most important reads in this whole list and a beautiful story. A young girl’s mom tells her it isn’t safe to cross the fence that segregates her town. But the girl ends up forming a friendship with a girl who lives on the other side of the fence.

17. Pandora

In this story, Pandora lives in a world full of broken things, not unlike the world shown in the movie Wall-E. Then one day, she encounters a bird with a broken wing. After nursing the bird back to health, her compassion rebounds tenfold.

18. The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade

Everyone ignores Sally because she’s so short, but she pays attention to everything going on around her. She sees how kids treat each other, and her empathy for them inspires her to speak up. Kids often feel powerless in this big world, so this story delivers an important message: You can always speak up for others, even if you’re small or young (or both).

19. Stick and Stone

This is an adorable story about empathy and standing up for others, plus the puns are fun for parents. This book is in our regular bedtime story rotation because the kids love it, and so do we!

20. Strictly No Elephants

This cute book helps kids reflect on the ramifications of excluding others and how that makes others feel. The perfect way to teach your child to be an includer! My whole family adores this book.

21. They All Saw a Cat

In this book, you see a cat through several different pairs of eyes—starting with a child and progressing through other animals’ perspectives like a dog, a mouse, a bee, a snake, and more. This thought-provoking book cleverly lays the groundwork for the idea that everyone has a unique perspective, which is an essential building block for empathy skills.

22. This Is How We Do It

To open your child’s eyes to different cultures and ways of living around the world, cuddle up with this book together. The illustrations feature seven real families from different countries, and on each spread you learn details about their daily lives, like what they eat for lunch, how they get to school, and what chores they help with. This is a lovely book for expanding your child’s understanding of other kids and their experiences.

23. Those Shoes

Your heart will break for Jeremy in this powerful story. He dreams of wearing the latest high-tops that are all the rage at school, but his grandmother can’t afford them. She explains, “There’s no room for ‘want’ around here—just ‘need.'” But then at a thrift shop one day, he finds the shoes! Unfortunately, they’re too small. Ultimately, he makes the difficult decision to prioritize someone else’s needs above his wants.

24. We’re All Wonders

This is a picture book by the author of Wonder, and the message here is the same but for the younger crowd: Everyone deserves our empathy and understanding, no matter what.

25. Windows

This gorgeous, simple book invites you to consider what’s happening behind the windows in your neighborhood. Are your neighbors eating dinner? Watching TV? Cuddling up to share a story with a loving parent, just like you? Such a sweet way to broaden a child’s perspective to think about the lives of the people around them.

Heartwarming Chapter Books That Teach Empathy

These chapter books are excellent picks for your next family read-aloud because they’ll nurture your child’s ability to empathize and act out of compassion. For more excellent chapter books for kids, check out 48 Awesome Chapter Books for Kids Your Child Will Devour.

1. Because of Winn-Dixie

In this sweet chapter book, Opal has just moved to a small town with her dad, and her whole life changes when she crosses paths with a stray dog in the grocery store. The dog shenanigans provide comic relief, but the beauty of this story is how Opal develops empathy for people she initially writes off as mean or odd.

I’ve read this aloud to my kids three times now, and the story captures their hearts every time!

2. Brown Girl Dreaming

In this memoir in verse, the author shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the South during the 1960s and 70s. Seeing the world through her eyes creates a deep sense of empathy for what she experienced as she tried to find her place in the world.

3. El Deafo

This is another memoir but in graphic novel format. Cece becomes deaf at the age of four after an illness, then she has to start first grade at a new school. Her hearing aid makes her feel like a superhero, so she adopts the nickname “El Deafo” for herself. This is a funny and heartwarming story that will help your child see the world from another perspective they’ve likely never considered before.

4. Fish in a Tree

Ally has trouble reading, but she doesn’t realize it’s because she’s struggling with dyslexia. Because of her frustration, she acts out at school, which in turn frustrates her teachers and opens her up to bullying from other kids. She can’t seem to do anything right, even when she tries to. Read this important story to your child to foster empathy for those with learning differences.

5. Front Desk

Mia lives in a motel where her parents work. While her parents clean rooms, Mia decides to manage the front desk and do her part to make the guests’ stays enjoyable. This is a powerful story of what it means to treat others with kindness and respect and of doing what’s right even when it’s hard. This one also has a sequel: Three Keys.

6. The Hundred Dresses

This is a classic chapter book for teaching empathy. First published in 1944, this quiet book tells the story of a girl named Maddie who stands by as her best friend teases another girl. For the best experience, read this aloud to your child so you can talk after each chapter, and you’ll have powerful conversations about empathy, compassion, and standing up for others.

7. Ms. Bixby’s Last Day

When three sixth-grade boys find out their favorite teacher is battling cancer, they decide to skip school so they can give her the “last day” she deserves. At times, this book is funny, and at others, sad—but it all blends together into a heartwarming experience. I’m so glad I read this with my kids because it gave them a much-needed example of the power of empathy.

8. The One and Only Ivan

Ivan is a silverback gorilla who lives at Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, a run-down circus-themed roadside attraction. For years, Ivan is bored but content in this bizarre flavor of captivity for a wild animal. But when he meets a baby elephant named Ruby, he makes an important decision that will change everything. This story is sad in parts but very much worth the read. Such a deeply moving story!

If your child loves this book, hand them The One and Only Bob next, which is a follow-up featuring the stray dog named Bob in the first book.

9. Out of My Mind

Melody has cerebral palsy, and she can’t walk, talk, or write. She feels stuck in her head. Then one day, she discovers a way to speak for the first time. This is an important story about a smart girl with an unflagging spirit who has to find a way to navigate a world that isn’t always accommodating or even understanding.

10. Wonder

A powerful book about empathy, understanding, and acceptance. If you read this aloud with your child, you’ll end up having so many important conversations.

If your child loves this one, check out the companion books next: Auggie & Me and White Bird.

Before you go, get my FREE cheat sheet: 75 Positive Phrases Every Child Needs to Hear

Want More?

For more books about empathy, compassion, and kindness, check out these lists:

Your Turn

What are your favorite empathy books for kids? Share in a comment below!

The post 50+ Children’s Books About Empathy to Help You Raise Kind Kids appeared first on Happy You, Happy Family.

The Best 20 Concept Books That Will Make Learning Fun for Your Child

Kelly Holmes, Certified Parent Educator — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 22:00:09 +0000

Inside: Concept books don’t have to be dry and boring. The best concept books make learning fun for kids. Here are the children’s concept books you’ll actually enjoy sharing with your child.

You’ve probably already heard that reading aloud to your child helps their brain grow.

And what’s amazing is that to get all the benefits of reading aloud, you don’t even have to read something overtly “educational.” No matter whether you read Where the Wild Things Are for the 72 billionth time or the back of the Cheerios box to your child, their brain will soak up new words and knowledge like a sponge.

Or if you want to be more proactive, books are an excellent tool for teaching your child basic concepts, like the alphabet, counting, shapes, colors, and so on. In fact, a whole category of children’s books is devoted to this endeavor, called “concept books” because their goal is to teach kids basic concepts.

But unfortunately, a significant portion of those concept books are missing one essential ingredient for the learning process: fun.

The Problem With Some Concept Books for Kids

Some concept books approach their subject a bit like a drill sergeant might, standing at a blackboard and running through the concepts without warmth, a sense of wonder, or any trace of humor.

And yet, brain research suggests that fun isn’t just a “nice to have” for the learning process but that it may be required for authentic learning and for storage in long-term memory. According to Research-Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning:

“When a lesson starts with humor, there is more alerting, and the subsequent information is attached to the positive emotional event as an event or flashbulb memory…

Optimal brain activation occurs when subjects are in positive emotional states or when the material holds personal meaning, connects to their interests, is presented with elements of novelty, or evokes wonder. This is why attentiveness is so closely linked to positive emotional cueing and personal meaning. When there is connection to prior knowledge or positive emotional experience, new information passage through the limbic system will be enhanced. The thalamus will then ‘decide’ to pay attention to the information.”

In other words, the best concept books make learning fun for kids. If a concept book fails to surprise your child, tickle their funny bone, or inspire a sense of awe, it probably won’t teach them anything anyway.

The Best Concept Books That Will Get Kids Excited to Learn

A while ago, my kids and I spent months putting together a list of the best books for 2-year-olds, and parents message me every week to express gratitude for that list. But since then, I’ve been getting lots of follow-up questions from parents on one section from that list in particular: What other learning books for toddlers and preschoolers do you recommend?

Then not too long ago, I was excited to hear from the awesome folks at Candlewick Press because not only did they want to share a copy of This Is a Book of Shapes for the purposes of an honest review, but they also offered to sponsor a whole post about the best concept books for children. And so my family set out on a months-long research project to find fun concept books that both kids and parents will enjoy. (Because if kids are going to ask us to read it again and again, it may as well be something we’ll get a kick out of, too!)

To be clear, all opinions expressed in this post are my own, and I was not required or influenced to give anything but an honest appraisal. I have high standards for children’s books, and I recommend only books I’ve enjoyed with my own family.

What Makes This List of Children’s Concept Books Different

Over the years, we’d already read tons of concept books, but we wanted to do a thorough review to uncover all the best concept books. So every week, I put 30+ books on hold at the library, plus at every visit I browsed the shelves for even more concept books. All told, my kids and I read hundreds of children’s concept books to prepare this list.

The list below is the cream of the crop from those hundreds of concept books: the books I loved reading, and the books my kids couldn’t get enough of. Read these concept books with your child, and you’ll infuse the learning experience with a major dose of fun.

Note: indicates my family’s absolute top favorites on the list. These are the books my kids absolutely can’t get enough of!

Counting Books for Kids

One large category of concept books involves counting and numbers because number sense is a precursor to later math skills. But in order for the knowledge to sink in with your child, it’s important to have a book you both enjoy. Here are the counting books that stand out from the pack:

1. 123 Dream

This illustrator has created two of our favorite concept books of all time: this book and ABC Dream (see below). Not only are the illustrations absolutely gorgeous, but the objects shown for each number also start with the same beginning sound – one owl, two turtles, and so on. Plus, at the end, the book challenges kids to go back and find specific objects, which keeps them poring over the book long after you’re done reading it together.

Tip: Haven’t heard of Bookshop yet? It’s an online bookstore with a mission to support local, independent bookstores. As of March 2023, they’ve raised more than 25 million dollars for local bookstores! If you want to order books online while also supporting local bookstores, feel free to use the Bookshop buttons under each book recommendation in this post.

2. Ten, Nine, Eight

No matter how wiggly my toddlers are, this sweet counting book calms them right down. On each page, be sure to pause and encourage your child to count the objects and let the magic of the book take over. Side note: This simple, quiet book is my go-to at bedtime rather than Goodnight Moon because of the loving relationship between the girl and her father.

3. Have You Seen My Dragon?

This counting book doubles as a seek-and-find book, making it one of those rare counting books you can actually enjoy with your child again and again. Your child can look for the hidden dragon in each spread, count the objects named, and also enjoy the fun little details in the stunning pen-and-ink illustrations.

Shape Books for Kids

These books about shapes are the perfect complement to hands-on learning about shapes.

4. This Is a Book of Shapes

This playful book about shapes starts off straightforward – “This is a circle. This is a square. This is a triangle.” – but takes a deliciously silly turn with “This is an emu pushing a pancake wagon down a hill.” Then just when your child settles into that new pattern of factual then off-the-wall, the end of this book catches them off guard one last time. As a cherry on top, the final spread features all the animals and shapes mentioned earlier, so your child will stay engaged even longer as they pick out all the objects they recognize.

5. Triangle

This is the first book in the Shape trilogy, but to be clear these books fall more into the narrative camp rather than traditional concept books. However, these books will hook your child first with an engaging story and then reinforce the concept of shapes while they’re having fun. The best of both worlds! After Triangle, check out Square and Circle.

6. Shapes by Anne Woodhull and Shelley Rotner

Featuring bright photos by a National Geographic photographer, this book draws the connection between each shape and everyday objects in real life with that same shape. Any time you can draw a connection between a concept and something in a child’s daily life, that gives a huge boost to the learning process. If your child enjoys this book, you’ll want to check out the authors’ other book, Colors.

Alphabet Books for Kids

Alphabet books pose a conundrum because toddlers and preschoolers don’t yet understand the concept of first letter. In other words, when young kids see a picture of an apple next to the letter “A”, their brains don’t yet make the connection that apple starts the short “a” vowel sound, which is represented by the letter “A.” (For more on this, see “Concept Books and Young Children” in Ways of Knowing: Literature and the Intellectual Life of Children.)

Experts say most kids start making sound-letter associations around age 4 or even age 5. So when sharing alphabet books with young kids, don’t stress if your child doesn’t seem to be picking up on first letter sounds quite yet. For young kids, it’s more valuable to talk about the objects they’re seeing to grow their understanding of the world and with it, their vocabulary.

7. ABC Dream

This is an absolutely gorgeous book, which means I never get tired of reading it with my kids. But what makes this one of the best alphabet books for kids is that they love the “treasure hunt” of finding all the objects in each spread. For example, on the “A” page, you see an argyle-patterned “A” with an apple perched on top and arrows struck through it. Then next to the “A” is an apple core swarmed by ants. Your child will delight in uncovering all the little details in each spread.

8. Eating the Alphabet: Fruits and Vegetables from A to Z

This book is a fun way to expose kids to different fruits and vegetables and to the alphabet. A couple fun ideas for this book: on each page ask your child to pick out one thing they want to eat (and then pretend to pick it off the page and eat it!), or bring the book along to the grocery store and see if your child can find the fruits and veggies from the book. Bonus points if you let them pick out one thing to take home and try!

9. Creature ABC

Young kids love real-life photos, and this alphabet book is full of striking shots of animals. But the best part is that each letter gets one teasing photo where your child can have fun guessing which animal is coming in the next spread. Plus, at the end you’ll find a glossary with fascinating bits of trivia about all the animals featured in the book. Perfect for kids who love animals!

Books About Colors

When it comes to concept books, books about colors abound. But here are the books about colors you and your child will actually want to come back to again and again:

10. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

This is one of the most quintessential children’s concept books because it has a little of everything: colors, repetition, rhyming, an opportunity to make animal sounds, and a great rhythm to the words as you read. Over time, your child will memorize the order of the animals, and you can build their memory skills by asking them to say the color and animal before you turn the page.

11. My Favorite Color

In this book of colors, the narrator muses over their favorite color and steps through each one, but on each page instead of one blot of color, you get a rich tapestry of hues. Some of the color squares are designed to let light shine through, which creates an interactive component for kids to play with the colors. What I love about this book is that it inspires a sense of wonder about the world!

12. Mouse Paint

This cute story proves that concept books don’t have to be dry and boring. This book teaches your child about primary and secondary colors but with a cute storyline to keep them engaged. If you enjoy this book, be sure to check out the others in the same series: Mouse Count and Mouse Shapes.

Books About Opposites

These books about opposites create fun opportunities for building your child’s vocabulary while also helping them to understand how objects and ideas relate to each other.

13. Hippopposites

This book takes a playful approach to teaching opposites, which is the best way for your child to learn. Plus, nothing could be cuter than hearing your young child say words like “opaque” and “transparent.” If you like this one, be sure to check out Llamaphones and Rhymoceros by the same author.

14. Hello Hello

This book of opposites mesmerized every one of my kids when they were young. They loved learning about all the different animals, and it’s a bonus challenge for them to pick out the animal that’s repeated from the previous pages.

15. Yummy Yucky

This is one of my favorites by Leslie Patricelli because it’s hilarious and actually kind of useful for showing a young child what they should and should not put in their mouth. While this book covers just one opposites pair (yummy and yucky), you can branch out to her other titles for more fun with opposites, like Baby Happy Baby Sad and Quiet Loud.

Concept Books That Cover Multiple Concepts

If you’re looking for a book that will cover a few areas of knowledge at the same time, you can’t go wrong with these children’s concept books.

16. Technicolor Treasure Hunt

This is a counting book and book about colors rolled up into one, with lots of opportunities for your child to build their vocabulary about the world around them. The illustrations are beautiful, and I love that all the object names are given on each spread. This is definitely a book your child can continue to grow with. When one of my toddlers reached preschool age, she would sit and count everything in this book on her own! If you love this book, pick up Pattern-tastic Treasure Hunt next.

17. Perfect Square

This story of creativity starts with a simple square and shows that if you tear it into triangles and punch holes in the triangles, it can become a “fountain that babbled and giggled and clapped.” Each spread brings a fresh idea until the story comes full circle at the end. After sharing this with your child, go ahead and bust out some paper and art supplies so they can play with shapes and cement what they’ve learned. As an added bonus, this book also covers colors and the days of the week.

18. Numbers Colors Shapes

This book and others by author Roger Priddy are awesome for building your child’s vocabulary, and this one specifically focuses on the concepts of counting, colors, and shapes. The best part is you don’t have to read anything! Just have your child point at a picture, you say the word, and repeat until your child is done looking at that page and flip it.

Bonus! More Concept Books for Kids

These concept books don’t fall into the traditional categories like alphabet or counting, but they still introduce kids to important ideas and concepts. Plus, they’re fun to share with your child!

19. Actual Size

What a fun way to start exploring size and measurement with young kids! On each spread, you see an animal – or a part of an animal – at the actual real-life size. For example, for the gorilla you see the actual size of the gorilla’s hand, and your child won’t be able to resist holding their own hand up to compare the sizes. For kids who love dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures, grab the companion book Prehistoric Actual Size.

20. Somewhere In the World Right Now

I almost hesitate to say this book is about time zones because it’s so much more than that. Yes, the book explains the concept of time zones. But more than that, it’s a beautiful display of the interconnectedness of humans all around the world.

Before you go, get my FREE cheat sheet: 75 Positive Phrases Every Child Needs to Hear

Your Turn

What are your favorite concept books for children? Share in a comment below!

The post The Best 20 Concept Books That Will Make Learning Fun for Your Child appeared first on Happy You, Happy Family.

48 Awesome Chapter Books for Kids Your Child Will Devour, Approved by Kids

Kelly Holmes, Certified Parent Educator — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 12:00:46 +0000

Inside: Reading should be fun for kids! Here are the best chapter books for kids that will make your child learn to love reading, from ages 5 to teen.

This past summer, my 15-year-old read at least one chapter book every day. For the seventh summer in a row.

She’s positively voracious for chapter books, and my 10-year-old and 8-year-old are following in her footsteps. (Score!)

Because we’re a family of book nerds, my oldest and I end up talking a lot about books and reading: What are you reading right now? Did you enjoy it? Did anything confuse you, upset you, make you want to stop reading?

Through our talks, she’s opened my eyes about chapter books for kids. Specifically about one big reason why more kids might not be reading as much as she does.

Research shows that the percentage of 6- to 8-year-old kids who read for fun several times a week drops by 9 percent by the time they’re 9 to 11 years old. Then kids reading for fun drops another 11 percent among 12- to 14-year-olds. Overall, the percentage of kids who read for fun at ages 6-8 decreases a total of 24 percent by the time those kids turn 15.

How We’re Scaring Kids Away From Children’s Chapter Books

When it comes to chapter books for kids, we assume that just because we liked a certain book 30 or 40 years ago when we were kids, our kids will enjoy and be able to relate to the same book.

But your child might have a hard time getting into the dated language of Treasure Island. They might be extremely troubled by The Secret Garden when Mary makes racist comments. They might be scared by the graphic violence in Island of the Blue Dolphins. Even some adults feel that way when reading those classics.

That doesn’t automatically mean your child is a “reluctant” reader or that they won’t ever appreciate the “classics.” It just means they’re growing up in the 21st century, and you might need to read those books together so you can talk through the issues.

And yet, as parents, sometimes we still hand our kids the same ol’ kids’ chapter books that were given to us as kids and expect kids to read those books independently. Some teachers assign the same chapter books to the whole class that those teachers had to read when they were in school.

But those same books won’t necessarily resonate with every modern-day kid and turn them into a lifelong reader.

Forget All Those Lists of Children’s Chapter Books You “Should” Read

In our quest to get our kids to love reading, here’s something important we can sometimes lose sight of: Every person is different.

For example, some people like cake, some people like pie, and some people like to keep a case of Girl Scout cookies in their freezer to sustain them year-round. (Guilty!)

Similarly, some kids like to read only fantasy, some prefer mysteries, and some will gravitate to just graphic novels—and that’s perfectly fine and as it should be.

Still, we think it’s “good” for kids to read certain books, like the literary equivalent of eating your veggies. So parents might nag kids to read those “must-read” books, and teachers assign required reading of those “better” books to a whole classroom.

This means that right around the time kids are finally reading on their own, not only do we stop reading aloud to them for fun, but we also saddle them with books they didn’t choose that may be upsetting, frustrating, or just plain boring to them.

No wonder more and more kids aren’t reading for fun.

The #1 Priority When Choosing Chapter Books for Kids

If you want to raise a lifelong reader, your child needs to see that reading can be fun. If it isn’t fun, your child won’t choose to read.

Reading is like riding a bicycle, driving a car, or sewing: In order to get better at it, you must do it. And the more you read, the better you get at it. The past thirty years of reading research confirms this simple formula, regardless of gender, race, nationality, or socioeconomic background. Students who read the most also read the best, achieve the most, and stay in school the longest. Conversely, those who don’t read much cannot get better at it.

Why don’t students read more? Because…the large number of displeasure messages they received throughout their school years coupled with the lack of pleasure messages in the home nullify any attraction books might have. They avoid print the same way a cat avoids a hot stovetop.
The Read-Aloud Handbook

To put the fun back in reading for kids, we need to stop force-feeding them specific children’s chapter books because we know “best” and instead let each child choose the book that looks the most fun to them.

And if they choose to read a graphic novel? Or a series chapter book? Or a comic? Who. Cares. They’re reading! You won!

Kids who see reading as a chore won’t become lifelong readers. Our job as parents and teachers is to protect that little flame of joy that reading creates—not smother it with “must reads” or “classics” or “better” books—or by making kids feel like the book they chose isn’t “good enough.”

Below, I’ve included a list of awesome chapter books that will make your child love reading. Books that will make your child feel known, heard, and understood. Pick up a few of these great books, and see what your kid gravitates to. There are no wrong answers. They’ll like what they like!

Then after the list of chapter books for kids, you’ll find a bonus tip for how to share new kids’ chapter books with your child in a way that will make them love reading even more.

48 Awesome Chapter Books for Kids That Your Child Will Devour

I’ve been curating this list of kids’ chapter books for fourteen years and counting.

Out of all the hundreds of children’s novels that my three oldest kids have read (and that I’ve read aloud), these are the ones we’ve purchased to keep in our home. These are the ones we’ve read multiple times. These are the ones we gift to their friends for birthdays and “just because” gifts.

These books are inclusive, relevant in today’s world, and most important of all: fun. Some will make your child laugh, some will make them feel deep and powerful emotions, some will be so unputdownable your child will think about the story even when they’re not reading—some will do all three within the span of one chapter.

Even so, your child may not love everything on this list, but that’s okay. Your child has their own unique tastes and preferences, and that’s as it should be. Your job is simply to provide your child with a wide variety of books and let them choose what looks good.

And remember: Even if your child is old enough to read independently, reading aloud to your child is an experience that reinforces the pleasure of reading. Plus, it’s a fun way to connect with your child while enjoying a great story together.

The Best Chapter Books for Kids: Table of Contents

The sections below are organized by age. But keep in mind that as with anything when it comes to kids and suggested ages, your mileage may vary.

If you know of any other awesome novels for kids, please leave a comment at the end to share with other parents and teachers (and me!). Because you can never have too many books!

Beginner Chapter Books for Kids Ages 5-8
Chapter Books for Kids Ages 8-12
More Chapter Books for Kids Ages 8-12: For Kids Who Can Handle More
Middle Grade Books for Kids Ages 12+
Bonus Tip: How to Make Your Child Love Reading Even MORE

Note: indicates my family’s absolute top favorites on the list. These are the books my kids can’t get enough of!

Beginner Chapter Books for Kids Ages 5-8

If your child has mastered early reader books and is ready to progress to chapter books, this section is chock full of awesome early reader chapter books for you. Full disclosure: This is a tricky category because some beginner chapter books can be bland and predictable even for a young reader. But because this is your child’s first foray into chapter books, it’s important that even their first chapter books show your child how much fun reading can be. That’s why this list focuses on the beginner chapter books that will make your child smile, giggle, and guffaw.

Here are the best beginner chapter books for early readers:

1. Dodsworth in New York

Dodsworth is a mouse who wants to go on an adventure, so he sets out for New York City. But then a zany duck stows away in his trunk and turns Dodsworth’s adventure into a wild chase around the city. Young readers can’t help but giggle at the duck’s silly antics, and as a parent I could absolutely relate to the exasperation of the duck (i.e. my kids) thwarting all the mouse’s plans (i.e. my plans). This is the first book in a series of first chapter books. Next up: Dodsworth in Paris.

Tip: Haven’t heard of Bookshop yet? It’s an online bookstore with a mission to support local, independent bookstores. As of March 2025, they’ve raised more than 36 million dollars for local bookstores! If you want to order books online while also supporting local bookstores, feel free to use the Bookshop buttons under each book recommendation in this post.

2. Rabbit and Robot: The Sleepover

Rabbit is a planner, and he has his sleepover with Robot perfectly planned out. But when Robot throws a wrench in Rabbit’s plans, the silly hijinks will get your kid smiling and laughing. This series of early chapter books is perfect for kids who have grown out of early readers but aren’t yet ready for “official” chapter books, which can intimidate young readers. If your child loves this one, be sure to check out the follow-up, Rabbit and Robot and Ribbit.

3. King and Kayla and the Case of the Missing Dog Treats

Three peanut butter treats are missing, and Kayla suspects her dog King, but King knows it wasn’t him. The treats were supposed to be for her friend’s new puppy, so the two set off to solve the mystery. This sweet little book is the perfect introduction to mysteries and how to use analytical thinking to solve the question of whodunit. This is the first book in a series. Next, check out King and Kayla and the Case of the Secret Code. And if your child loves this series, they can graduate to The Case of the Lost Boy, the first book in The Buddy Files series that also features the dog King.

4. Warren and Dragon: 100 Friends

Warren is moving and starting at a new school, but the good news is he has his stuffed Dragon to help him through his fears and anxieties. But then his outgoing sister dares him to make 100 friends before she does, and Warren accepts even though he has no idea how to make a friend. Dragon coaches him through making friends, and Warren learns an important lesson about quality not quantity. The relationship between Warren and Dragon gives me strong Calvin and Hobbes vibes, and this whole series is just adorable and fun. After this one, check out Warren and Dragon: Weekend With Chewy.

5. The Princess in Black

For kids just starting to make the transition to chapter books, this is a fun series about a monster-fighting princess who leads a double life. But don’t let yourself be fooled by the word “princess” in the title because both girls and boys love this series! Next, pick up The Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party.

6. Monster and Boy

The monster who lives under the boy’s bed loves the boy, but the boy has no idea the monster exists. In fact, the boy’s mom tells him monsters don’t exist, period. But then one day, the boy and the monster come face-to-face, and their adventure together begins. This quirky little story actually made me laugh out loud too. A refreshingly different and silly read! This is the first in a planned series.

7. Our Friend Hedgehog: The Story of Us

This cozy animal friendship story is heartwarming without being saccharine. Hedgehog’s stuffed dog Mutty is his one and only friend, and they spend all their days together. But one day, a storm blows Mutty away. So Hedgehog sets out on an adventure to find him and along the way, he makes new friends. This text has a few words that will be a stretch for some kids at this level, but the character of Owl explains the meaning of those stretch words to help move readers forward. Plus, the gorgeous illustrations balance out the text perfectly. This is the first in a planned series.

8. Piper Green and the Fairy Tree

Sometimes the “spunky kid” trope can veer too far into over-the-top and unbelievable, but this early chapter book strikes a charming balance. Piper Green lives on a little Maine island, and it’s the first day of second grade. But it’s off to a rocky start because she’s missing her older brother terribly now that he’s going to high school on the mainland, and her new teacher may look like a fairy-tale princess but has no patience for nonsense. This is the first in a series. For more of Piper’s adventures, check out Too Much Good Luck.

9. Skunk and Badger

In this little gem, Badger lives alone and likes it that way. He’s lucky that Aunt Lula is letting him stay in her brownstone so he can focus on his important rock work as a geologist. But then one day, Skunk shows up and announces he’s Badger’s new roommate. What I love most about this quirky odd-couple story is that kids see powerful examples of what happens when friends do something they regret—and what it looks like to repair the damage. This is the first in a planned series.

10. Lulu and the Duck in the Park

Lulu loves animals. She’s even famous for it. But her teacher Mrs. Holiday does not love animals, no matter how hard Lulu tries to win her over. So during a class field trip to the park when Lulu rescues an abandoned duck egg, she knows she has to hide it from her teacher in order to keep it safe. But when the egg starts hatching, Lulu discovers an unexpected ally. This sweet story is the first in a series. Next, pick up Lulu and the Dog from the Sea.

11. Bad Kitty Gets a Bath

In this chapter book follow-up to the picture book Bad Kitty, the narrator steps you through what to do when your kitty really and truly needs a bath. But unfortunately because cats hate baths, this is not a straightforward task. It might even be a bit dangerous. The tongue-in-cheek asides from the narrator make this book stand out from the pack, and kids get a kick out of the silliness. And if you happen to have a cat, your child will appreciate this book even more. This is the first in a series. The next is Happy Birthday, Bad Kitty.

12. Mango and Bambang: The Not-a-Pig

Mango’s father works a lot, so she tries to stay busy to distract herself from being lonely. Some of her favorite ways to stay busy are practicing karate, playing chess, and wiggling her ears while sucking on a lollipop. One day on her way home from karate class, she happens upon a tapir named Bambang in the middle of the road. He’s scared and blocking traffic, and Mango is the only one who takes the time to listen to him. The scene where Mango empathizes with the tapir’s anxiety warmed my heart right off the bat, and the quirky details make this story an utter delight. This is the first in a series. Next, pick up Mango and Bambang: Tapir All at Sea.

Chapter Books for Kids Ages 8-12

You might notice a few widely recommended kids’ novels missing from this list, like Harry Potter, The Lightning Thief, and Wonder. Thanks to successful movie adaptations that had broad audiences, many kids are already familiar with the basic plot of each of these kids’ novels. For some kids, already knowing the plot decreases the chances they’ll get swept away by the experience of reading the book.

For that reason, I’ve left those three children’s chapter books off this particular list, but as always when it comes to reading, your mileage may vary. If your child happens to find it more enjoyable to read when they already have a general idea of what will happen, those books might be the right fit for your child.

These are the best chapter books for kids who are ready to graduate from beginner chapter books:

1. Because of Winn-Dixie

In this sweet chapter book, Opal has just moved to a small town with her dad, and her whole life changes when she crosses paths with a stray dog in the grocery store. I’ve read this aloud to my kids three times now, and the story captures their little hearts every time! If your child loves this book, they might also enjoy Vilonia Beebe Takes Charge, a sweet story about a plucky girl whose favorite book is Because of Winn Dixie. Vilonia becomes convinced that a dog will snap her mom out of the funk she’s been in since Vi’s grandmother died, and Vi sets off on a quest to adopt a puppy.

2. Clean Getaway

Scoob has just been grounded by his dad for all of spring break when his grandmother throws him a lifeline: she invites him along on a road trip that she and his grandpa had planned but never completed. Scoob jumps at the chance to join his grandmother in her brand-new Winnebago, and we get to follow along on their heartwarming but powerful journey. Scoob’s grandmother is white and his grandpa was Black, so as he consults his grandmother’s old Green Book, he starts to realize what life was like for a mixed-race couple in the South during the 1960s. The humor and the relationship between Scoob and his grandmother make this a fantastic adventure story.

3. Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow

Morrigan is cursed, and everyone blames her for everything that goes wrong. Because of her curse, she’s also doomed to die at midnight on her 11th birthday, but a mysterious person named Jupiter North shows up just in the nick of time. My daughter raved about this one so much that I had to pick it up myself, and I adored it, too! After Nevermoor, you’ll want to read the next in the series: Wundersmith.

4. The Season of Styx Malone

It’s summer break, but Caleb and his older brother Bobby Gene just got in trouble with their dad and stuck with morning chores for four long weeks. Their summer is looking bleak until the brothers meet cool kid Styx Malone. Together, they hatch a plan for an “escalator trade,” where the boys trade small objects for increasingly more valuable things, with the ultimate goal of trading up to a new moped. This tale of the boys’ summer adventure is full of heart and humor but also a powerful depth as it touches on Styx’s experience in the foster care system and explores the meaning of friendship.

5. The Bookwanderers

Tilly lost her dad at a young age and her mother disappeared, so her grandparents raised her in their cozy London bookstore. Then one day, Anne Shirley and Alice, her two favorite book characters, show up in the shop, and she learns the truth: Tilly comes from a family of bookwanderers, people who can travel inside books and bring the characters back to the real world. With the help of her bookish friends, Tilly sets off to solve the mystery of her mother’s disappearance. Kids who love magic and books adore this story. In the sequel The Lost Fairy Tales, fairy tales start leaking magic into the real world, and Tilly sets off on a quest to find out who’s behind it.

6. The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street

In this story, a family of seven finds out their landlord will be kicking them out of their beloved home right after Christmas. The five Vanderbeeker children are heartbroken, so they come up with a plan to save their home. This was such a heartwarming read! After you fall in love with this family, you’ll want to read the rest of the series, starting with the sequel The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden.

7. The Dragon With a Chocolate Heart

In this fun fantasy, a young dragon gets tricked into drinking enchanted hot chocolate that turns her into a human. My daughter loved this so much that when she finished it, she immediately went back to the start and reread it. The next in this series is The Girl with the Dragon Heart.

8. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library

Twelve seventh-graders win a chance to spend a night in their town’s brand new public library, built by billionaire game-maker Luigi Lemoncello. Mr. Lemoncello then issues them a challenge: Solve the puzzles and riddles he’s left in the library using only what’s in the library, and they’ll be the new spokesperson for Mr. Lemoncello’s company. This is kind of like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory set in modern times and inside a library. Kids love solving the puzzles as they read, and reluctant readers will identify with the main character Kyle who isn’t super into books. When we lend this fun series to friends and neighbors, they gobble it right up. Next, pick up Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics.

9. The Next Great Paulie Fink

Caitlyn has started at a new middle school, but nothing is like her old school. Not only is her grade responsible for mentoring the kindergarteners and feeding the school goats, but Caitlyn feels like the odd one out in the tight-knit group of eccentric seventh graders who call themselves The Originals. But when the most legendary of The Originals Paulie Fink doesn’t return to school, they decide to hold a contest to find the next great Paulie Fink. Rule-following Caitlyn serves as the contest’s organizer, judge, and jury, and along the way she discovers something important about her own past and about the school’s future. This novel is laugh out loud funny but also full of heart!

10. The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell

On their 12th birthday, twins Alex and Conner get a book of fairy tales from their grandmother. But then the book comes to life, and they fall into The Land of Stories. There, they run into fairy tale characters like Goldilocks, Cinderella, and Snow White, who help them on their quest to get back home. If your child loves this first book, be prepared for them to devour the rest of the series. Next, pick up The Enchantress Returns.

11. Ways to Make Sunshine

After Ryan’s dad loses his job, the family has to move to a smaller house and sell their car. But Ryan does her best to face whatever challenges come her way, whether preparing for the school talent show or getting teased at school about having a “boy’s name.” I dare you not to fall in love with her fierce optimism! This story is full of warmth and familial love. If your child loves this book, they’ll be happy to hear it’s the first in a planned series. Next, check out Ways to Grow Love.

12. The Candymakers

Four 12-year-olds compete in a candy-making contest, and soon it becomes clear there’s a spy in their midst. Kids love unpacking the secrets and the mystery of this story, plus all the talk of candy and yummy treats is awfully fun too. For kids who love this one, hand them the sequel next: The Candymakers and the Great Chocolate Chase.

More Chapter Books for Kids Ages 8-12: For Kids Who Can Handle More

One of my kiddos feels extreme empathy for the characters in books, so she can be sensitive to reading about any person or animal getting hurt—or even the threat of being hurt. This is not uncommon for this age range. So the previous section of books for ages 8-12 included only children’s chapter books that will work for most kids, including the sensitive ones.

If your child can handle more tension and higher stakes in the books they read, here are a few more awesome kids’ novels:

1. The One and Only Ivan

2. The Lonely Heart of Maybelle Lane

Maybelle Lane has never met her dad. So when she finds out he’s a radio DJ and will be judging a singing contest in Nashville, she doesn’t have to think twice before signing up. Her mom is on a month-long work trip, so Maybelle is staying with her stern neighbor Mrs. Boggs. All Maybelle has to do is ditch Mrs. Boggs and get from Louisiana to Nashville. But her plan doesn’t work out, and Mrs. Boggs ends up coming with her. Then unknown to both of them, a not-very-nice neighbor kid named Tommy stows away too. This adventure story is full of charm and heart!

3. Harbor Me

If you want your child to develop a deep compassion for their fellow humans, you need to hand them this book. A teacher rounds up six struggling students for a weekly talk with no adults allowed. At first, the kids are skeptical, but then they start to open up. As they let each other into their lives, friendship blossoms and their weekly talks become a safe space. This is a powerful story that touches on serious issues many kids have to deal with, without ever being preachy about it. By the way, if your child enjoys audiobooks, this book is great in audio because it’s a full-cast recording. You can get the audiobook through Audible or Libro.fm here. (By the way, a Libro.fm membership is the same price as Audible, and you’ll support a locally owned bookstore with every audiobook you choose!)

4. The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl

Ever since she survived being hit by lightning, Lucy has been a math genius, but she also lives with OCD. If she can’t complete her rituals revolving around the number three, she can’t concentrate on anything—at least not until she recites the numbers of pi to the 314th decimal place. She’s been homeschooled by her grandmother since she was eight and she’s technically ready for college, but Nana insists she first go to middle school for one year, make one new friend, and join one activity. Lucy is authentic and funny, and any child who’s experienced middle school firsthand will immediately relate to her struggles.

5. Book Scavenger

Emily has moved 8 times in 12 years. But this time she’s actually excited to move because she’ll be in San Francisco, which is home to her idol Garrison Griswold, book publisher and the creator of Emily’s favorite puzzle game called Book Scavenger. But just when Emily arrives and right before Griswold is to announce the details of his latest and greatest game, he’s attacked and left in critical condition. Together with her new friend James, a fellow puzzle-lover who lives in her building, Emily has to solve the mystery before the people who attacked Griswold catch up to Emily and James too. If your child loves solving puzzles and codes, press this book into their hands, along with the rest of the series. The sequel is The Unbreakable Code.

6. The Parker Inheritance

Candice’s parents are getting divorced, so she and her mom are moving from Atlanta to a small town in South Carolina for the summer. Candice is having just about the worst summer ever until she finds an old letter addressed to her by her grandmother before she passed. And inside that letter, she finds a puzzle. Her grandmother had tried (and failed) to solve the puzzle, but Candice befriends Brandon, the shy boy next door, and the two of them set off to solve what her grandmother could not. This mystery with a dash of historical fiction will keep your child hooked until the last page!

7. The Wild Robot

This is a heartwarming story of a shipwrecked robot named Roz who has to learn how to survive in the wilderness. Our whole family fell in love with Roz! While there are some tense scenes, Roz rises above it all to demonstrate the power of kindness and community. After your child finishes this one, expect them to be anxious for the sequel right away: The Wild Robot Escapes.

8. Front Desk

9. The Mysterious Benedict Society

Four gifted orphans are recruited to a remote boarding school in order to thwart an evil mastermind who wants to take over the world. This is a fun mystery for kids with puzzles to solve along the way. If your kid devours this one, they’ll love the rest of the series too. Next, queue up The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey.

10. Pax

Peter’s raised his pet fox Pax since he was a kit, and they’re inseparable. But Peter’s dad has to serve in the military and Peter will have to go live with grandfather, so his dad tells Peter he has to set Pax free in the forest first. Peter does what he’s told but then realizes he’s made a terrible mistake, and Peter and Pax set out to find each other. This adventure story set in a war-torn dystopian world will break your heart but then heal it back stronger again.

11. The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

Ever since she lost her mom and her sisters in a car crash five years ago, Coyote and her dad have been aimlessly traveling the country in a converted school bus. But when Coyote finds out the park in their old neighborhood—the one where she, her mom, and her sisters buried a memory box together—is about to be demolished, she comes up with a plan to get her dad to drive more than 3,000 miles back to their old town so she can retrieve the box. This road trip story is full of heart and a powerful experience that will help your child learn to see the world through others’ eyes.

12. From the Desk of Zoe Washington

Zoe is an aspiring chef who dreams of auditioning for the Food Network’s Kids Bake Challenge, when one day out of the blue she gets a letter from her dad Marcus, whom she’s never met. Her dad went to prison right before she was born, and this is the first contact she’s had with him because her mom doesn’t want him in the picture. As Zoe and Marcus write back and forth, he encourages her baking aspirations and their bond grows. But when Marcus tells Zoe he’s innocent, she doesn’t know what to think. How could an innocent person be sent to prison? With the help of her grandmother and her friend Trevor, Zoe sets out to investigate what really happened. Along the way, she learns a powerful lesson about inequality in the criminal justice system. This sweet, hopeful story is a must read.

Middle Grade Books for Kids Ages 12+

When your child approaches the middle grade milestone, you may find that they want to read books about kids their age or older. But that can land you in the category of “young adult” books, and some kids might not be ready for some of the themes and issues covered in YA fiction. For example, one 12-year-old I know feels like many middle grade books are too “babyish,” but they also told their parents they’re absolutely not interested in books with any kissing or romance.

These children’s chapter books are the perfect fit for kids ages 12 and up because they straddle the line between middle grade books and YA:

1. Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster

Nan Sparrow is one of the best “climbing boys” in Victorian London, orphans who do the dangerous work of cleaning chimney flues to protect homes from fire. But she also happens to be a girl. Then one day, she gets caught in a chimney fire. This is a powerful story that touches on some heavy topics, but it’s also infused with an undercurrent of hope that a better life is possible for Nan and her climbing friends. This story will give your child a lot to chew on, plus it’s a fascinating history lesson.

2. Ungifted

Donovan is a prankster whose classmates have voted him “Most Likely to Wind Up in Jail.” But one day, he goes one prank too far and ends up getting sent to a special school for gifted and talented students. Can he fool his new classmates and teachers into thinking he belongs there, or will he get found out? This is a funny book with a heartwarming ending, and sometimes it can be hard to find both of those qualities in middle grade books at the same time. After your child finishes this one, grab a copy of Supergifted next.

3. Keeper of the Lost Cities

Sophie has been telepathic for as long as she can remember, but she’s always kept it hidden from her family because they’re very much not in possession of any supernatural powers. Then one day, she meets a boy who reveals the truth about who she is, and she realizes staying with her family will put them in danger. This series has just about everything: fantasy, mystery, suspense, friendship, school dilemmas, and more. And with eight books, this series of middle grade books will keep your child busy for a long while! Next, pick up Exile.

4. Ghost

Castle “Ghost” Crenshaw has a talent for running, but unfortunately he also has a talent for losing his temper getting into fights. Then one day, a track coach sees Ghost run and offers him a deal. If Ghost can stop getting in fights, he can join a track team that could qualify for the Junior Olympics. But one more fight, and he’ll be kicked off the team. This realistic, quick read is unputdownable, and your child will be anxious to get their hands on the next in the series: Patina.

5. When You Reach Me

Miranda and her lifelong best friend Sal live in the same apartment building in New York City, and they do everything together. But one day, another kid punches Sal and after that, he barely acknowledges Miranda. Then the notes start. Miranda keeps finding anonymous, cryptic notes that give her the creeps because whoever wrote them seems to know everything about her life. This book is like a jigsaw puzzle for your brain! The mystery will turn your child into a detective, piecing together clues and celebrating that eureka moment when it all comes together. So good!

6. Greenglass House

It’s the first day of Christmas break, and Milo is looking forward to spending his vacation with his adoptive parents at home. But home happens to be an inn that his parents own, and five unusual guests show up on the first day of vacation to dash Milo’s plans. Then strange things start happening, and Milo recruits Meddy, the cook’s daughter, to help solve the mystery. This story is creepy and clever and so well done! After your child polishes off this one, hand them the rest of the series starting with Ghosts of Greenglass House.

7. City Spies

At the age of 12, Sara Martinez hacks into the city’s computers to prove that her foster parents are breaking the law. But instead of setting things right, Sara’s actions put her in front of a judge, facing years in a juvenile detention facility. So when a mysterious man steps in as her attorney and offers Sara a chance to join his team of young spies, Sara goes for it. Now, it’s up to Sara and her elite spy team to stop a planned attack at a youth environmental summit in Paris. This spy novel is great fun, and it’s the first in this series of middle grade books. Next, keep an eye out for Golden Gate.

8. Last Day on Mars

The sun has turned into a supernova earlier than anyone predicted, destroying Earth and forcing humans to relocate to Mars. But now Mars is in danger too, and everyone living on Mars needs to evacuate to a distant planet. Liam and Phoebe are the last kids left on Mars, but they can’t evacuate until their parents finish essential terraforming work they’ll need for their new home planet. As Liam and Phoebe spend their last day on Mars waiting to leave, they stumble upon a secret research lab and they discover humans are in grave danger unless they act fast. This adventure story is fast-paced and thrilling, and your child can read more in the rest of the trilogy starting with The Oceans Between Stars. (Note: This book is not the same story as the movie The Last Days on Mars.)

9. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus

Aven was born without arms due to a rare genetic condition, but she’s never let that stop her from doing what she wants to. She has friends, she’s a prankster, and she even plays on the soccer team. But then her dad gets a job at a Wild West theme park, and the family has to move. Aven struggles in her new school until she meets two new friends. Together, they uncover clues about the theme park’s past and set off to solve the mystery. Such a funny and heartwarming story! Kids who fall in love with this one can keep going with the sequel, Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus.

10. Lockwood and Co: The Screaming Staircase

Deliciously creepy! The world is under attack by deadly ghosts called Visitors. The only people who can sense the ghosts are children who have a psychic talent. Working for the ghost-hunting agency called Lockwood & Co, teenage Lucy and two other young ghost-hunters get assigned to one of England’s most haunted houses: an ancient building famous for its Screaming Staircase. If your child likes spooky middle grade books, they’ll be clamoring for the next installment of this 5-book series, The Whispering Skull.

11. The False Prince

In the medieval kingdom of Carthya, the entire royal family has been poisoned, and the kingdom is on the verge of civil war. A nobleman named Conner decides the only way to stave off war is to recruit four orphans to train as royalty and then pick one to pose as the youngest prince and restore order in the kingdom. Sage is one of the orphans chosen to train, and he’s delightfully snarky, stubborn, and rebellious. This fast-paced story is perfect for kids not yet ready for The Hunger Games. After this installment, check out the next in the series, The Runaway King.

12. Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation

12-year-old Charlotte Thorne is a supergenius who goes by Charlie, and she’s been recruited by the CIA to solve a powerful equation developed by Einstein. The equation is the key to solving the world’s energy crisis, but evil world leaders and criminals want to use it instead to create a horrible weapon. It’s a race to see who can solve the equation first, and Charlie traverses the globe in her quest to unlock the world-changing secrets. This thriller will definitely get your adrenaline pumping! Be sure to check out the sequel next, Charlie Thorne and the Lost City.

Bonus Tip: How to Make Your Child Love Reading Even MORE

When my oldest was starting to read children’s chapter books independently, I stumbled on a simple trick that works like magic for making your child love books and reading. I discovered it just because I’m a book nerd and can never get enough books, but later I did some research on the brain science behind why it works so well. (See if you can guess the trick from these quotes!)

“If we’re surprised with something positive, we’ll feel more intense feelings of happiness or joy than we normally would.”—The Takeaway from Public Radio International

And: “Research shows that surprise intensifies our emotions by about 400 percent.”—Splinter

And here’s one more little clue: Research shows that for every book you add to your home library, you boost your child’s academic performance. Every single book!

So did you guess the best trick for feeding that flame of reading joy? Spread chapter books all around your home as unexpected surprises for your child.

This works like magic because finding a new book where you weren’t expecting one amplifies the pleasure of reading that book. But also, you never know which book is going to catch your child’s eye. So by placing books all around the house, you increase the chances that a book will grab them when they’re bored.

Here’s How It Works

Every week, I check out a variety of chapter books for kids from the library, then scatter them in every place I can think of:

On a library cart we keep filled with books in our living room (it’s this cute cart from Crate & Barrel)
On my kids’ nightstands
In every bathroom
In a basket at the breakfast table or dinner table
Next to (or sometimes on top of) our family’s iPad
In the back seat of the car
Next to the bathtub
In the basket where we keep the TV remote

You don’t need to announce what you’ve done, and you don’t need to nag your kid to read the books. If they don’t pick any up, that’s fine.

Keep trying. Mix in some graphic novels, comic books, and magazines. Your kid might prefer nonfiction over fiction, or they might even like a book of funny poems like If I Were in Charge of the World and Other Worries.

I’m always excited to see which books my kids end up choosing, and my toddler will sit on the couch and calmly flip through a chapter book (with no pictures) for 10 minutes at a time. And anything that gets my kids to sit still for 10+ minutes, I’m on board with!

Before you go, get my FREE cheat sheet: 75 Positive Phrases Every Child Needs to Hear

Your Turn

What are your favorite chapter books for kids? Share in a comment below!

The post 48 Awesome Chapter Books for Kids Your Child Will Devour, Approved by Kids appeared first on Happy You, Happy Family.

The Ultimate List of the Best Books for Toddlers

Kelly Holmes, Certified Parent Educator — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 12:00:24 +0000

Inside: Here are the best books for 2-year-olds to inspire a lifelong love of reading in your toddler. Endorsed by toddlers AND parents.

As parents, we know we’re supposed to read aloud to our kids because it’s good for their growing little brains.

But sometimes reading aloud to a 2-year-old makes you question whether it’s actually doing any good.

They can’t seem to sit still and focus, they want to turn the pages before you’re done reading them, and they toddle off halfway through the book. Hey! Don’t you want to know what happens to the bowl full of mush?!?

And yet, it’s important to keep trying because the relationship our children have with books and reading when they’re young directly impacts how much they’ll love to read when they’re older. According to the research on raising readers:

“The more you read, the better you get at it; the better you get at it, the more you like it; and the more you like it, the more you do it.”
Jim Trelease, The Read-Aloud Handbook

But it’s not just about fostering a love of reading. Looking ahead to when our kids are older, reading is essential for the learning process, and kids who struggle with reading tend to struggle in school:

“Children who aren’t reading proficiently by fourth grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school, and…only 34 percent of America’s fourth graders read at grade level.”
The New York Times

The Secret to Turning Your 2-Year-Old Into a Bookworm

As a mom of four on my fourth toddler now, I’ve had lots of firsthand experience nurturing active 2-year-olds into becoming toddler-sized bookworms who will sit still and happily listen to a whole book…most of the time.

And among friends, I’ve also become known as the friendly neighborhood toddler book whisperer. Give me an upset 2-year-old and a good book (more on this below), and I’ll have that toddler tamed in no time.

Over the years, I’ve learned four guiding principles for teaching your 2-year-old to love books:

Let them see you – Do you know how a 2-year-old will copy everything you do, from climbing on a chair so you can reach the top cupboard, to swearing like a sailor when you stub your toe? That goes for books and reading, too.
- Let your toddler see you reading something for pleasure at least once a day – magazines, comic books, the newspaper – whatever you enjoy.
- You can read to yourself or read aloud to older kids, but do read something because your toddler is watching you to learn how much fun books and reading are.
- Side note: If you tend to read e-books on a mobile device, your toddler has no idea that you’re reading and may think you’re watching funny cat videos instead. Consider getting a physical book you can read a little at a time every day while your toddler is around.
Share power – Toddlers have a healthy need for power, but they don’t get to exert power over their situation very often. You can win them over to books and reading by sharing a little of the power you have. For example, let them pick out a book to read from your bookshelf, let them turn the pages for you as you read, and let them ask questions about the book you’re reading or stay on a page longer if they want to talk about what they see – even if that makes it take longer to finish the book. (I know. But a little power-sharing goes a long way!)
Keep going – Even if it seems like it’s not working, it is. Every time you read aloud to your toddler, you’re strengthening their future love of reading. If your toddler can’t manage to sit still long enough to listen to a whole story, that’s okay. Keep trying because listening is an acquired skill. Plus, when you read aloud, you increase your child’s ability to pay attention and concentrate – skills that will help your child in school and in life beyond school. Try reading at bedtime when your child is calmer or when your child is held captive like when they’re eating a meal, in the bathtub, or in the toddler swing at the park. Get creative!
Choose wisely – All books for 2-year-olds are not created equal. One of the biggest causes of a toddler not enjoying read-aloud time is when the book is the wrong fit for their age, temperament, and developmental stage. If you want your toddler to love books and reading, it’s essential to pick the right books for 2-year-olds. If you have a favorite childhood book that your child won’t sit through, that doesn’t mean they won’t ever enjoy it. It’s just that it might be the wrong fit for your child right now. Because this is so important for growing toddler bookworms, below I’ve included a list of the best books for 2-year-olds.

Look for This When Choosing Books for 2-Year-Olds

In general, you’ll want to look for the following things when picking out books for toddlers. (In the list of best books for 2-year-olds below this section, you’ll find that many of those books have at least one of these qualities in their favor.)

Short – As much as I adore a book like Rosie Revere, Engineer, most 2-year-olds aren’t ready to sit through a story with that much text on each page. If your toddler toddles off in the middle of a story, it might be too long for where their listening skills are right now. Put that one back on the shelf and try again in a month or so.
Rhyming or rhythmic – Rhyming books are fun for toddlers, but they’re also awesome for developing their literacy skills. Research shows that rhyming stories increase phonemic awareness, improve memory, and build vocabulary because rhymes tend to include unique words kids wouldn’t otherwise hear. In other words, good rhymers grow into good readers.
Repetitive – Toddlers love books with a refrain that gets repeated throughout the book. A toddler’s memory skills aren’t as developed as an adult’s, and it’s easier for them to learn and understand when you repeat something over and over. And some research indicates that repetition is what toddlers need in order to learn new words.
Funny – Your goal in this stage of reading aloud is to show your toddler how much fun reading and books can be, and a book that will make them giggle does exactly that. Plus, humor makes it easier for kids to understand what’s happening in the book.

Also, this may go without saying, but print books are better than digital ones because print books do much more to develop your child’s literacy skills.

65 Best Books for 2-Year Olds – Most Loved by Toddlers And Parents

A while ago, my kids and I spent months and months putting together a list of the best picture books, and parents message me every week to say thank you for that list. But some parents also have another request: What are the best books for 2-year-olds?

And so my family set out on another months-long research project to find awesome books for 2-year-olds that both toddlers and parents will enjoy. (If toddlers are going to ask us to read it again and again, it may as well be something we’ll get a kick out of, too!)

Over the years, we’d already read tons of toddler-friendly children’s books, but we wanted to do a thorough review of all the best books for toddlers age 2. So every week, I put 30+ books on hold at the library, plus at every visit I browsed the shelves for even more books for 2-year-olds. All told, my kids and I read hundreds of picture books and board books to prepare this list.

In fact, we’ve been working on this list so long that my child who was a toddler at the start of our research project has since aged out of that phase into the preschooler stage, and my youngest has joined the ranks of toddlerhood.

The list below is the cream of the crop from those hundreds of books: the books I loved reading, and the books my toddlers couldn’t get enough of. When you read the best books for 2-year-olds, you’ll be growing your own toddler-sized bookworm!

Note: indicates my family’s absolute top favorites on the list. These are the books my kids absolutely can’t get enough of!

The Best Books to Make Your Toddler Feel Known + Heard + Understood

These books are perfectly attuned to what’s going on inside a toddler’s brain developmentally. When you read these books aloud to your 2-year-old, she’ll think, “YES! YOU TOTALLY GET ME.”

1. Little Excavator

Toddlers especially love this picture book because of the fun sound effects – but also because they can 100 percent relate to being told you’re not big enough to do something.

2. Knuffle Bunny

Toddlers relate to this book on two powerful levels: first, how losing your lovey feels like the end of the world. And second, how incredibly frustrating it is when you’re still learning to talk and you’re trying to say something that’s important, but your parents can’t understand you.

3. Red Is Best

You know how giving your 2-year-old the “wrong” color cup can make them flip out? This book helps your toddler feel understood, and it gives them the language to communicate why the color of something is important to them. Anytime you can give a toddler the language to describe the emotions she’s feeling, that can help decrease the freak-out factor. And as a side benefit, this book gave me more compassion for my toddler in those moments too!

4. Not a Box

This book features two things 2-year-olds love: pretend play and cardboard boxes. Inside, you get a sneak peek into what’s really happening inside the imagination of your toddler. With simple illustrations, this is a great little book about the power of your imagination.

5. Yes Day!

Toddlers love the idea of having a day where they get to do anything they want. Also, because of this book, we now have a tradition in our family that on your birthday, you get a “yes day”!

A Big Mooncake for Little Star – Because 2-year-olds struggle with impulse control, they immediately relate to the main character in this book. And here’s the important part: Even though she struggles to control her impulses, her mom still loves and accepts her.
Wait – Toddlers know what it feels like to be told to hurry up when they want to just be in the moment. The end of this story is so satisfying for toddlers!
Little Pea – This book has a little more text on each page than most other books for 2-year-olds in this list, so you may need to try a few times before your toddler can make it all the way through. However, this book perfectly turns a typical toddler power struggle on its head, so it’s worth it – Little Pea doesn’t like candy but has to eat it for dinner. If your toddler loves this one, also try Little Oink and Little Hoot. Or you can get the whole set of three books for cheaper here.

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus – Toddlers relate to the pigeon being told “no” over and over again, and it’s fun for them to reverse roles and be the one who’s dishing out the “no”s for once.
The Story of Ferdinand – In this story, Ferdinand is forced to do something he doesn’t want to do, and 2-year-olds can very much understand what that feels like.
Where the Wild Things Are – At this age, kids are starting to feel shame for disappointing their parents. So every toddler I’ve ever known can totally relate to Max’s situation.

Oh No, George! – Toddlers can’t help but giggle at the main character’s struggle to control his impulses because they know exactly what that feels like.
Today – This book puts 2-year-olds in the driver’s seat for once and lets them pick what they want to wear, what they want to eat, where they want to go, and more.
Make a Wish, Midas! – Toddlers love how Midas wants to wear different clothes, and they can relate to how he has a favorite color he prefers everything to be. But then the idea of “too much of a good thing” surprises them and makes them think!
Don’t Blink – This book gives 2-year-olds a safe and healthy situation where they can exercise their independence, plus have fun doing it!

Alphabet + Counting + Colors + Shapes Books for 2-Year-Olds

When you’re looking for learning books for 2-year-olds, look for books that will make the learning process fun. All these books fit that bill!

Eating the Alphabet: Fruits & Vegetables from A to Z – This book is a fun way to expose toddlers to different fruits and vegetables and practice the alphabet. A couple fun ideas for this book: on each page ask your child to pick out one thing they want to eat (and then pretend to pick it off the page and eat it!), or bring the book along to the grocery store and see if your child can find the fruits and veggies from the book. Bonus points if you let them pick out one thing to take home and try!
123 Dream and ABC Dream– These are gorgeous books. The 123 version is great for getting 2-year-olds to practice counting, and kids love picking out the hidden objects in the ABC version.
Creature ABC – In this alphabet book, toddlers love to guess the animal before you get to the next page.

Technicolor Treasure Hunt – This book is great for learning colors, counting, and new words. Plus, it’s a book your child can continue to grow with. When my 2-year-old turned three, she would sit and count everything in this book on her own.
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? – This is one of the most quintessential books for 2-year-olds because it has a little of everything: colors, repetition, rhyming, an opportunity to make animal sounds, and a great rhythm to the words as you read. Over time, your toddler will memorize the order of the animals, and you can build their memory skills by asking them to say the animal before you turn the page.
Mouse Paint – Learning books for 2-year-olds don’t have to be boring. This book teaches your child about primary and secondary colors but with a cute storyline.
Hippopposites – Such a fun way to teach opposites! Plus, nothing could be cuter than hearing your toddler say “opaque” and “transparent.” If you like this one, also check out Llamaphones and Rhymoceros.

Emotions Books for Toddlers Age 2

At two years old, kids are starting to learn how to cope with big emotions in a healthy way. Read these books for toddlers to help them through this challenging stage.

The Rabbit Listened – I never get tired of reading this one. It’s a simple but perfect story about how it feels when something goes wrong – and how to overcome those challenging emotions and move forward. My kids ask for this one at least once a day. A must have!
No Matter What – Because of this book, “no matter what” has become a common refrain in our house. It’s the perfect phrase to remind my kids of my unconditional love for them, even when they’re in the middle of feeling tough feelings.
Calm-Down Time – This book teaches kids what to do step-by-step when you’re feeling upset so that you can feel calm again.
Mad, Mad Bear – In this simple story, toddlers see helpful examples of what to do when they feel angry, such as take a breath, get some rest, and so on.

The Color Monster – This book steps through several different emotions and how they feel, plus it reinforces color learning.
Owl Babies – Toddlers love the repetition in this book. If your child experiences separation anxiety such as when being dropped off at daycare, this book will especially resonate with them.
Mrs. Biddlebox – This is possibly my favorite picture book of all time, and I don’t say that lightly. Unfortunately, it’s out of print. The good news is you can get a used copy in good condition on Amazon. Mrs. Biddlebox wakes up in a bad mood, but instead of sitting around like a grouch, she tackles that bad mood and turns it around in time for sleep. We reach for this book anytime my toddler and I have butted heads during the day, and it’s the perfect tool to help us process the bad mojo and end the day feeling connected. The rhythm of this story is perfect for toddlers!

Funny + Silly Books for Toddlers

These funny books for 2-year-olds will make them collapse into a fit of giggles!

Good Night, Gorilla – This book makes my kids giggle every time, even though we’ve read it a gabazillion times. The youngest ones love doing different silly voices for the animals saying good night.
Bark, George – On the surface, toddlers enjoy making the animal sounds in this story, but when they figure out the joke, they’ll be tickled. And then every time after that, they’ll love being “in” on the joke.
Cat the Cat, Who Is That? – What I love about this series is that they’re written simply with few words, but they still make kids laugh. Side note: This is a great one to hang onto for when your child starts reading on her own! If your toddler digs this book, also check out Time to Sleep, Sheep the Sheep!, What’s Your Sound, Hound the Hound?, and Let’s Say Hi to Friends Who Fly!. They’re all so good!

The Monster at the End of This Book – I was skeptical about this book because my kids don’t watch much TV so haven’t even seen Sesame Street. But my toddlers fell under this book’s spell too. Young kids can barely contain themselves when you keep doing exactly what the book is telling you not to do. For maximum fun, read this one in your best Grover voice!
A Monkey Among Us – This is out of print, but it’s worth getting a gently used copy on Amazon. It’s deliciously silly and surprising, and it plays with rhyme and rhythm, which 2-year-olds love.
Mr. Tiger Goes Wild – Toddlers relate to this story because it shows we all have a “wild” side, and it can be hard to contain that and fit into the world around us. But this book is more than just silly. It also gives kids a subtle but poignant take-away about the importance of being true to yourself.
Orange Pear Apple Bear – This silly story is just the same four words over and over again. Perfect for the short attention span of a 2-year-old!

Interactive Books for 2-Year-Olds

Because listening is an acquired skill, toddlers can have a hard time sitting still while you read aloud. Read these interactive books for 2-year-olds to keep your wiggly toddler engaged in the story. For more great books like this, check out 12 Best Interactive Books for Kids That Will Burn Energy…Quickly.

From Head to Toe – Toddlers get into this book quickly because the text point-blank invites them to act out the animal movements.
Peek-a-Who – This is a simple story with 10 words total. Toddlers love this one because they can get an easy handle on the pages to reveal the next surprise, make the sounds with you, and check out their reflection in the mirror at the end.
Dear Zoo – Your 2-year-old will enjoy the repetition in this story, plus they’ll be able to flip the pieces to see what animal is underneath. For super wiggly toddlers, challenge them to walk like each animal and make the sounds!
Press Here – My toddlers get so into the instructions to press and shake and tilt this book that we’ve outlawed it from the pool of bedtime stories in our house. They can’t get enough of this one!

Bedtime Books for 2-Year-Olds

When you’re looking for the best bedtime books for 2-year-olds, that’s pretty much the opposite of interactive books for toddlers. To calm toddlers down for bed, books with repetition make for an excellent choice. For more bedtime books for kids, check out 10 Calming Bedtime Story Books for Kids Who Fight Sleep.

I Just Want to Say Good Night – If you have a child who stalls at bedtime, this is a must read. Toddlers especially love how the main character Lala exerts some small amount of power over her own bedtime, plus they’ll feel “in” on the joke when they get the meta reference to Goodnight Moon at the end.
Ten, Nine, Eight – I prefer this simple, quiet bedtime book over Goodnight Moon because of the sweet, loving relationship between the girl and her father. No matter how wiggly my toddlers are, this counting book calms them right down.
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes – Young kids love this book for the diverse pictures of babies and toddlers from all over the world. Don’t forget to count or tickle your toddler’s toes for the “ten little fingers and ten little toes” refrain!

That’s Me Loving You – This book is especially perfect for bedtime because it reassures toddlers who are nervous about being away from you at night.
I Am a Bunny – This simple, soothing book moves through each of the seasons until the end, where the bunny cuddles up for a long winter sleep, looking forward to spring. Excellent for calming toddlers down before sleep!
All the World – This one has more text than the other bedtime books for 2-year-olds on this list, but it’s worth it to keep trying. Not only is the rhythm calming for little ones, but the illustrations are gorgeous and peaceful.

Potty Training Books for Toddlers

Potty training is a huge milestone for toddlers, and these books for 2-year-olds will help get them ready. (By the way, if you need a book to help you make it to the other side of potty training without losing your mind, check out Oh Crap! Potty Training. That book helped me with my reluctant potty trainer when nothing else did!)

Everyone Poops – This book helps remove the shame your toddler may feel about using the potty by showing how normal it is. This has helped lots of potty-training-resistant toddlers I know get over the mental hurdle of going poop in the potty!
You Poop Here – This book steps through different animals and where they poop, then ends with a spread showing where kids go. My kids all loved the animal trivia in this book and couldn’t help giggling throughout!
Toot or Potty – This series of books by Leslie Patricelli is perfect for toddlers! We like to start with Toot because it normalizes an everyday bodily function, then as our toddlers get older we add in Potty to normalize all things potty-related.

All-Around Awesome Books for 2-Year-Olds

These books for 2-year-olds don’t necessarily fall under any of the previous categories, but they’re all excellent and perfect for toddlers!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Not only is the repetition in this story exactly what a toddler’s brain loves, but the holes in the pages and the different sizes of pages are super engaging for them, too.
First 100 Words – This book and others by author Roger Priddy are awesome for building your toddler’s vocabulary. And the best part is you don’t have to read anything! Just have your toddler point at a picture, you say the word, and repeat until your toddler is done with that page and flip it. Another favorite for toddlers similar to this book is My Big Animal Book.

Plant a Kiss – My whole family has this book memorized (even the toddler’s got most of it down). This is a powerful message of putting out kindness into the world and expecting nothing in return, and toddlers especially love to feel the glittery pages.
Yummy Yucky – This is another book by Leslie Patricelli that’s perfect for toddlers because it’s hilarious and actually kind of useful for showing your toddler what she should and should not put in her mouth.
Egg – This is such a simple little story but so clever! Plus, it’s great for your toddler’s cognitive development because on the last page, you can ask them to guess what will happen next.
Hello Hello – This book mesmerized my toddlers. They loved learning about all the different animals, and it’s a fun challenge for them to pick out the animal that’s repeated from the previous pages.

A Sick Day for Amos McGee – Such a lovely story of what friendship really means. Toddlers especially love the idea of zoo animals hopping on a city bus!
Click, Clack, Moo – This is a fun, silly story with a refrain of animal sounds that toddlers enjoy saying along with you as you read.
Bear Snores On – The rhythm of this book is perfect for toddlers. My kids all loved this one so much that I have the whole book memorized!
The Wonderful Things You Will Be – Such a sweet but important message for 2-year-olds to hear: that as their parents, we’re excited to see who they become and that we love and support them as they are.

The Family Book – This is a great book to show your toddler that families come in all varieties, and all families love each other.
This Is My Rock – In this quirky little book, toddlers see how keeping things all to yourself actually isn’t as much fun as sharing.
The Circus Ship – This story hooks young kids with the rhyming text, and then it keeps them even more engaged with the hidden animals on each spread. Almost like a game of “I Spy” embedded in the story!
Thank You, Earth – Toddlers love real-life photos, and this book is full of gorgeous shots to build their understanding and appreciation for the world around them.

The Airport Book – What I love about this book is all the detail on each page. Toddlers just stare and point and soak it all in. This is an especially perfect fit if your child has never flown before (or if they have flown and had a hard time with it) because this book steps you through the whole process and helps calm any nervousness they may be feeling.
Ivy Loves to Give – Toddlers can relate to this story because sometimes when they try to do what’s “right,” it still ends up being “wrong.” But kindness prevails!
Mr. Gumpy’s Outing – This is a silly story about what happens when you don’t listen. And a reminder that even when you make a mistake, your parents still love you.

Before you go, get my FREE cheat sheet: 75 Positive Phrases Every Child Needs to Hear

Your Turn

What are your family’s favorite books for 2-year-olds? Share in a comment below!

The post The Ultimate List of the Best Books for Toddlers appeared first on Happy You, Happy Family.

The Ultimate List of the Best Christmas Books for Kids

Kelly Holmes, Certified Parent Educator — Fri, 07 Dec 2018 03:30:47 +0000

Inside: These are the most magical Christmas books for kids. For the best holiday tradition, share these heartfelt children’s Christmas books with your family every year.

The end of every year brings together three of my family’s most important core values:

Spending quality time together, whether that means reading books, playing fun family board games (i.e. not Candyland), or just enjoying each other’s company,
Expressing gratitude for our blessings and finding ways to give to others, and
Dessert.

Because this is our absolute favorite time of year, we try to soak up as much winter holiday spirit (and dessert) as humanly possible.

One year, we channeled Clark Griswold with our outdoor lights and put them up before Halloween. Sorry, neighbors! (But hey, science says decorating early makes you happier, so there’s that.)

Another year, we planned an elaborate Polar Express^† night for the kids, complete with hot cocoa and marshmallows, golden tickets like this, and my husband dressing up as the train conductor.

^† This site is reader-supported. When you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

And then this year, we decided to build up our home library of Christmas books for kids, so we embarked on a quest to find the absolute best children’s Christmas books.

Sounds fairly tame, except that we started our quest in August, and we’ve spent three solid months reading every Christmas or winter holiday book we could get our hands on.

The Problem With Some Christmas Books for Kids

Since becoming parents, we’ve amassed a small but treasured collection of favorite Christmas picture books. These are books we love as much as our kids do, so we don’t mind reading them again and again every December.

But early on in our quest to find the best Christmas books for kids, we realized something unfortunate about some of the holiday stories out there: they were long and preachy.

I certainly don’t mind reading a longer picture book if my kids are into it. But my 5-year-old bookworm started doing something that made me realize some of the children’s Christmas books may be too long for their target audience. This is a child who would happily listen to me read a stack of 50 picture books in one sitting. But for some of these holiday books, she would turn to me after we were a few pages into the story and say, “Mommy, can we stop reading this now?”

As it turns out, kids don’t really want to listen to a lecture disguised as a children’s book.

So we focused on finding the best Christmas books that we can share with our children to celebrate the spirit of the holiday season.

The Best Children’s Books That Will Make Your Child’s Holiday Magical

The goal of my family’s months-long research project to find Christmas books for kids was simple: find the best books that both kids and parents will enjoy. (Because if our kids are going to ask us to read a Christmas story again and again, it may as well be something we appreciate, too!)

Every week, I put a huge stack of books on hold at the library, plus at every visit I browsed the shelves for even more children’s Christmas books—not to mention every Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and other winter holiday book I could find. While we celebrate Christmas in our family, I want my kids to understand, appreciate, and respect the holidays celebrated by other families.

All told, my kids and I read hundreds of picture books on the topic of Christmas and other winter holidays.

The list below is the cream of the crop from those hundreds of books: the books I loved reading, and the books my kids couldn’t get enough of. Read these Christmas books for kids to get your whole family excited about the holiday season.

Bonus: How to Turn This List Into a Festive Book Advent Calendar

For an extra special way to share these Christmas books with your children, many families enjoy sharing holiday stories through book Advent calendars.

Here’s how you start a Christmas book Advent tradition:

Get copies of 25 children’s Christmas books from this list. If you’re on a budget, most of these titles are available used for cheap, or you can also check them out from the library.
Wrap the books and stack them next to your Christmas tree. (If you’re borrowing them from the library, just be careful with the tape and tell your kids the library is letting you borrow them.)
Every day in December, let your children pick one book to open. If you have more than one kid, taking turns every day works well.
Enjoy a different Christmas story every day as a family.

Kids love this Advent calendar book-a-day tradition, but if 25 books of Christmas feels like a bit much, you might try another tradition from Iceland called Jolabokaflod, or the “Christmas Book Flood.” For this, you give each other books on Christmas Eve and spend the night reading and drinking hot cocoa. Sounds magical to me!

Related: 30 Fun Holiday Activities for Your Advent Calendar {Printable}

32 Most Heartfelt and Meaningful Christmas Books for Kids

And now for your list of the most magical Christmas books for kids that you’ll want to share with your family every December!

But first, a quick warning: I was surprised to find that many of our favorite children’s Christmas books are now out of print. If you see a book on this list you’d like to pick up for your family, you may want to do it this year rather than waiting until next year. I learned the hard way—some books I’d planned on picking up copies of this year are now out of print, and now they’re not available anywhere online. Ack!

Also, to keep things simple, you should know that we skipped over any holiday sequels to other children’s books. If a holiday version of one of your kid’s favorite children’s books is out there, go for it!

Note: indicates my family’s absolute top favorites on the list. These are the books my kids can’t get enough of!

Classic Children’s Christmas Books

When it comes to the best Christmas books for kids, you can’t beat the classics. Every family seems to have their own favorite, but after reading aaaaaaaallllllllllllll the classic holiday tales in a short period of time, these are the ones our whole family loved most of all.

1. The Night Before Christmas

Out of all the countless renditions of this Christmas classic, this is the one you need in your home. Not only are the illustrations by Holly Hobbie the most magical I’ve seen for this story (and I’ve seen a lot of versions of this one!), my kids loved that the illustrator featured a child’s perspective in addition to the father’s. Surprising and beautiful and perfect.

If you’re looking for a different style of illustration, we also loved the version illustrated by Charles Santore and the fresh retelling by Rachel Isadora. (Beware that the latter isn’t available on Amazon or Barnes & Noble anymore, so you’ll have to check your library.)

2. The Polar Express

No matter how many times I read this story, I always get choked up at the end. And even though all my kids know the truth about Santa, something about this book tugs at my heart and makes me want to believe. It doesn’t get more magical than this classic children’s Christmas book. Just beware that it’s a little on the longer side, so grab a mug of apple cider and settle in for a cozy read.

3. The Nutcracker by Susan Jeffers or The Nutcracker in Harlem

Many families have a tradition of going to see The Nutcracker ballet every year, but our youngest kids are still too little to appreciate it, so instead we immerse ourselves in retellings of the story. But we couldn’t decide on a favorite between these two! The illustrations are gorgeous in both, and the retellings are unique. This also works great for explaining the story ahead of time to help younger kids follow along with the story when they’re watching it live. (That will make them less likely to “whisper” questions to you asking what’s going on during the show.)

For an interactive experience, try The Story Orchestra: The Nutcracker, which has readers press a button on each page to hear a snippet of Tchaikovsky’s music. A beautiful way to experience The Nutcracker!

The Nutcracker by Susan Jeffers

The Nutcracker in Harlem

The Nutcracker by Susan Jeffers

The Nutcracker in Harlem

4. The Little Match Girl

This is a classic holiday story from Hans Christian Andersen that I remember reading as a child, so I wanted to share it with my children too. Fair warning: You will probably cry. But even though this isn’t a cheerful holiday story, it’s still one of our favorites. It’s the reminder we need every year that winter isn’t always a joyful time for too many people around the world. This story always makes us reflect on our blessings and think of how we can help others who may be struggling this holiday season.

Of all the classic children’s Christmas books we read together as a family, this one made the biggest impact on my kids.

Heartwarming Christmas Books for Kids

Out of the hundreds of children’s Christmas books we read, these are the most heartfelt and meaningful stories we came across. You’ll want to share these with your child every year!

Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem – This Maya Angelou masterpiece should be in every collection of Christmas books for kids. If poetry isn’t your thing, don’t let the subtitle “A Christmas Poem” turn you off this gem. As you read, this book fills your soul. It finds all the cracks and fissures created by hardships and disappointment and just fills them right up with a warm golden light. This beautiful story captures the magic of the Christmas season, and I’m so thankful our little Christmas book research project brought it to my family.
Red and Lulu – Through gorgeous artwork, we follow the story of two cardinals who live in a beautiful evergreen tree but get separated accidentally. With so many Christmas books for kids being focused on Santa and the materialistic side of the holiday season, this book is a refreshing story that has nothing to do with buying stuff or getting stuff. Plus, your kids will get a fascinating history lesson about the real Rockefeller tree and a world-famous Christmas tradition. You have to read this one! So, so good.
Night Tree – If you pick up only three books from this list, you need Amazing Peace, Red and Lulu, and this heartwarming little story. This is an older book and it’s available only in paperback, so you may want to move fast on this one before it’s officially out of print. In this story, you see a young boy and his family heading to the forest for an annual holiday tradition. Their tradition will make you go “awww” but my absolute favorite part is the relationship between the boy and his little sister. Everyone with a sibling will definitely be able to relate! I never get tired of reading this beautiful book to my kids. A new family favorite!
Christmas Farm – What a little gem of a book! A woman decides to plant Christmas trees on her land, so she enlists the help of a boy who lives next door. We loved their sweet friendship, and also we loved learning all about the process of growing Christmas trees. My kids were shocked at how long it takes! The book has a great way of demonstrating the length of time in a way kids can easily understand. This one’s in our regular nightly rotation during the holiday season.
The Christmas Boot – This book surprised me. Each page has more text than I would typically expect my toddler to be able to sit through, but she was engrossed in this story. It has an old-timey folktale feel to it, but it’s actually an original story by Lisa Wheeler. This is a beautiful, magical Christmas tale, and it sparked some great conversations with my kids about deciding to do what’s right even if it’s hard or uncomfortable. Side note: The author wrote this book in honor of her friend Linda Smith, one of my favorite children’s books authors of all-time who passed away from cancer. (If you haven’t read Mrs. Biddlebox, promise me you will find a copy and share it with your child. It’s out of print, but Amazon still has a few used copies left, or you can check your library!)
Great Joy – In this story set in the 1940s, a young girl notices an organ grinder and his pet monkey out in the cold on the street. The girl’s journey of awareness and then finding her voice for change is powerful. The ending also sparked a lot of discussion with my children about how we can help those in need during the holiday season. Beautifully illustrated and written.
The Christmas Magic – This gentle Christmas picture book is perfect as a bedtime read-aloud. The lyrical text (like when “Santa feels a tingling in his whiskers”) and watercolor illustrations are beautiful, but what I love most of all is how this imagining of Santa captures the anticipation of Christmas, which is something children can very much relate to. Also, I appreciate how this book shows all the hard, thoughtful work that Santa puts into getting ready for the big day. That can help build kids’ gratitude about the holiday season: all the fun stuff is possible because someone who loves them did the work to make it happen.
A Houseful of Christmas – This book is older and seems to be out of print, so it might be hard to get your hands on. But if you typically visit extended family for the holiday season or if you have a big immediate family, this is a must-have for your children’s Christmas book collection. I loved how this book captured the chaos and fun of a big family, and it just felt plain cozy to read with my kids cuddled up around me. An absolutely sweet, heartwarming holiday tale!
A Homemade Together Christmas – This story starts out with a pig family that’s decorating for the holidays, and they decide to give each other homemade gifts for Christmas. The youngest pig Luca has trouble thinking of something he can make, and everything he tries to make doesn’t turn out well. So finally, he settles on the perfect gift. I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but if you want to show your kids that the best part of Christmas is spending time together, this is the perfect book to show just that. This story is so stinkin’ cute!
Christmas Cookies: Bite-Size Holiday Lessons – During the holiday season, we tend to throw around abstract words that our kids don’t quite understand. Words like “tradition,” “gratitude,” and “peace.” What I love about this book is how it brings those abstract concepts to life for children. Plus, in our family we go a bit bananas over Christmas cookies, so it was the perfect analogy for our kids to really dig into the concepts and learn what they mean. And as if we needed an excuse to make (more) cookies, the book ends with a cookie recipe!
Pick a Pine Tree – Every year on the day after Thanksgiving, we get this book out and read it while enjoying a cup of hot cocoa (with extra marshmallows!), then head out to pick out our Christmas tree as a family. This book is all about the tradition of picking a Christmas tree and the fun of decorating it, so it’s the perfect story to pair with your own tree tradition. Plus, the illustrations have a fun, retro vibe that will put a smile on your face.
Christmas Day in the Morning – This heartfelt story is on the longer side, so it’s best for older kids who have a longer attention span. The main character is a young boy who wants to get his hard-working father something for Christmas, but he doesn’t have any money to spend. What he comes up with in the end will warm even the Scroogiest of hearts.
The Last Christmas Tree – In a parking lot filled with big, beautiful Christmas trees, one little tree anxiously awaits its turn to get picked. But then it gets passed over again and again, until it’s all alone on Christmas Eve. This story encourages kids to see the beauty and value in all things, even when they’re not the biggest and “best.”
Santa Clauses: Short Poems from the North Pole – Such a delightful little book! It opens with a typewritten note: “Santa is a man of many talents. He’s a toymaker, a reindeer trainer, a sleigh pilot, and a world traveler. But did you know he is also a poet?” Then you get one fun haiku for every day from December 1-25. The short poems feature vignettes of Santa’s life leading up to the big day, like Mrs. Claus making snow angels and Santa untangling Christmas lights. Thanks to the suggestion of other reviewers, we’ll be keeping this by our free printable Advent calendar so we can read one a day throughout December. Side benefit: After reading this the first time, it inspired our kids to write their own holiday-themed haiku!

Silly And Funny Children’s Christmas Books

For a fun break from the heartwarming Christmas picture books, mix in one of these silly, funny tales.

The 12 Days of Christmas – This is the book that finally taught our family the correct order of all the gifts in the song “The 12 Days of Christmas.” And as a bonus, the story told through the illustrations is hilarious. Side note: At the end of the book the first time we read it, my 5-year-old turned me and said, “Why would somebody give all that for Christmas, anyway?” That prompted me to look up the history of the song, where I discovered that the song’s original intention was most likely to be a memory game of sorts. Who knew?
Morris’s Disappearing Bag – What a quirky, adorable little Christmas story! If you have more than one child, this is a story that will resonate even more deeply with them. The youngest will understand how Morris feels left out, and the oldest will get a big dose of empathy for their younger sibling. But don’t worry because it’s not heavy-handed at all. It’s light, silly, and a joy to read over and over. I’m so happy we discovered this hidden gem of a Christmas picture book!
The Christmas Crocodile – My kids adore this odd little Christmas story and are currently asking for it every single day. My hunch is that every time the crocodile misbehaves and I read the refrain of “The Christmas Crocodile didn’t mean to be bad, not really,” my younger kids can relate to those moments where they give into their impulses and then regret it afterwards. The part I love most is when the little girl in the story gets frustrated with the crocodile, but then she feels a twinge of sympathy and decides to give him another chance. This is a funny Christmas story of redemption tailor-made for kids whose little brains are still working on developing impulse control.
How Murray Saved Christmas – The first time I read this silly, offbeat Christmas story to my kids, I could not stop smiling. Then the kids started giggling (even the 10-year-old), and I got the giggles too. What an absolutely fun read! The story is told in the style of The Night Before Christmas, so it has a fun rhythm to it. But fair warning: If potty humor bothers you, best to skip it.
Rudy’s Windy Christmas – Speaking of potty humor: If your kids get a kick out of that, this Christmas picture book is right up their alley. Our kids gave into fits of giggles over all the new phrases they learned that mean “pass gas,” like a “I’ve done a booty burp” and “my bottom did a trump.” While we didn’t love this one enough to purchase a copy for our home library, we will be checking it out from the library every year during the holiday season!
Santa Claus, the World’s Number One Toy Expert – We’re huge fans of Marla Frazee’s artwork (especially Everywhere Babies and All the World), so it was fun to find a Christmas book for kids written and illustrated by Frazee. In this adorable little book, you get a peek behind the curtain at Santa and all the hard work that goes into picking out the right toy for every child. Be sure to take time on each page to look for all the playful details in the illustrations!
Laugh-Out-Loud Christmas Jokes for Kids – This book is from our favorite series of joke books, Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids. In this edition, you get lots of festive jokes that kids will love, like “What’s a sheep’s favorite Christmas song?” Fleece Navidad. Or “What do gingerbread men use when they break their legs?” Candy canes. Quick tip: This book is the perfect size for a stocking stuffer.

Winter Holiday Books About Traditions Around the World

These winter holiday books are a lovely way to introduce your children to how people around the world celebrate their own winter traditions.

Winter Candle – This book is out of print, so you’ll need to get it at your local library. But I’ve been scouring my local used bookstores for a copy because it’s so good. This is the powerful story of how a single candle touches the lives of five different families who celebrate five different winter holiday traditions. Not only does the book introduce children to different traditions from different cultures, but the example of neighbors helping neighbors is utterly beautiful. If I ever find a used copy of this, I’m never letting it go!
Oskar and the Eight Blessings – In this story, a boy named Oskar sets off in a ship for New York City to escape Nazi Germany. For younger children, this is a poignant introduction to the traditions of Hanukkah and the holiday spirit. But older children will feel more deeply the severity of Oskar’s situation of his parents sending him off to another country to escape the horrors of his own home. For kids who want to learn more, be sure to share the historical background at the end of the book.
Walk This World at Christmas Time – This is a gorgeous book! Each page spread shows how people around the world celebrate different aspects of Christmas. You can lift little flaps to discover more details, and my kids loved hunting down all the flaps and then finding what was hidden under each flap. We put this one next to our Advent calendar and explore a little every night.
My First Kwanzaa – This is an introduction to Kwanzaa that’s best suited for younger kids. You may want to explain each of the principles covered and what they mean because the abstract concepts can be hard for kids to understand, but this was a great starting point for the conversation.
A World of Cookies for Santa: Follow Santa’s Tasty Trip Around the World – If your kids love treats, this one is a fun addition to your collection of children’s Christmas books. The book steps through the Christmas cookie traditions of 32 different cultures, and you even get the recipes for some of them. (In fact, my only regret with this book is that we didn’t get the recipes for all of the cookies mentioned, but that’s easy enough to Google these days!)
The Story of Hanukkah – This book is a great introduction for kids and families who don’t yet have any background knowledge of the history of the holiday and the traditions surrounding how it’s celebrated today. Just beware that the story does get a little violent in some spots (but then again, so does the Bible). If those parts are too much for your child, you can just tone down the language or skip those details as you read aloud.
Seven Spools of Thread: A Kwanzaa Story – Kids with siblings will relate to this story of seven brothers in an African village who fight and bicker all the time. We loved how the book laid out the history and seven principles of Kwanzaa and delivered a powerfully original story.

Bonus book: Our library didn’t have a copy of Lucia Morning in Sweden, but it’s on our list to pick up a copy next year because we’ve heard great things about it!

Bonus! 4 Awesome Christmas Chapter Books

My oldest reads chapter books constantly, so she set herself a personal goal to read as many Christmas chapter books as she could this year. Every time she found one she loved, she added it to a list for me. Then I read her favorites and whittled it down to the ones we both loved.

If you’re looking for a Christmas chapter book that will make a great read-aloud with older kids, this is the list for you!

A Boy Called Christmas – This is a fun adventure story complete with magic (elves and trolls and pixies!), and the humor reminded me a lot of Roald Dahl. We decided this will be a Christmas chapter book we re-read together every year as a family to get ourselves in the Christmas spirit. If you enjoy this one, be sure to check out the companion books, The Girl Who Saved Christmas and Father Christmas and Me. Such a fun series!
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street – In this story, a family of seven finds out their landlord will be kicking them out of their beloved home right after Christmas. The five Vanderbeeker children are heartbroken, so they come up with a plan to save their home. This was a heartwarming holiday read!
Paper Chains – This is a story of friendship that takes place during the holiday season. While it’s not as overtly Christmas-y as the other Christmas chapter books in this list, this is just an absolutely lovely, sweet read so we had to include it. If you enjoy it, you’ll want to check out its companion Like Magic next.
Winterfrost – The Larsen family is preparing for their Christmas Eve celebration when the grandmother breaks her hip. They need to take her to the hospital, so they leave the 12-year-old and her baby sister home—and that’s when the adventure starts. We loved learning about the Scandinavian Christmas traditions in this sweet story!

Before you go, get my FREE cheat sheet: 75 Positive Phrases Every Child Needs to Hear

Your Turn

What are your favorite Christmas books for kids? Share in a comment below!

The post The Ultimate List of the Best Christmas Books for Kids appeared first on Happy You, Happy Family.

The Ultimate List of the Best Children’s Books About Kindness

Kelly Holmes, Certified Parent Educator — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 01:30:21 +0000

Inside: Reading these children’s books about kindness will teach your child to be a kind and compassionate person. Add these titles to your collection of the best picture books.

As parents, we want to raise kids who grow up to be kind and compassionate and maybe even thoughtful enough to return their grocery store cart to the parking lot corral.

Thankfully, research shows that kids act with kindness and compassion from a very early age – before we ever try to teach them to be kind. For example:

Babies as young as six months old show a clear preference for kind and helpful behavior as opposed to mean behavior.
3-year-olds can actually be great about sharing prized toys with their friends.
When given the opportunity to be kind to others, kids feel happier than if they’re doing something that just benefits them alone.

But Then, Something Happens…

Between the time we see our toddlers’ first sprout of compassion and the time we send our sweet kiddos off to school:

“Research shows that as they enter school around age five or so, children shift away from their innate altruism toward selfishness.”
Washington Post

But…why five? Why do parents and teachers tend to see a change in kids’ behavior around this timeframe?

Because that’s when your child is thrown into a big group with other kids, and herd mentality isn’t always a pretty sight. Kids start teasing other kids. Showing aggression. Bullying.

This is when kids’ innate kindness is put to a real-life test.

Here’s the Good News

As a parent, you can bolster your child’s innate kindness. In fact, when your child is between ages 4 and 7, that’s a critical developmental window when their brain is especially open to developing a lifelong kindness habit.

How? According to a report by Harvard researchers:

Kids need to hear from us that kindness is important,
Kids need daily opportunities to practice caring for others, and
We need to encourage kids to consider the perspective and struggles of others.

That may sound like a lot, but we’re lucky to have one powerful parenting tool that will knock out all three of those in one fell swoop: children’s books about kindness.

Related: 40 Questions That Will Teach Your Kid to Be Kind to Others {Printable}

Why It’s So Important to Read Children’s Books About Kindness

When we read children’s books about being kind and talk to our kids about the stories, this is what happens:

We deliver the message that kindness is important,
We give our kids a chance to practice flexing their kindness muscle, and
We give them an opportunity to put themselves in someone else’s shoes.

In other words, reading books about kindness takes care of every one of those three essentials for raising kind kids.

Plus, reading books works way better than lecturing kids on the virtues of kindness.

Lectures typically go in one ear and out the other. But when you read fiction, research shows that the brain reacts the same way as if you were living the story in real life. In other words, reading children’s books about kindness is akin to setting up a virtual reality simulation where your child can fully enter the experience and understand different perspectives.

40 Best Children’s Books About Kindness

A while ago, my kids and I spent months putting together a list of the best children’s books about friendship, and parents wrote back with sweet notes of gratitude. But they also had another request: What are the best picture books about kindness?

And so my family set out on another months-long research project to find children’s books about kindness that both kids and parents will enjoy. (If kids are going to ask us to read it again and again, it may as well be something we’ll get a kick out of, too!)

Every week, I put 25 books on hold at the library, plus at every visit I browsed the shelves for even more picture books about kindness. All told, my kids and I read hundreds of picture books on the topic of kindness.

The list below is the cream of the crop from those hundreds of books: the books I loved reading, and the books my kids couldn’t get enough of. Read these picture books about kindness, and you’ll be priming your child’s brain to grow into a kind, compassionate soul. We all know the world could use more of those!

Note: indicates my family’s absolute top favorites on the list. These are the books my kids can’t get enough of!

Books to Inspire Your Kid to Be an Includer And Upstander^†

^† This site is reader-supported. When you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

When you’re looking for books about kindness for preschoolers and early grade schoolers, it’s important to tackle the subject of including and standing up for others. The preschool or grade school environment may be their first experience dealing with exclusion and relational aggression.

1. Stick and Stone

This is an adorable story about the power of standing up for others, and the puns are fun for parents. This book is in our regular bedtime story rotation because the kids love it, and so do we!

2. Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon

The bully in this story shows how kindness is a choice. And you can’t help but smile at Molly Lou Melon’s quiet confidence through it all.

3. One

At first glance, you might see this as a counting book and colors book rolled into one. But it also opens the door to countless valuable conversations, like the importance of embracing each other’s differences, the diversity of human moods, and what to do when someone is unkind. If you like this book, be sure to check out Zero and Two as well.

4. Strictly No Elephants

This cute book helps kids think about the ramifications of excluding others and how that makes others feel. The perfect way to teach your child to be an includer! My whole family adores this book.

5. I Walk With Vanessa: A Story About a Simple Act of Kindness

For a child who witnesses someone bullying another person, it’s hard to know what to do. You know you should choose kindness, but how? This book shows kids exactly what it looks like to choose kindness.

6. Nerdy Birdy

This book shows that everyone deserves to be treated with kindness, even if they’re different from you. Kids who feel like they don’t quite fit in tend to especially love this story.

7. The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade

Even if you’re small or young (or both), you can always speak up for what’s right. Kids often feel powerless in this big world, so they love cheering on little Sally in this story.

8. The Big Umbrella

This is a beautifully simple book to show that there’s always room for including everyone and taking care of each other, no matter who they are.

Books About Being There for Others

No list of books that teach kindness would be complete without showing how to be there for others.

9. A Sick Day for Amos McGee

Being kind means showing up for others in need, and no other picture book demonstrates that as beautifully as this story does. So, so good!

10. A Chair for My Mother

This is a classic children’s book about kindness, but it’s a little wordy for younger kids. With that said, my kids couldn’t get enough of it starting around 3.5 years old. They’ve loved the display of kindness from the community in this story, and the book has been a jumping off point for great conversations about how to show kindness to others in need.

11. The Rabbit Listened

I never get tired of reading this story to my kids. It’s so simple and such a beautiful example of how to be there for someone who’s struggling, without trying to jump right into fixing it. My kids ask for this one at least once a day. A must have!

12. Grumpy Goat

How do you help a friend who’s feeling grumpy? This book shows the power of simply sitting with a friend who’s upset – something even many adults struggle to do.

Books About Seeing the Good in Others

When you’re looking for children’s books about being kind, make sure to include stories that inspire kids to see the good in others. For more books like this, check out 50+ Children’s Books About Empathy to Help You Raise Kind Kids.

13. Good People Everywhere

Such a sweet book! With all the bad news in the world dragging us down, this beautiful little book shows kids examples of the good that people are doing right at this moment.

14. Horrible Bear

This picture book does an excellent job of teaching kids how to assume the best in others – while also making you giggle. Because of this awesome little book, any time one of my kids does something helpful or sweet, we say, “You’re a sweet bear!”

15. Ribbit!

This is a great story to teach the power of assigning positive intent when someone else’s behavior doesn’t immediately make sense to you.

16. Dragon Was Terrible

This is one of the best stories I’ve seen that helps kids assign positive intent to someone they’re not getting along with. Plus, it’s hilarious.

17. The Story Book Knight

The main character Leo doesn’t want to solve problems by fighting, even though he’s a knight, so he gets creative. Such a heartwarming little story.

18. Most People

This book kicked off some great conversations with my kids about what it means to be “good” or “bad.” My favorite line explains how “there is a seed of goodness inside” each of us that’s “waiting to sprout.”

19. We’re All Wonders

This is a picture book by the author of Wonder, and the message here is the same but for the younger crowd: Everyone deserves kindness, no matter what.

20. Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth

This book is all about the Earth and our place in the world, but it comes with a message about kindness too: With lots of people on the Earth, we’re all different but we’re all still people, so be kind to others…and there’s no reason not to be nice to animals, too.

Books About Being Kind, Even When It’s Hard

Sometimes making the choice to be kind isn’t easy, and children’s books about kindness should acknowledge that.

21. Should I Share My Ice Cream?

You can’t go wrong with the Elephant and Piggie series. For a kid, the decision to be kind doesn’t get more difficult than deciding whether to share your ice cream with a friend. My favorite line is when Gerald rationalizes his decision: “Sharing a flavor Piggie does not like would be wrong.”

22. Knuffle Bunny Free

This is the third and final book in the Knuffle Bunny series. Trixie is growing up and has a golden opportunity to be kind to a younger child…and I dare you not to get choked up at the end.

23. Little Fox in the Forest

Full disclosure: This is a wordless picture book, and I haven’t always seen the beauty in that style of book. But one of my kids fell in love with this one at the age of 3, and that made me give it a second chance. In this beautiful story, the child makes the difficult decision to give her lovey to a young fox cub, and the cub returns her kindness.

24. The Girl and the Bicycle

Since the day I saw the light on wordless picture books, I discovered this gem about a girl who saves up for something she wants but then decides instead to use that money on a kindness for her little brother. The perfect fit for kids who have sisters or brothers.

25. A Hat for Mrs. Goldman

So sweet! My kids love this story of doing something kind for someone even when it’s hard. Bonus: This story also shows kids the power of perseverance and a growth mindset.

26. Enemy Pie

This story sends the message that it’s important to choose kindness, even when you’re dealing with an “enemy.” So clever!

27. The Fox Wish

This one sparked a great discussion about why you might decide to give away something you love, simply to make someone else happy.

28. Leonardo, the Terrible Monster

Another awesome creation from Mo Willems. This picture book shows kids the power of choosing empathy and kindness even when you’re “supposed to” exclude someone.

Books About the Karma of Being Kind

These picture books about kindness show kids that what goes around, comes around.

29. Plant a Kiss

My whole family has this book memorized (even the toddler’s got most of it down). This is a powerful message of putting out kindness into the world and expecting nothing in return. The world lost an amazing gift when author Amy Krouse Rosenthal left us.

30. We Don’t Eat Our Classmates

In this story, a dinosaur starts kindergarten, and she has trouble making friends with her human classmates. Kids just eat this book up. It’s hilarious, plus it delivers a powerful message about treating others how we’d like to be treated in return.

31. The Lion & The Mouse

This wordless interpretation of one of Aesop’s fables introduces the idea of karma and shows why you should treat others how you would expect to be treated.

32. Extra Yarn

This is a quirky, lovely story about what happens when you throw kindness around like confetti. We read this nearly every day!

33. Sidewalk Flowers

Another wordless picture book, this one shows how even the smallest of kindnesses can brighten people’s days.

34. Ivy Loves to Give

Toddlers love this story because sometimes when they try to do what’s “right,” it still ends up being “wrong.” But kindness prevails.

35. If You Plant a Seed

When you share and work together, good things happen. This is an adorable story about the power of an abundance mindset.

Books That Show Real-Life Examples of How to Be Kind

When teaching kids about the concept of kindness, they’ll learn it much better if you give them real-life, tangible examples of what it means to be kind – which is where these children’s books about kindness shine.

36. Baby Be Kind

This board book is the perfect introduction to kindness for infants and young toddlers because it steps through simple ways to be kind.

37. Peace Is an Offering

This is a lovely collection of ideas for being kind to others and how being kind can bring you peace.

38. Be Kind

My kids loved the pictures of different ways to show kindness. This book gives you a great way to put “kindness” in tangible terms kids can wrap their heads around by showing real-life examples.

39. Come With Me

This simple, sweet text gives lots of kid-friendly examples of how to be kind.

40. Last Stop on Market Street

On the surface, this book is about an ordinary slice of life as a boy and his grandma take the bus together through town. Ultimately, where they’re traveling to delivers a powerful message about choosing kindness, but to me, how the grandma and the boy approach their journey is the bigger message of choosing kindness in those small, everyday moments. So many great conversations with this one!

Bonus! 5 Chapter Books About Kindness

My oldest still loves when I read picture books out loud, but she also devours chapter books any chance she gets. Which means we’ve read a lot of chapter books about kindness too.

You can’t go wrong with these chapter books that have a powerful message of kindness for kids.

1. The Hundred Dresses

This is a classic chapter book about kindness. First published in 1944, this quiet book tells the story of a girl named Maddie who stands by as her best friend teases another girl. For the best experience, read this aloud to your child so you can talk after each chapter, and you’ll have powerful conversations about empathy, compassion, and standing up for others.

2. Wishtree

3. Wonder

A powerful book about kindness and acceptance. If you read this aloud with your child, you’ll end up having so many important conversations. If your child loves this one, check out the companion books next: Auggie & Me and White Bird.

4. Fish in a Tree

5. Ghost

Before you go, get my FREE cheat sheet: 75 Positive Phrases Every Child Needs to Hear

Want More?

For more books about kindness, check out these lists:

Your Turn

What are your favorite books about kindness for kids? Share in a comment below!

The post The Ultimate List of the Best Children’s Books About Kindness appeared first on Happy You, Happy Family.

25 Best Big Sister Books to Get Your Child Ready to Be a Big Sis

Kelly Holmes, Certified Parent Educator — Tue, 26 Jun 2018 22:00:56 +0000

Inside: With books about becoming a big sister, it’s important to strike a balance of touching on challenges but also pointing out the fun parts. Here are the most positive, heartwarming big sister books that your child will love.

Becoming a big sister is a pretty big deal. Especially if you happen to be just two years old.

You can’t even control your impulse to color on the walls, and yet all the grown-ups you love are expecting you to welcome a new little person into your family with open arms:

They don’t want you to act jealous,
They want you to understand when the baby needs all their attention, and
They certainly don’t want you to throw tantrums when things don’t go your way.

I’ve now accompanied three daughters on their journey of becoming a big sister, and I’ve seen firsthand that you definitely can minimize jealousy and acting out from your older child in reaction to the new baby. But to do that, you’ll need to prepare your older child for this big life change.

And one of the absolute best ways to prepare your child to become a big sister is to read her lots of high-quality books about becoming a big sister.

Notice I said high-quality.

The Problem With Most Big Sister Books

Unfortunately, a lot of the typical big sister books present the experience of becoming a big sister as a completely negative life change.

If those are the only books you read to your child before she becomes a big sister, she’s likely to get more stressed out before the baby even arrives.

For example, suppose you’re pregnant and every time you run into anyone you know or you encounter strangers at the grocery store, they say something like this:

Better get lots of rest while you still can! The sleep deprivation will take years off your life.

The baby will wreck your body, and you’ll never look as good as you used to.

You’ll probably get postpartum depression. It’s the worst.

Uh…thanks for the support, everyone? You’d develop PTSD before the new baby even arrived.

But that’s basically what most big sister books tell your child: Life as you know it is over. Everything you love and cherish will now belong to someone else first, and you’ll be an afterthought. But hey, time to get excited to become a big sister!

Still…Becoming a Big Sister Does Have Its Challenges

You can’t pretend life after the new baby will be exactly the same. Your child will definitely experience some new challenges.

For example, one way to strike fear into the heart of any child is to suggest that her parent may abandon her. Having a new baby plays right into that fear, and you’ll want to tackle it head-on.

So of course it’s always a good idea to go into any life change with your eyes open to some of the challenges you’ll experience. But it’s not exactly helpful to focus only on the negatives without exploring the positives you may appreciate.

This is why when you’re looking for big sister books for your child, it’s important to look for books that strike the right balance. Because yes, books about becoming a big sister should touch on the challenging parts of being an older sibling, but they should also point out the fun and heartwarming parts of stepping into the role of big sister.

The absolute best big sister books take it one step further. They present the challenges of becoming a big sister, then show the older sibling feeling empowered to work through those challenges and come up with their own solutions.

25 Most Wonderful Books About Becoming a Big Sister

Below, you’ll find the big sister books that will prepare your older child for a younger sibling in the best way possible.

Some quick background: To create this list, I read nearly 150 children’s books about becoming a big sister. Over the last 10 years, I’ve read the best books to each of my three daughters to help them get ready to become a big sister. The books that made this list have an enthusiastic seal of approval from three actual big sisters who all have their own unique taste in books.

Here’s what makes this list of books about becoming a big sister different than most:

Instead of instilling fear, these books will get your child excited about the new baby.
Instead of fostering a “me versus baby” mentality from day one, these big sister books show your child how the whole family will work together to take care of the baby (and have fun doing it!).
Instead of serving as social proof for your child that she should hate the new baby, these books set the perfect example for how to be a loving big sister.

When you’re looking for the best “how to be a big sister” book for your child, use this list to find positive, heartwarming big sister books that your almost-big-sister will love. And if you know of another big sister book that would be a good fit for this list, let me know in the comments!

Note: indicates my family’s absolute top favorites on the list. These are the books my kids can’t get enough of!

The Best All-Around Big Sister Books

These big sister books are the ones my kids asked for again and again (and again). But that’s okay by me because these are the best books about becoming a big sister that I’ve ever read. They’re a delight to read aloud!

Little Miss, Big Sis^†—One of my kids’ favorite books of all time is Plant a Kiss, and this book features the same main character. With sweet rhyming text, your child will get a realistic preview of the ups and downs of being a big sister. We read this one just about every day.

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Wolfie the Bunny—This book makes my kids (and me) giggle every time. At first, the main character is unsure of her new little brother, but she comes around in the end after an experience that bonds them. Side note: One line in this book has lived on as a running joke in our family since the first time we read it. Love this story!

Maple—Before Maple was even born, her parents planted a tree in her honor. She adores her tree and considers it a friend. Then one day, a sapling pops up next to her tree, and Maple discovers she’ll soon be a big sister. The story grows from there, and it’s a lovely way to introduce the idea of welcoming a new baby into the family. If you like this one, be sure to check out the rest of the series: Maple & Willow Together and Maple & Willow Apart.
The Sister Book—You can’t go wrong with Todd Parr. This ode to sisterhood is sweet and funny, and my daughters ask me to read it regularly. Simple text, bright illustrations, and a positive message about being a big sister.

Little Big Girl—This is a sweet story about becoming a big sister and sharing the wonders of your world with your new baby. I love how this book sets the soon-to-be big sister up as the new baby’s guide through life.
Lola Reads to Leo—This simple story is about how a big sister reads to her little brother to connect with him. Perfect for big sisters who love books! What I especially love about this one is that the story reassures your child that you’ll still have time for her.
Flora’s Very Windy Day—This one is by the same author of The Penderwicks series, which is one our all-time favorite chapter books. In this picture book, big sister Flora starts out annoyed by her little brother, then starts feeling protective of him and comes to appreciate who he is. (By the way, for older kids, The Penderwicks makes the perfect read-aloud chapter book about being a big sister!)
The Big Sibling Book—This activity book doubles as a keepsake when your baby is older. Your child can get ready for her little sibling with questions to answer like “what will you teach the baby?”, sticker activities, and pages for recording baby’s firsts. This is designed for ages 2 to 6, but my 9-year-old loved it too. We just skipped over the few pages that were geared towards younger kids.

Books to Get Your Child Ready for Life With the New Baby

One of the toughest parts of becoming a big sister is adjusting to what life is like with a new baby. These big sister books do a beautiful job of previewing life with a baby in a kid-friendly, positive way.

Eat Sleep Poop—My 4-year-old loves this book so much that she memorized it start to finish. This one is written from the perspective of the baby explaining what they do all day, and it makes my kids giggle every time.
Littles: And How They Grow—This book is so incredibly sweet, stepping through all the things you do to take care of babies. What I love most about it is how it encourages your older child to think of the baby as theirs to take care of, too. And goshdarnit if that last page doesn’t make me choke up, every time!

Everywhere Babies—What a lovely little book! In this one, you’ll find diversity of babies and families, heartwarming details about life with babies, and the most gorgeous illustrations. My kids ask for me to read this one every day, and they nearly have every word memorized.
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes—Your older child will love this book for the pictures of babies from all over the world. Plus, the “ten little fingers and ten little toes” refrain gives you an opportunity to count or tickle your older child’s toes, reinforcing that she was once a baby. It’s also helpful to point out what she has in common with her new baby sibling. By the way, when you get to the last page, be sure to follow the book’s lead and give your child kisses! Guaranteed giggles.
Love That Baby—Unfortunately, this book is out of print, but you can still pick up a used copy for a good price on Amazon. This is a sweet and straightforward book that explains what life will be like with the new baby and how your older child will fit in. This is a great fit for younger kids who aren’t quite ready for the more involved guide you get in Babies Don’t Eat Pizza. (See next bullet.)
Babies Don’t Eat Pizza—I wish I’d found this one for my older two kids because my third child could not get enough of this book before her little brother was born. It’s on the long side because it’s more informative guide than story, but you can break it up and read a couple pages at a time.
The Menino—I discovered this when helping my second child get ready to be a big sister, and she ate it up. This story is longer than most picture books, so you can try reading it a few pages at a time. The dry humor in this book cracks me up every time!
I Am a Big Sister! or I’m a Big Sister—You’ll find these two on just about every list of big sister books, but I would recommend picking just one of the two. The first has simple rhyming text with a straightforward run-down of what life with a baby will be like, plus how the big sister can fit into that new life and be responsible for the baby too. The second book is very similar in that it steps through what life will be like with the baby, but it ends by reassuring the big sister that she still has a special place in her parents’ hearts. These books weren’t my kids’ favorites of all the big sister books we read, but these two would be a good fit for a very young child who’s about to become a big sister. After the simple introduction these books provide, you could progress to the stories with more depth that will give your kiddo more support during the transition to big sis.

Books to Comfort Your Child

Your child may be nervous about becoming a big sister because it may feel like the baby is “replacing” her or that you won’t have time for your big kid after the baby arrives. While these stories aren’t all explicitly about becoming a big sister, they make the perfect big sister books because they reassure your child that your connection is still as strong as ever.

You Were the First—The child in this book is a boy, but it’s not explicitly called out, and my oldest daughter still loved it. This sweet book will help reassure your child that you will still love them even after the new baby arrives.
You’re All My Favorites—Each bear cub in this story wonders if their parents love them less because of how they’re different from their siblings, and their parents answer in such a sweet way.
You Made Me a Mother—You should know that as I’m reading this book, it gives me a huge lump in my throat…every time. It’s not that it’s sad—just terribly heartwarming. As with You Were the First, this one is perfect to read aloud to your first child.
No Matter What—This book delivers the message that you love your child even when they make mistakes or drive you a little bananas. Such an important message to reinforce before you welcome a new baby into the family. This is one of my kids’ all-time favorites, and we even pack it every time we go on vacation!

Books About All the Waiting

Waiting is hard for little kids, especially when you’re waiting for something so exciting! Just about every night when I was pregnant, my daughters would tell me, “I just want the baby to be born right now!” Help your older child cope with the waiting by reading these big sister books.

Hello In There—My toddler loved lifting the flaps that show how the baby’s growing, and she related to how hard it is to wait to meet your little sibling.
Mama’s Belly—This is a beautiful, tender story about the anticipation of becoming a big sister and making plans for how you’ll help take care of the baby.
A Most Unusual Day—This lovely story of adoption opens the door to talking about different ways babies can join their families.

Books That Answer Tough Questions

Your older child may not ask “Where do babies come from?”, but if she does, you’ll want to have one of these big sister books ready to go. I recommend starting with The Baby Tree first, then you can progress to the next one if your child is ready for more information.

The Baby Tree—This is such an adorable way to answer the question of how the new baby was made! The story strikes the perfect balance of being biologically accurate without getting too detailed. Full disclosure: The main character is a big brother, but that’s not central to the story.
What Makes a Baby—When your child is ready for more information, this matter-of-fact book about where babies come from is perfect for preschoolers to grade-schoolers. Written by a sexuality educator, this book covers conception, gestation, and birth. For another accurate but kid-friendly answer to “Where do babies come from?” try Where Willy Went. For both of these books, I recommend reading them first to make sure you’re comfortable with how much information they provide. And as you’re reading, always feel free to leave certain bits out if you’re not ready to cover everything quite yet.

Before you go, get my FREE cheat sheet: 75 Positive Phrases Every Child Needs to Hear

Your Turn

What are your favorite books about becoming a big sister? Share in a comment below!

The post 25 Best Big Sister Books to Get Your Child Ready to Be a Big Sis appeared first on Happy You, Happy Family.

10 Children’s Books That Will Make Your Kids Feel Absolutely Loved

Kelly Holmes, Certified Parent Educator — Sat, 30 Dec 2017 15:30:53 +0000

Inside: Here are the best picture books about love that will make your child feel treasured. Add them to your collection of the best picture books.

One morning a while back, my toddler asked me to read her a book. My mental to-do list screamed at me to go-go-go – load dishes in the dishwasher, pay that bill that’s been sitting on the counter for a week, clean up the colony of crumbs under the breakfast table, and on and on.

But I stopped and looked into her big eyes – eyes hoping for a small moment of connection with me but expecting me to say, No, I’m too busy right now.

So I took a deep breath to quiet the to-do list swirling in my head, and I said yes.

She immediately pitter-pattered off to pick out a book, then met me at the couch with a grin of anticipation and seven big picture books in her little arms.

Then She Surprised Me

We cozied up next to each other on the couch, and I grabbed the first book on the stack: one that just so happens to be a favorite in our house and one the kids ask for often.

Typically, when we sit down to read together, Charlie will turn to the next page before I’ve read the current page. Or if she’s feeling extra antsy, she’ll get the next book and hand it to me before we’ve finished the first book. And then some days, she wiggles off the couch mid-book and runs off to play with Magna-Tiles or climb on the dining room table instead.

But as I read the book that day, Charlie sat perfectly still. A miracle for my rambunctious toddler.

Her rapt attention inspired me to take my read-aloud game to the next level:

When the book said “kissing you,” I gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
When the book said “hugging you,” I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in close.
And when the book said “bugging you,” I gave her a gentle tickle on her side and was rewarded with the best sound in the world: toddler giggles.

Related: How to Connect With Your Child: The Magic of the 5:1 Ratio {Printable}

A pregnant me reading to Charlie. (Photo by Aleks Gajdeczka, Austin family photojournalist.)

But It Didn’t End There

When I got to the last page, I closed the book and looked at Charlie, expecting her to grab the next book and hand it to me like she always does.

“Can you read it again?” she asked. Those same big eyes, hoping for a yes but expecting a no.

I smiled. “Sure.”

Usually, reading the same book over and over makes me want to gouge out my eyes. But that time through the book, I took a peek at her face every page or two.

Glowing.

In that moment, that particular book – or rather, me reading that book to her – made my child feel absolutely loved.

Midway through the second read-through, my preschooler climbed up on the other side of me on the couch and listened in.

At the end, both girls were smiling, their faces lit up with the love they felt.

Me and Charlie cuddling. (Photo by Aleks Gajdeczka.)

A Big “Aha” Moment

We’ve always been big readers in our family. Every Saturday, we visit the library and check out at least 20 new picture books. All three of our kids love being read to.

So I knew that reading to your kids was a great way to slow down and connect. And the beauty of connection is that it leads to more cooperation, which means my patience isn’t tested at every turn.

But it took me nine years of parenting to finally understand how powerful the right book can be for making you and your child feel completely connected.

While the “aha” moment settled in and took root in my mind, my 9-year-old walked up behind us and leaned forward to rest her elbows on the couch.

“Can you read it again?” she asked.

I smiled and flipped back to the start.

A Quest for the Best Children’s Books About Love

Later that day, I scoured our shelves for picture books about love where I’ve noticed my kids beaming after we finish reading.

Before that morning, I’d never made the mental connection between certain books and the reaction I saw in my kids that day. But after connecting the dots, I realized I’d already seen that reaction before. I just was too busy or too distracted to notice it.

On our shelves, we had a handful of gems. But I wanted to make a comprehensive list of all the best picture books about love that will make you and your child feel connected. The picture books that will make your child feel absolutely loved.

So I set off on a research project to find the most special children’s books about love. Instead of checking out 20 books a week at the library, we checked out 40 to 50. And as I read each new potential gem to my kids, I watched for their reaction.

On the hunt for the best picture books about love. (Photo by Aleks Gajdeczka.)

10 Picture Books About Love That Will Make Your Child Feel Absolutely Loved

This book list is a true labor of love from our family to yours. Read one of these children’s books about love to get an extra dose of connection with your child.

And the best part? These picture books about love are so well written that you’ll enjoy reading them, and you won’t even mind reading them three times in a row.^†

^† This site is reader-supported. When you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

1. That’s Me Loving You

This is the book my kids couldn’t get enough of that day, and it’s written by one of our all-time favorite children’s book authors. She left this world too early, and That’s Me Loving You is one of her last books published.

If you can get only one of these children’s books about love, get this one because it has magic woven into each page. It’s especially perfect for kids who have separation anxiety when you’re away from each other during the day or if you travel for work.

2. No Matter What

Because of this sweet picture book about love, “no matter what” has become a common refrain in our house. One day, my toddler Charlie insisted on getting her own toothpaste on her toothbrush, and I turned around for about 30 seconds to help my preschooler brush her teeth. When I turned back, I saw that Charlie had squeezed toothpaste all over the floor.

I sucked in a quick breath, and she looked up. Her eyes met mine, and she said, “I’m sorry, Mommy. I made a mess.”

By some miracle, I was able to keep my temper at bay while we cleaned it up together. Then after we were done, I scooped Charlie up into a hug. The book came back to me, and whispered into her ear, “I love you no matter what. Even if you squeeze toothpaste on the floor.”

And ever since we got No Matter What, on the days I do get super frustrated with the kids, they always smooth things over with me later saying, “I love you no matter what. Even when you get frustrated with me.”

3. The Wonderful Things You Will Be

My toddler smiles the whole way through this book! What I love most is the message: As your parent, I’m excited to see what you will become, and I will accept and love you no matter what path you choose.

And here’s a bonus: The Wonderful Things You Will Be doesn’t play into silly gender stereotypes that tell boys and girls what they can and cannot do. For example, it’s a boy having the tea party, a boy using the sewing machine, a girl on the tree swing, and a girl as a superhero.

4. You Made Me a Mother

Full disclosure: As I’m reading, this book gives me a huge lump in my throat…every time. It’s not sad – just so incredibly sweet.

You Made Me a Mother is perfect to read aloud to your first child, but all my kids love to cuddle up next to me for this book.

5. Silly Wonderful You

If you’re looking for picture books about love that have a little splash of humor too, Silly Wonderful You is for you. A couple lines in this book make my kids giggle – still after having read this book countless times.

Just like with No Matter What, this book delivers the message that we love our little ones even when they make mistakes or drive us a little bananas.

6. Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes

Infants and toddlers love this book for the diverse pictures of babies from all over the world. But what we love most is that the “ten little fingers and ten little toes” refrain gives me an opportunity to count or tickle my little ones’ toes. Guaranteed giggles.

And when you get to the last page of Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes, be sure to follow the book’s lead and give your little one kisses!

7. If I Could Keep You Little

Of all these picture books about love, this book is the one I most need to read on a regular basis.

The sweet text in If I Could Keep You Little reminds me to slow down and enjoy my kids when they’re little because it really does move so fast.

8. The I Love You Book

This is a playful book about the unconditional love of a parent for a child. Just like with Silly Wonderful You, this book makes my kids laugh every time.

They love the “I love you when…” repetition in The I Love You Book. When the book is over, we always have fun making up our own “I love you when…” phrases – sweet and silly!

9. You’re All My Favorites

This book is unique on this list of picture books about love because it tackles the issue of whether parents have a “favorite” child. Each bear cub in the story wonders if their parents love them less because of how they’re different from their siblings, and their parents answer in such a sweet way.

You’re All My Favorites would be an especially great fit for your child if you’re expecting another little one to join your family soon.

10. I Wish You More

This is another lovely book by the same author as That’s Me Loving You. The text is simple but powerful.

My personal favorite line in I Wish You More is next to a picture of a child tying her shoes: “I wish you more can than knot.” Then at the end of the book, my kids love when I make up new “I wish you more…” phrases, like “I wish you more ladybugs than ants.” or “I wish you more frosting than cupcake.” or “I wish you more Kleenex than boogers.”

Bonus: How to Make Your Child Feel Loved Every Day

Research shows that in happy relationships, you need a ratio of five positive interactions to every one negative interaction. This is called the Magic 5:1 Ratio.

In other words, after a negative interaction with your child, you need to reconnect through a positive moment or two so you can close the distance between you and your child. Because if you don’t close that gap and your child feels a lack of connection, that will lead to more unnecessary power struggles and less cooperation from your child when you ask them to do something.

But unfortunately, when your brain is flooded with stress hormones in the moment, it’s incredibly difficult to think of something fun and sweet to do with your child so you can reconnect.

Which is why I created these Family Connection Cards, based on the science of what actually works when you need to reconnect. These cards remove the mental burden of figuring out how to reconnect with your child so you can just focus on nurturing your bond with your child. At any point during your day, you can pick a card to get a quick and simple idea for connecting.

And in just 10 minutes a day, these powerful cards will make your child feel absolutely loved and stop the power struggles caused by disconnection.

The best 10-minute fix when you need to reconnect with your child: Family Connection Cards

Before you go, get my FREE cheat sheet: 75 Positive Phrases Every Child Needs to Hear

Your Turn

What are your favorite picture books about love? Share in a comment below!

The post 10 Children’s Books That Will Make Your Kids Feel Absolutely Loved appeared first on Happy You, Happy Family.

42 Picture Books That Will Teach Your Child How to Be a Good Friend

Kelly Holmes, Certified Parent Educator — Sun, 22 Oct 2017 13:00:18 +0000

Inside: These picture books about friendship teach kids how to be a good friend and how to handle friendship problems. Add these titles to your collection of the best picture books.

My preschooler was eerily quiet while we all sat at the breakfast table. She ate her oatmeal, spoonful by spoonful, but she stared past everything and didn’t say a word as the rest of us chit-chatted.

But she’s a talkative 4-year-old who loves to ask why every chance she gets, so I tried to read her face a couple times. I knew she must be mulling something over.

And then during a break in the conversation, finally: “Mommy? Yesterday at the park, Alex told me I’m not his friend.”

Oh no, I thought. We’re starting friendship drama already?

When Parenting Lectures Don’t Work

I reached out to rub my daughter’s shoulder. “I’m sorry that happened. How did you feel when he said that?”

“I felt sad.” She ate another bite of oatmeal, the corners of her mouth turned down.

I waited, not sure what to say.

“He is my friend,” she said. “Friends shouldn’t say things like that to each other.”

I nodded. “You’re right. That’s not a nice thing to say to a friend.”

But then the image of my kid ghosting another kid at the park popped into my head, so I kept going. “But sometimes even friends say not-nice things to each other. What’s important is to talk about it after. You can tell him his words made you feel sad. Maybe he’ll say he’s sorry and make it right.”

She nodded, but I could tell my mini-lecture hadn’t quite made it through to her. She was stuck in the hurt.

But Here’s What Does Work

Lectures don’t work with kids.

Deep down, I know that. But in the moment, I wanted to fix my child’s hurt heart. So I resorted to busting out some parental wisdom she didn’t ask for – and wasn’t ready to hear.

But after four kids, I’ve finally learned what does get through to kids.

Because I can talk to my kid until I’m blue in the face about what it means to be a good friend, but it won’t get through to her the way a story about friendship will get through.

Research shows this isn’t just in my head – when reading fiction, your brain reacts the same way as if you were living the story in real life. In other words, reading fiction about something your child is struggling with is like setting up a virtual reality simulation where they can fully enter the experience and understand different perspectives.

So after that conversation with my daughter, I set off on a new parenting mission: Find all the picture books about friendship I can get my hands on.

But not the sickeningly sweet stories that go in one ear and out the other. The juicy ones my kids can sink their teeth into. The picture books about friendship that will lead my children down the path of understanding how to be a good friend, what to do in tricky situations with friends, and how to tell when someone’s a true friend.

Related: The Secret to Raising Your Kids to Be Kind {Printable}

The Best Picture Books to Teach Your Child How to Be a Good Friend

For months, I made it my my job to research children’s book titles that tackle friendship. Every week, I put 20 books on hold at the library, plus at every visit I browsed the shelves for even more picture books about friendship.

Together, my kids and I read hundreds of picture books on the topic of friendship.

The list below is the cream of the crop from those hundreds of books: the books I loved reading, and the books my kids asked me to read again and again. But more importantly, these are the best picture books about friendship that kicked off the most powerful conversations about what it means to be a good friend.

Photo by Caitlin Regan

42 Best Picture Books About Friendship, Approved by Kids And Parents

Enjoy this list of the absolute best picture books about friendship! We read a lot of picture books in our house, so if you’re looking for more great recommendations for books that will become treasured favorites, check out The All-Time Best Picture Books Most Loved by Kids And Parents.

Note: indicates my family’s absolute top favorites on the list. These are the books my kids can’t get enough of!

For When It’s Hard to Make New Friends^†

^† This site is reader-supported. When you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

If your child is starting a new school year or you’ve moved to a new area, share one of these picture books about friendship with your child to help them understand and cope with the emotions they might feel.

1. The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend

At first glance, I made the mistake of thinking this book was just about imaginary friends, but it’s so much more than that. Kids who are shy will especially appreciate this story of what can happen when you push past that initial scary part of trying to make a new friend.

2. Big Friends

This is a cute story about making room for a new friend. We had great discussions about why it would feel weird to have a new friend join you and how it would feel for the kid who’s trying to befriend you.

3. Shy

Kids who are shy will especially love this beautiful book about what happens when you take a chance to speak up so you can make a new friend.

For When a Friend Is Upset

Even some adults aren’t sure how to handle it when a friend is upset. Help your child learn how to be a good friend in that situation by reading them these children’s books about friendship. For more books like this, check out 50+ Children’s Books About Empathy to Help You Raise Kind Kids.

4. A Ball for Daisy

This is a sweet story about surprising a friend when they’re feeling down, and it teaches kids what it means to be a good friend.

5. Boy + Bot

This cute story is about being there for your friend in times of need. My toddlers have all loved this one!

6. Hooray for Hat!

This about sums it up from the back cover: “Happiness is best when it’s shared.” This is a great story for teaching kids what to do when your friend isn’t feeling particularly happy.

7. My Friend Is Sad

You can’t go wrong with the Elephant and Piggie series. Technically, they’re early readers not picture books, but even babies and toddlers love these stories.

8. Oliver and Patch

This book delivers an important message about doing the right thing to help a friend, even when it’s hard.

9. One

This picture book shows kids what to do when a bully is being mean to your friends.

10. Stick and Stone

This is an adorable story about the power of friendship, and adults love the puns.

11. Wilfred

In this sweet story of two unlikely friends, kids learn the importance of speaking up for your friends when others don’t treat them with kindness and respect.

For When a Friend Is Moving Away

A close friend moving away can be an intensely upsetting event in a child’s life. These picture books about friendship will help your child get through that difficult time.

12. Before I Leave

When your child has to say goodbye to someone important like a friend who’s moving away, this is the perfect book. When my preschooler’s favorite babysitter was moving to another state, we read this book several times a day, and it was the number one thing that helped my daughter process those big, scary emotions about losing a close friend.

13. City Dog, Country Frog

This is a sweet story about losing a friend and finding a new one. Plus, this book gave us an opportunity to talk about the topic of death and what that means – in a way that wasn’t scary or upsetting for our preschooler.

14. Sophie’s Squash

This little story about a child who befriends a squash is perfect for kids who are struggling with having to say goodbye to a friend who’s moving away.

For When You’re Not Getting Along With a Friend

Tiffs between friends are normal, but it’s not always clear to a child how they can move past the conflict and get back to having fun together. These picture books about friendship will teach your child important lessons they’ll be able to use in any relationship.

15. Enemy Pie

This story is a perfect fit for kids with hurt feelings because of something another kid did or said. So clever!

16. Good News, Bad News

A perfect little story about what to do when you get frustrated with a friend. By the way, this book has only four unique words, which is perfect for beginning readers.

17. Hector and Hummingbird

When your friends annoy you, what do you do? Kids who have younger siblings will appreciate this funny story of a bird annoying a bear.

About the Importance of Being an Includer

If you want to raise your child to be kind, they need to understand what it looks like to be an includer. These children’s books about friendship will give your child powerful, tangible examples of how to be an includer.

18. Each Kindness

Fair warning: This thoughtful story does have a sad ending. However, my kids enjoyed talking about what the main character could have done differently. We ended up having an ongoing discussion about regret and how we all have those moments in life we look back on and wish we’d acted differently. So many great conversations come out of this one every time we read it!

19. Leonardo, the Terrible Monster

Mo Willems at his best. This picture book shows kids the power of choosing empathy and friendship even when you’re “supposed to” exclude someone.

20. Quackers

In this book, kids see that you can be true to yourself, and your true friends will still accept you.

21. Ribbit!

This is a great story to teach the power of acceptance when you see that someone’s trying to fit in and be a part of a group.

22. Strictly No Elephants

This cute book helps kids think about the ramifications of excluding others and how that makes others feel. The perfect way to teach your child to be an includer. One of our family’s all-time favorites!

The Best All-Around Picture Books About Friendship

These are the best picture books about friendship to show your child what it means to be a good friend and to give them examples of how to handle various friendship problems.

23. The Bear and the Piano

In this story, the main character learns a big lesson about how important friends are – and how success and popularity can’t fill the void of friendship.

24. George and Martha

This series about the friendship between two hippos is a favorite for kids and adults. Because even though kids may not pick up on the dry humor at first, parents definitely will.

25. The Girl and the Bicycle

This is a wordless picture book about a girl who saves up for something she wants but then makes a decision to brighten a friend’s day instead. Full disclosure: The “friend” in the story may very well be her little brother, but siblings can be friends too!

26. The Happy Lion

This is a longer story, but it kept my kids engaged the whole way through. We loved the message of how a real friend can see the best in you even when everyone else thinks the worst.

27. Hooray for Amanda & Her Alligator!

This is a short collection of mini-stories from Mo Willems about that scary moment when your friend gets another friend.

28. Horrible Bear

This picture book does an excellent job of teaching kids how to assume the best in others and make new friends – while also making you giggle.

29. Horsefly and Honeybee

In this story, kids see the power of working together as friends.

30. I Will Not Eat You

Kids love this funny story about choosing friendship even when you start out as enemies.

31. Library Lion

Kind of a silly idea when you look at it objectively: a lion in a library? But this is one of the sweetest stories you’ll ever read about friendship.

32. The Lion and the Bird

This is a sweet, simple tale of friendship. A perfect fit for kids who have friends who live far away so they don’t get to see each other very often.

33. Lost and Found

Sometimes friendship surprises you when you’re not expecting it to find you. If you like this story, you may like The Way Back Home by the same author.

34. The Old Woman Who Named Things

This beautifully told story about a friendship between an old woman and a dog will warm the hearts of all ages.

35. Orion and the Dark

This tale of friendship doubles as a story that will help kids process their fears.

36. Penguin and Pinecone

This story shows kids that sometimes it’s important to do something that will help your friend even if it’s difficult for you. This is also a good fit for kids who’ve had to move away from friends.

37. Sad, the Dog

What a little gem! Kids love this story about why it’s important to extend kindness to others. They also learn the power of our words when we talk to others and how it can make other people feel.

38. Scrawny Cat

From the start of this story, kids feel empathy for the friendless scrawny cat, and the ending is perfect. This one gives you lots of opportunity to talk about how we treat others and about being open to new friends.

39. A Sick Day for Amos McGee

Being a friend means showing up, and no other picture book demonstrates that as beautifully as this story does.

40. Sparky

In this quirky story about a sloth, kids learn that it’s important to accept your friends for who they are instead of trying to change them into something they’re not.

41. Those Pesky Rabbits

In this funny story, kids see that sometimes friendship means showing up for your friends even when you have to stretch past your comfort zone.

42. Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge

This special friendship between a boy and an old woman shows kids that friends come in all shapes and sizes (and ages). This is also a great book for kids who have aging grandparents.

Before you go, get my FREE cheat sheet: 75 Positive Phrases Every Child Needs to Hear

Want More?

For more books about being a good friend, check out these lists:

Your Turn

Which are your favorite picture books about friendship? Share in a comment below!

The post 42 Picture Books That Will Teach Your Child How to Be a Good Friend appeared first on Happy You, Happy Family.

The Ultimate List of the Best Picture Books, Endorsed by Kids And Parents

Kelly Holmes, Certified Parent Educator — Wed, 31 May 2017 11:00:09 +0000

Inside: Every book on this list of the best picture books of all time has earned the seal of approval from kids of all ages…and from parents, too.

Here’s the problem with most lists of the best picture books of all time: Those lists typically leave out two of the most important criteria for deciding whether a picture book really is the best.

Do kids actually enjoy this book? (For example, sometimes adults like books with a “message” even if kids find them boring.)
As a parent, is this book something you’d want to spend money on and let into your home, knowing that you may end up reading it to your kid 72 billion times a day?

Because if as you’re reading a “best picture book,” you find yourself fantasizing about setting it on fire and roasting marshmallows over the flames – then it’s not the best picture book for your collection.

Kids are no dummies. When there’s a book you despise reading, they’ll eventually pick up on that.

Reading works best when it’s something you look forward to so you can be close to your child and feel connected. Not so much when you’re gritting your teeth and skipping every third word to get through it as fast as possible.

Note: If your child has progressed from picture books to chapter books, check out 48 Awesome Chapter Books for Kids Your Child Will Devour.

How This List of the Best Picture Books Is Different

Below, you’ll find two “best of” sections. The first section will give you the absolute best children’s picture books known to mankind, according to my stringent criteria, which I’ll get to in a minute. The second section will give you my themed lists for different situations, from the best books about kindness to the books that will make your child feel loved.

But how are my book lists different?

Every time I put together a new list of the best picture books in a certain category, my kids and I read hundreds of books to find the best. Each list takes months to finalize because the librarian looks at us funny if we walk out with more than 50 books at a time. What makes it to the final list is just the best of the best.
We have a wide range of ages in our family, from toddler to teen – and a healthy variety of reading tastes, too. And so I can’t guarantee that every kid will love every book on these lists of picture books, but I can tell you that every one of these books wowed my test audience of four very different kids, plus me and my husband. I’m also pretty annoying about telling friends and family to give these books as birthday and holiday and “just because” presents, and every single time they report back: Everyone loved the book! The kid and the parents.
I’m kind of obsessed with picture books, which means I’ve read thousands and thousands of picture books as an adult. I’m also the pickiest one in my family. If a book doesn’t have a good hook or fizzles out at the end or is just kind of blah, I’m ruthless about getting that book out of our house as soon as possible.
After I pull together a book list, as a final step, I share it with this community of more than 100,000 parents to get their feedback before finalizing it.

Because life is too short for books you don’t love.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema

50+ All-Time Best Picture Books Most Loved by Kids And Parents

Here are the absolute best picture books for kids that meet the tough criteria above. To be clear, these books aren’t all award winners, and you won’t see all the titles most children’s literature gurus would put on a “best picture books of all time” list.

But the point of this list isn’t to share which books professionals think are the best. You could find those kinds of recommendations anywhere. The point of this list is to give you the tried-and-true children’s stories most loved by kids and parents.

In our family, we find ourselves coming back to these books again and again. We have most memorized by heart. And when my toddler comes up to me holding one of these books, I smile because I look forward to reading it for the 72 billionth time.

Note: indicates my family’s absolute top favorites on the list. These are the books my kids can’t get enough of!

The Best Classic Picture Books

Some children’s books have stood the test of time, decade upon decade—not just with book critics but with kids and parents, too. Here are the best classic picture books.

^† This site is reader-supported. When you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

1. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day^†

Everyone has bad days, and no other picture book normalizes that better than this classic. Even as an adult, I appreciate the reminder! In our family when someone is having a rough day, after we hug and talk it through, we often say this to get our kiddo smiling again: “Some days are like that…even in Australia.”

Also recommended by: NPR + TIME

2. The Carrot Seed

This kid believes in himself even after everyone important to him including his mom, his dad, and his brother tells him he should give up. Picture books that encourage a growth mindset have a special place in my heart! This book shows kids the power of a fierce belief in yourself even when everyone else thinks you can’t do it.

3. I Am a Bunny

This simple, soothing text moves through each of the seasons until the end, where the bunny cuddles up for a long winter sleep, looking forward to spring. Perfect for calming kids down before sleep!

4. The Important Book

This lovely book by Margaret Wise Brown is lesser-known than her classic Goodnight Moon. But because it’s a sure bet that anyone with a child already has a copy of Goodnight Moon (if not multiple copies!), I wanted to highlight this gem instead.

To be clear, if you’re expecting an adventure story, you’ll need to look elsewhere! But the quiet, soothing rhythm of this gentle book captivates even the youngest kids.

Also recommended by: TIME

5. The Story of Ferdinand

This classic picture book shows kids the importance of staying true to yourself.

Also recommended by: NPR + TIME

6. The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The repetition in this classic board book is exactly what a young child’s brain loves, and the holes in the pages and the different sizes of pages are engaging, too. But more importantly, the story is an absolute delight, no matter times how you read it. Eric Carle at his best!

Also recommended by: Common Sense Media + NPR + TIME

7. Where the Wild Things Are

This is one of the classics for a reason. Kids love this story because they can relate to Max feeling shame for disappointing his grown-up.

Then when Max meets the creatures who “roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws,” kids feel seen and heard because that’s often how it feels when they’re experiencing intense emotions.

Also recommended by: Common Sense Media + NPR + TIME

Funny Picture Books

These are the best picture books for getting kids (and adults) laughing.

1. Bark, George

Even though we’ve read this picture book hundreds of times now (if not thousands!), my kids still giggle every time.

Also recommended by: NPR

2. The Book With No Pictures

This picture book (without pictures) will crack your kid up! For some read-aloud inspiration, check out this video of the author reading it to a group of kids.

Also recommended by: NPR

3. Click, Clack, Moo

This is a silly story that everyone loves, and who knows – it may even help prepare kids for the day they need to ask for a raise.

Also recommended by: TIME

4. Dragon Was Terrible

This is one of the best stories I’ve seen that helps kids assign positive intent to someone they’re not getting along with. Plus, it’s hilarious.

5. Duck for President

The humor in this book crosses party lines, and kids learn a valuable lesson about seeking fame.

6. Elephant and Piggie

You can’t go wrong with this series by Mo Willems. Technically, they’re easy readers not picture books, but even babies love these stories.

Also recommended by: NPR + TIME

7. George and Martha

Kids may not pick up on the dry humor at first, but parents definitely will.

8. Good Night, Gorilla

Forget Curious George. If you’re looking for a mischievous primate, this gorilla’s got your back.

Bonus: Because this book has just a few words, it’s a great choice for building confidence in young readers who are starting to read independently.

9. Horrible Bear

This picture book does an excellent job of teaching kids how to assume the best in others while also making you giggle.

10. How to Put Your Parents to Bed

In this book, the child is the one putting the parents to bed. And so our favorite time to read this book is to get the wiggles out well before bedtime. Here’s how.

11. I Want My Hat Back

Kids love the twist at the end of this picture book. Even though we’ve read this book countless times, my kids still giggle at the end!

Also recommended by: TIME

12. Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed

Plant the seed with your kids before they’re teenagers that fitting in isn’t the goal in life.

13. The Paper Bag Princess

This is a hilarious story about the dangers of arrogance, creative problem-solving, and treating others with kindness.

14. Princess in Training

Of all the alternative princess picture books out there, this is our favorite. And I’ll never forget that one of my middle child’s first words was chiming in with the “Hi-yah”s in this book!

15. We Don’t Eat Our Classmates

This is a hilarious picture book that shows kids the true meaning of the Golden Rule. Humor + powerful life lesson = SCORE.

16. Wolfie the Bunny

This is the best picture book about being a big sibling that I’ve ever come across. Kids and adults will laugh out loud at this one!

Heartwarming Picture Books

These sweet picture books will give you all the warm fuzzies.

1. Bear Snores On

Even babies love the rhythm of this book, and it stands the test of time as they grow into toddlers and preschoolers.

My kids loved this book so much that to this day, I know the whole text by heart! An itty-bitty mouse, pitter-pat, tip-toe, creep-crawls in the cave form the fluff-cold snow...

2. Everywhere Babies

Babies don’t judge, and they love looking at all kinds of babies.

3. Extra Yarn

This is a quirky, lovely story about what happens when you throw kindness around like confetti. My kids ask for this one regularly!

Also recommended by: NPR + TIME

4. I Just Want to Say Good Night

If you have a child who stalls at bedtime, this is a must read. Perfect for toddlers!

5. Library Lion

Such a silly idea when you look at it objectively: a lion in a library? But this is one of the sweetest stories you’ll ever read.

Also recommended by: TIME

6. Last Stop on Market Street

Also recommended by: Common Sense Media + NPR

7. Little Excavator

Toddlers and preschoolers especially love this picture book because of the fun sound effects – but also because they can 100 percent relate to being told you’re not big enough to do something.

8. No Matter What

Because of this picture book, “no matter what” has become a common refrain in our house. It’s the perfect phrase to remind my kids of my unconditional love for them, and saying it immediately conjures up this sweet story we’ve shared together countless times.

9. Not a Box

Featuring simple illustrations, this is a great little book about the power of your imagination.

10. The Old Woman Who Named Things

This beautifully told story will warm the hearts of all ages.

11. Our Tree Named Steve

I know this is just a book about a tree, but I cry every time and then end up with a big watery smile at the end. If you’ve ever felt The Giving Tree is depressing and/or creepy, you need this book instead. (And if you have no idea what I’m talking about with The Giving Tree, here’s a quick summary of why some people don’t appreciate it.)

12. Plant a Kiss

My whole family has this book memorized (even the toddler’s got most of it down). A powerful message of putting out kindness into the world and expecting nothing in return. The world lost an amazing gift when Amy Krouse Rosenthal left us.

13. The Rabbit Listened

I never get tired of reading this picture book to my kids. It’s a simple but perfect example of how to be there for someone who’s struggling, without trying to jump right into fixing it. My kids ask for this one at least once a day. A must have!

Also recommended by: NPR

14. Rosie Revere, Engineer

The perfect rhythm of this picture book puts my little ones to sleep every time. We love others from this author as well, like Ada Twist, Scientist and Iggy Peck, Architect, but Rosie is our absolute favorite.

Also recommended by: NPR

15. A Sick Day for Amos McGee

Being a friend means showing up, and no other picture book demonstrates that as beautifully as this story does. The main character Amos McGee works in a zoo, so when he doesn’t show up to work one day, the animals check in on him. Adorable!

Also recommended by: NPR + TIME

16. Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon

This is perfect for preparing kids how to handle themselves when another kid picks on them. Poor Ronald Durkin.

17. Stick and Stone

This is a cute story about the power of friendship, and adults love the puns.

18. The Stray Dog

Kids never seem to get tired of this award-winning picture book, which isn’t always a given with the award winners. And it’s such a perfectly sweet story that you’ll love it, too.

19. Strictly No Elephants

This cute book helps kids think about the ramifications of excluding others and how that makes others feel.

20. The Stuff of Stars

This is a gorgeous, gorgeous picture book that will help your child understand their place in the world. I’ll never forget the first time we read this one, my 5-year-old turned to me and said, “Wow. I loved that.” And every time we’ve read it since, it’s instilled that same sense of awe.

21. Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes

Young kids love this book for the diverse pictures of babies from all over the world. Don’t forget to count or tickle your little one’s toes for every “ten little fingers and ten little toes” refrain! Guaranteed giggles.

22. That’s Me Loving You

This picture book has magic woven into each page. My kids ask for this one nearly every day, and I never get tired of reading it. It’s especially perfect for kids who have separation anxiety when you’re away from each other during the day or if you travel for work.

23. There Might Be Lobsters

Because of this heartwarming story, anytime anyone in our family is feeling nervous about something, one of us will say “There might be lobsters!” You’ll understand after you read it!

24. What Do You Do With a Problem?

This is the perfect story to teach kids the power of perseverance.

25. Yes Day!

Because of this book, we now have a tradition in our family that on your birthday, you get a “yes day.”

Out-of-Print Gems

These are the best picture books that are unfortunately no longer in print. If you’re lucky enough to stumble upon a copy at your local library or to find a used copy on Amazon, grab it!

1. Ducks Don’t Wear Socks

Perfect for kids who could stand to loosen up and get in touch with their silly side. Anytime I want to make my kids laugh, all I have to do is say, “Pants on the line!”

2. Mrs. Biddlebox

This is possibly my favorite picture book of all time, and I don’t say that lightly. Unfortunately, it’s out of print. The good news is you can get a used copy in good condition on Amazon—for now. Mrs. Biddlebox wakes up in a bad mood, but instead of sitting around like a grouch, she tackles that bad mood and turns it around in time for sleep. We reach for this book anytime my little ones and I have butted heads during the day, and it’s the perfect tool to help us process the bad mojo and end the day on a positive note.

3. My Rhinoceros

This story makes no logical sense at first, but the absurdity is what makes it awesome. Your kids will giggle, and so will you.

The Best Picture Books for Every Situation

We may not have every situation covered quite yet, but we’re working on it. We focus on a topic for a few months, read hundreds of books related to that topic, then I publish the cream of the crop.

To suggest a book list idea, let me know in the comments.

Board books: The Best Baby Board Books That Will Delight Your Baby (And You)
Bedtime stories: 10 Soothing Bedtime Stories for Kids Who Fight Sleep
Christmas and winter holidays: The Ultimate List of the Best Christmas Books for Kids
Educational books: The Best 20 Concept Books That Will Make Learning Fun for Your Child
Interactive books: 12 Best Interactive Books for Kids That Will Get the Wiggles Out
Friendship: The Ultimate List of the Best Picture Books About Friendship
Kindness: The Ultimate List of the Best Children’s Books About Kindness
Love: 10 Picture Books About Love That Will Make Your Kids Feel Absolutely Loved
Toddlers: The Ultimate List of the Best Books for 2-Year-Olds

Bonus! 48 Awesome Chapter Books for Kids

No child is too old to listen to a great picture book. Some high school teachers who are members of this community even read one picture book every day to their students! But if you’re on the lookout for awesome chapter books for kids, I gotcha covered.

In our family, my 12-year-old still loves when I read picture books aloud, but she also devours chapter books any chance she gets. She passes me her favorites, then when I’m done I give them back and she rereads them. In other words, we’ve read a lot of chapter books too.

You can’t go wrong with these picks: 48 Awesome Chapter Books for Kids Your Child Will Devour, Approved by Kids.

Frequently Asked Questions

Children ages 3 to 8 are the perfect age for picture books. Here’s why: Kids younger than 3 may not have the motor skills to be gentle with the pages in a picture book, so sturdy board books tend to work better. And then kids older than 8 have typically transitioned to reading chapter books or graphic novels independently.

But with that said, here’s something important I didn’t learn until several years into my parenting journey: Your child is never too old for picture books. My teenager will sidle up next to me when I’m reading a great picture to one of my younger kids, and I’ve heard the same from other parents. (Here’s a whole article from one parent on just that!)

So even if your child is outside that target age range, you can still share an awesome picture book with them for a moment of warmth and connection.

Especially with active kids, listening is an acquired skill. If you read aloud to your child regularly, they will eventually learn how to listen. Because when you read aloud, you’re actually increasing your child’s ability to pay attention and concentrate—skills that will help your child in school and in life beyond school.

Two of my kids were super active, so when they were younger, I had to be creative with finding read-aloud time. Here are a few ideas for how to make it work:

Ease your child into read-aloud time with books that are designed just for active kids. Check out 12 Best Interactive Books for Kids That Will Get the Wiggles Out.
Read at bedtime when your child is starting to calm down for sleep and is already tucked into bed.
Read aloud when you have a captive audience, like when your child is eating a meal or is in the bathtub. (One parent told me they read to their kids while they build with LEGOs!)
Take your child to the park, plop them in the swing, then read while you push them.

Reading the same book again and again can get old—fast.

But unfortunately for us as parents, repeated readings of a book are exactly what your child needs in order to learn. They end up hearing the same words over and over again, which cements the vocabulary in their brain. Also, repeated readings help flush out any misunderstandings that are bound to happen when you’ve been on this planet for such a small amount of time.

Here are a few ideas you can try:

If there’s a book you truly hate, get rid of it. Or at least hide it most of the time. It does your child no good if you’re gritting your teeth just to get through a book you hate. Better to spend 15 minutes reading something you enjoy than zero minutes reading because you can’t stand a particular book. Find something you enjoy instead using this list of the best picture books of all time.
If there’s a book you actually do think is alright but you just don’t want to read it 72 times a day, try coming up with a rule for your house. For example, when I’ve read the same book twice in one day, my kids know that book is done for the day. There’s no shame in setting boundaries so the read-aloud experience can be enjoyable for everyone.
Try keeping things fresh with every read-aloud of a repeat book. One time, you might read it with a Southern accent. Another time, you might read it while marching in place. (Encourage your kid to do this with you!) Or another time, you might lay upside down hanging off the couch to read it. When your sanity is at stake, feel free to be creative.
Visit the library regularly to get fresh new books. When you have a steady influx of new books to choose from, your kids will be less focused on re-reading the same books over and over again. Bonus: When the library books are due back to the library, they go back and you never have to re-read them again!

Need More Ideas?

If you’re still thirsty for good picture books, check out these lists from people who know a lot about children’s picture books: Caldecott Award Picture Books; New York Public Library: 100 Great Children’s Books; and A Mighty Girl: Top 100 Picture Books.

Before you go, get my FREE cheat sheet: 75 Positive Phrases Every Child Needs to Hear

Your Turn

What would make your list of the best picture books of all time? Share in a comment below!

The post The Ultimate List of the Best Picture Books, Endorsed by Kids And Parents appeared first on Happy You, Happy Family.

12 Best Interactive Books for Kids That Will Get the Wiggles Out

Kelly Holmes, Certified Parent Educator — Fri, 05 May 2017 12:55:17 +0000

Inside: These interactive books for kids are perfect for high-energy kids because they get your child to move their body. (And you’ll love them too!) Add these titles to your collection of the best picture books.

I can’t get my 2-year-old to sit still long enough for me to clip a fingernail—let alone long enough to listen to a whole picture book.

Still, several times a day she brings a book to me and asks me to read it to her. And this is what happens, every time:

I pull her onto my lap and start reading, but by a couple pages in, she can’t contain her wiggles.
Another page, and she’s accidentally clocked me in the nose or my mouth.
Halfway through the book, she squirms out of my lap to perform what I assume must be a gymnastics routine she invented during the hours of 8:00 pm and 11:00 pm when she should be sleeping but clearly is not. Or it could be Toddler Parkour.

At that point, I probably should just close the book and move on. But there’s something in my brain that can’t move on until we get through the whole book—even if I have to finish it by reading double-time through gritted teeth with nobody listening but me.

This Isn’t Your Typical List of Interactive Books for Kids

Because of the wiggly toddler stage, we’ve had to get creative when it comes to picking out picture books we can read together.

At first, my search for interactive books for kids turned up a bunch of lift-the-flap and pop-up books. Which is fine except that moving one finger every 30 seconds doesn’t exactly cut it for my toddler.

Not to mention that those intricate lift-the-flap and pop-up pieces get destroyed on the first read-through.

“Interactive” books for your iPad or smartphone aren’t a good fit, either.

Because when my kid is full of energy, screen time turns her into a total grump who’s still full of energy. (And it sounds like my kid isn’t alone.)

12 Best Interactive Books for Kids

These picture books get the stamp of approval from all four of my wiggly toddlers over the years. They’re perfect for high-energy kids because they give your little one a chance to move and burn energy while you read.

And the best part of these interactive books for kids is that unlike a lot of kids’ books on the market, they won’t make you gouge out your eyes if you end up reading them every day. Wait. Let’s not kid ourselves. If you end up reading them 20,000 times a day.

Add these interactive children’s books to your home library, and get back to enjoying story time with your active kid.

1. Press Here^†

^† This site is reader-supported. When you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

My kids would get so into the instructions to press and shake and tilt this book that we’ve outlawed it from the pool of bedtime stories for kids in our house.

If your kids love Press Here (which they will), be sure to check out the other two in this series: Mix It Up! and Let’s Play!

And here’s a bonus for parents: After a few read-throughs, your kid will be able to figure out what they’re supposed to do on each page without you reading the words. Translation? Give your kid all three of these books, then you can cuddle up on the couch for a catnap.

2. Flora and the Flamingo

Fair warning: This is a wordless picture book. But don’t be scared because it’s so much fun.

I wouldn’t have thought to add this to a list of interactive books for kids until my preschooler surprised me one day. I was flipping through the pages, pointing out how the main character Flora was mimicking the flamingo’s poses. And then my daughter squirmed off the couch and started mimicking the flamingo’s poses along with Flora.

It doesn’t get more adorable than that.

If Flora‘s a hit with your little one, try these two next: Flora and the Peacocks and Flora and the Penguin.

3. Gallop!

Here’s a little taste of this interactive picture book:

Can you gallop like a horse? Giddyup-a-loo!
Can you strut like a rooster? Cock-a-doodle-doo!

My kids can’t resist getting up and acting out every animal movement in this book, and it always ends in giggles from everyone.

For kids who love Gallop!, try out Waddle! and Swing! for even more interactive fun.

4. Can You Make A Scary Face?

This interactive picture book revolves around a tickly green bug and getting it off your body. Get ready to watch your kid try to wiggle her nose, make a scary face, and do the chicken dance—and more.

Kids who enjoy this one might also enjoy Is Everyone Ready for Fun? from the same author.

5. Little Yoga

Toddlers and preschoolers doing yoga has to be the cutest thing ever, so this book delivers maximum cuteness because it steps through nine playful yoga poses perfect for little ones.

My favorite is when my toddler grabs this book off the shelf, lays it in front of her, and starts moving through the poses on her own. Melts me every time.

Be sure to also check out Sleepy Little Yoga, from my list of the best bedtime stories for kids that will actually calm your kid down for sleep.

One final note: I’ve heard great things about another yoga book for kids called You Are a Lion! and Other Fun Yoga Poses, but we haven’t checked it out yet. If you get to it first, let me know what you think!

6. From Head to Toe

This book comes in board book format too, which makes it perfect for the youngest toddlers who still think books are for chewing, not reading.

Kids get into this one quickly because the text point-blank invites them to act out the animal movements.

By the way, this book holds a special place in my heart because it was my youngest’s first favorite book—one she would ask for again and again.

7. Keep Our Secrets

I actually don’t know why my kids love this one so very much, but they absolutely do. The story is cute, but they really go bananas for it.

This is going to sound weird, but you’ll need a hair dryer to make the images appear on each page. Or as another option, you can get a special eraser to make the images appear more quickly. (I hear this eraser works well but haven’t tested it myself.)

The whole book is like one big science experiment: Will it work if we breathe hot air on it? What if we use a heating pad? What if we leave it outside in the sun?

When you’re done reading, put the book in the freezer to make the pictures go dark again. The kids love this part too—every time, they come up with wild explanations of why it works.

8. I Got the Rhythm

My kids love the musical element of this interactive book, and they have fun imagining a rhythm along with the main character.

And of course, they move their little bodies along with the rhythm. Clap, clap. Stomp, stomp. Snap, snap.

This book is especially perfect for kids who love music and dancing.

9. Pete’s a Pizza

Aside from the fact that the wordplay in this book title makes my preschooler crack up every time, this book is a great excuse for some healthy roughhousing.

As you read, you’ll pretend to turn your kid into a pizza just like Pete’s father does in the story, and your kid will eat. it. up.

Warning: You may resort to ordering pizza for dinner afterwards.

10. It’s a Tiger

In this picture book, the main character keeps running into (and away from) a tiger over and over again.

Your kids will have fun acting out trying to get away from the tiger. My kids love to run when it says to run, tiptoe when it says to tiptoe over the snakes, climb the air when it says to climb the ladder, and more.

11. Cat Secrets

This picture book invites kids to pretend to be cats—they’ll meow, purr, stretch. Adorable!

The last part of the book could even make this a good fit for bedtime, although you may need to follow it up with a more calming book from your collection of bedtime stories to seal the deal.

12. How to Put Your Parents to Bed

Of all the interactive books for kids we’ve read, this one is my absolute favorite.

In this book, the child is the one putting the parents to bed. And so our favorite time to read this book is to get the wiggles out well before bedtime.

Here’s how: Sometime between dinner and bedtime, read the book and have your kids put you to bed. The key is to make them do all the work of getting you ready for bed. Send them out for a glass of water. Don’t cooperate when they try to tuck you under the covers. Ask ridiculous questions like, “Why don’t ducks have arms?” or “Why don’t fish eat hamburgers?”

We also love to use this one as a proper bedtime story—we just tone down the interactive bit as explained in my list of the best bedtime stories for kids.

Before you go, get my FREE cheat sheet: 75 Positive Phrases Every Child Needs to Hear

Your Turn

What are your favorite interactive books for kids? Share in a comment below!

The post 12 Best Interactive Books for Kids That Will Get the Wiggles Out appeared first on Happy You, Happy Family.

10 Books That Will Calm Your Kid Down at Bedtime

Kelly Holmes, Certified Parent Educator — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 14:30:43 +0000

Inside: With a high-energy kid, the wrong bedtime story can fire them up. But these 10 bedtime story books actually help your kid slow down for sleep. Add them to your collection of the best picture books.

Nearly every night, my kids fight sleep like sleeping through the night is the most unspeakable torture devised by mankind.

As bedtime approaches, my shoulders tense as I anticipate the apocalyptic battle ahead of me. I know the only way to get to that delicious moment where I can collapse in my own bed is to go through the fire, but I find myself wishing I could rewind an hour or two. Delay the inevitable fight.

The worst part is we can never tell what kind of night we’ll get. On some magical nights, everyone will go to sleep with no tears, no bargaining, and no getting out of bed 57 times.

Other nights? All of the above.

Here’s Why

Every kid has their own reason. My eldest is an anxious child. My baby is unpredictable due to teething, growth spurts, and possibly the moon phase. But my toddler just can’t slow her body down for sleep.

Describing Bailey as an “energetic” child would be like describing a quadruple espresso as a “low-octane” drink. She makes me tired just by watching her antics.

To remove as many variables as possible from the fiasco that is our nightly bedtime routine, we’ve stumbled upon a few hard and fast rules:

No ice cream before bed.
No chocolate, either.
No bedtime stories that will get her riled up.

For example, Press Here^† is a wonderfully interactive book for kids. But it’s outlawed as a bedtime story for our kids. All the pressing and shaking and blowing on the book wakes our toddler’s body up instead of getting it ready for sleep.

^† This site is reader-supported. When you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

But over the past few months, we’ve taken this rule one step further. We’ve cobbled together a priceless collection of books that actually help our kids’ bodies slow down for sleep.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema

10 Bedtime Story Books for Kids Who Hate Sleep

Not only do these books help get our kids ready for sleep, but they also have another essential quality for bedtime story books for kids. They’re short.

Because long bedtime stories do nothing to slow my kids down. Long, drawn-out stories just delay the inevitable battle.

And also? You won’t find the likes of Goodnight Moon in this list. These are books you haven’t read a gabazillion times before so you can actually enjoy the bedtime story process again.

Add a few of these kids’ books to your library, and bust them out at bedtime when you need to lure your kid into falling asleep.

1. Sleepy Little Yoga

Don’t worry, you won’t find an energizing Tree Pose or Warrior Pose in this book. These kid-friendly poses are gentle and calming—exactly what you need for your little one at bedtime.

Cutest yogi ever

2. Bear Snores On

Rhyming picture books can be difficult to get just right, but the rhythm of this book is spot on—and it always calms my kiddo down. Plus, it helps that the book ends with the animals snoozing away.

3. Charlotte and the Quiet Place

This is a recent find of ours at the library, and we’ll be purchasing our own copy. Charlotte is a little girl who likes quiet, but everywhere she goes, she’s overwhelmed with noise. The book steps through what Charlotte does to find a quiet space and how to practice mindful breathing. We breathe along with Charlotte, and my toddler can’t help but calm down as a result.

This book teaches your little one how to take deep, calming breaths

4. I Am a Bunny

This simple, soothing text moves through each of the seasons until the end, where the bunny cuddles up for a long winter sleep, looking forward to spring. I always point out to my child that the bunny going to sleep for the winter is like her going to sleep for the night, and the bunny looking forward to spring is like her looking forward to morning. Works like a charm!

5. How to Put Your Parents to Bed

In this book, the child is the one putting the parents to bed. I didn’t think much of this one as a bedtime story until on a whim one night, I asked my little one if she could put me to sleep in her bed. She thought that was hilarious. Giving her a smidge of control—even if just for play—seemed to do the trick that night. When it was my turn to put her to sleep, she didn’t get out of bed once. We’ve since recreated the magic of this book several times with the same effect.

6. Sleep Like a Tiger

The girl in this book doesn’t want to go to sleep, but unlike in our house, the parents respond to her endless questions with endless patience. What makes this a fantastic bedtime story is that the girl steps through getting ready for bed by mimicking the animals’ movements. My toddler follows suit, and the gentle movements help her body slow down for sleep.

7. Shhh! This Book is Sleeping

This book steps your little one through the process of getting ready for sleep by inviting your child to help the book fall asleep. You’ll read the book a bedtime story, tuck it in with a cozy blanket, give it a hug and a kiss, and more. Just for fun, we like to act out all the steps with the book, and I suspect it works well for the same reason How to Put Your Parents to Bed works—role reversal.

8. Orion and the Dark

The first time we read this book, my toddler asked a ton of questions. A ton. The idea of darkness coming alive and befriending the little boy may be tough for your kid to understand at first, but once she does it’s worth it. This story gives you the perfect opportunity to talk about your child’s fears at bedtime and how she might confront them.

In this bedtime story, the boy confronts his fear of the dark

9. The Girl Who Got Out of Bed

This is a must in any collection of bedtime story books. The little girl doesn’t want to go to sleep (of course), so her dad teaches her a trick for making the morning time come. This will work best for preschoolers or older kids because the trick involves counting.

10. Mrs. Biddlebox

Here’s why this book made my list of the best bedtime story books: Mrs. Biddlebox wakes up in a bad mood, but instead of sitting around like a grouch, she tackles that bad mood and turns it around in time for sleep. We reach for this book anytime my toddler and I have butted heads during the day, and it’s the perfect tool to help us process the bad mojo and end the night on a positive note.

Side note: Do you know how to get an out-of-print book back in print? It makes my heart hurt to think this book might fade off into the sunset one day.

This story also happens to be the best picture book EVER

One Final Note

This book made the news not too long ago: The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep: A New Way of Getting Children to Sleep. The author specifically wrote this book as a bedtime story that will get your kids to sleep. The book is pretty long and nearly put me to sleep while I read it, but after trying it out several nights, I had to admit the book wasn’t making my toddler any sleepier. And apparently, we’re not the only ones.

Still, if you’re desperate for bedtime story books, it wouldn’t hurt to try that one out.

Before you go, get my FREE cheat sheet: 75 Positive Phrases Every Child Needs to Hear

Want More?

You might also like The Best Baby Board Books That Will Delight Your Baby (And You) and 12 Best Interactive Books for Kids That Will Get the Wiggles Out.

Your Turn

What are your favorite bedtime story books? Share in a comment below!

The post 10 Books That Will Calm Your Kid Down at Bedtime appeared first on Happy You, Happy Family.

The Best Board Books for Babies, Most Loved by Babies And Parents

Kelly Holmes, Certified Parent Educator — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 12:00:05 +0000

Inside: Most board books for babies will drive you bananas on the 600th reading, but you’ll actually enjoy reading these baby board books.

The day that my first child stopped asking me to read the same book over and over and over again? That was a good day.

Because before that point, I had been dangerously close to retelling Curious George as Planet of the Apes just to preserve my sanity.

But now I find myself back at square zero with my youngest. The second I finish reading his favorite baby board book, he looks up at me with those big eyes and touches his pudgy little hands together – sign language for “more.”

Thankfully, I learned my lesson the first go-round: Never let a bad board book in the house.

Because if you don’t love a book the first time you read it, you’re definitely not going to love it the 600th time.

How This List of Baby Board Books Is Different

You won’t change the fact that your baby wants to read the same book over and over. The experts say repetitive reading is fantastic for building a child’s language skills.

But you can make sure that the baby board books in your home are something you enjoy, too. Because your baby will get the most out of a shared reading experience when it’s something you look forward to.

That’s hard to accomplish when you find yourself hiding Love You Forever and Goodnight Moon under couch cushions so your baby won’t ask for them again.

That’s why this list of baby board books is different. Here’s how:

I’ve had four babies, and I’ve babysat oodles more. I read to my babies several times a day, and when I go to babysit a friend’s baby, I always bring my own bag of the best board books. Thanks to all this firsthand experience, I know which baby books will keep a baby’s attention, and I know which books are least likely to drive you bananas. So in this list, you’ll find the baby board books that both babies and parents adore.
Every time I put together a new list of children’s books for this site, my kids and I read hundreds of books to find the best. Each list takes months to finalize because the librarian looks at us funny if we walk out with more than 50 books at a time. What makes it to the final list is only the best of the best.
I’m personally kind of obsessed with children’s books, which means I’ve read thousands and thousands of kids’ books as an adult. I also happen to be the pickiest one in my family. If a book is just okay, I’m ruthless about getting that book out of our house as soon as possible. In other words, I have high standards for what goes on my book lists.

Photo by Haylee Sherwood

9 Best Baby Board Books Most Loved by Babies And Parents

Here are the absolute best baby board books that meet the tough criteria above. To be clear, these board books for babies aren’t all award winners, and you won’t see the titles most children’s literature gurus would put on a “best baby board books” list.

For example, you won’t find Goodnight Moon^† in this list, but I mean no disrespect to the book. There’s a reason it’s one of the most classic board books for babies: Babies love it. (Although after you read it 10 times in a row, you may start having nightmares about a creepy old lady in your bedroom whispering “hush.”)

^† This site is reader-supported. When you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

But the point of this list isn’t to share which board books the professionals think are the best. You could find that anywhere. The point of this list is to give you the tried-and-true baby board books most loved by babies and parents.

In our family, we’ve read these board books to all our babies again and again…happily. We have most memorized by heart. And when our baby gnaws on the spine of one of these books until even duct tape can’t hold it together, we buy another copy to replace it.

If your child has progressed from the board book format for baby books to bona fide picture books, check out The Ultimate List of the Best Picture Books, Endorsed by Kids And Parents.

Note: indicates my family’s absolute top favorites on the list. These are the books my babies could never get enough of. And even though my kids are older now, they still ask for these books!

1. Good Night, Gorilla

Forget Curious George. If you’re looking for a mischievous primate, this gorilla’s got your back. When it comes to baby board books, this has the perfect amount of text for short attention spans. And on the pages with no text, you can either explain what’s happening to your baby or just close your eyes for a few seconds because that’s the closest thing you’ll get to a nap anytime soon.

2. Peek-a-Who?

Older kids love reading this board book to babies for the same reason you’ll love it as a tired parent. It has 10 words total, and 5 of those are the same word over and over.

3. The Carrot Seed

This kid believes in himself even after everyone important to him including his mom, his dad, and his brother tells him he should give up. Baby board books that encourage a growth mindset have a special place in my heart!

4. First 100 Words

The best part of this book is you don’t have to read anything. Babies love to stare at real life pictures in baby board books like this one. Just point at a picture, say the word if you want, and wait til baby is bored with that page and flip it.

5. Not a Box

Sometimes all you need to keep a baby happy is an empty cardboard box. Or a book about an empty cardboard box.

6. Bear Snores On

This is one of my favorites of all the books for a baby I’ve ever read. And after four babies and hundreds of weekly trips to the library, I’ve read a lot. The story’s cute, but the kicker is the rhythm of the text. It’s just plain fun to read. I have the whole thing memorized, and when my baby is fussy, reciting it calms him right down. This book has more text than some other baby board books, so it works best during the newborn phase and then again later when baby is 1-year-old (or older) and has the patience for actual sentences.

7. Mouse Paint

Educational baby board books don’t have to be boring. This book teaches your baby about primary and secondary colors but with a cute storyline.

8. Tails

Babies love to reach out and feel the different textures in this book. Babies are like little scientists, constantly taking in new data. If your baby likes this one, be sure to check out the others by this author, like Moo.

9. Everywhere Babies

I love the diversity of babies and families shown in this board book. Biological and adopted, breastfed and bottle-fed, two-parent and single-parent, and more. Babies don’t judge, and they love looking at all kinds of babies.

Before you go, get my FREE cheat sheet: 75 Positive Phrases Every Child Needs to Hear

Your Turn

What are your favorite board books for babies? Share in a comment below!

The post The Best Board Books for Babies, Most Loved by Babies And Parents appeared first on Happy You, Happy Family.