National Children’s Book Week: Top Five

Did you know it was National Children’s Book Week? I didn’t, until someone emailed me. To celebrate, I have a book-ish article publishing every day this week. I love children’s books, some days more than adult books. I could probably write a book post every day for a year, but then I wouldn’t have time to write about snakes or paint splotches…

I contemplated writing about my all time favorite children’s book, but I couldn’t narrow it down to just one. I have so many favorites! So, I’ll go with my top five. These books are classics in our house and I long ago stopped checking them out from the library and bought copies for our shelves.

The Best-Loved Doll

This was my favorite book as a child. I still have my childhood copy, and while my children don’t enjoy it as much as I do, it is one of my favorites.

Blueberries for Sal

I fell in love with this book when my oldest was just starting school. I’ve never understood why a children’s book portrays the interactions of a bear and a little girl in a somewhat positive way, but I love this book all the same. The illustrations, the story, the ker-plunk. My kids love it too.

The Little House

I think I’ve been through two copies of this book already. My kids always want to know why the little house ends up stuck in the city and are happy when it moves back to the country. This book became even more real to my kids when they got to see a house being moved from one side of the base to another when we lived in West Virginia.

The Snowy Day

The illustrations won me over the first time I read The Snowy Day. When my kids read this book they had never seen snow. It was fun to read our “snow book” and then one day wake up to a world covered in white. My kids still request this book and I find my older kids listening in occasionally when I read it out loud.

The Best Nest

One of my children struggled to read. Not only did they struggle to read, they hated listening to stories or even looking at books. This changed when I picked up a copy of  The Best Nest at our library. This particular child sat still while I read this book and begged for me to read it again and again. To this day I have almost the entire book memorized. We renewed the book at the library week after week until I finally had to turn it in. I ordered it online the next day. This book marked a turning point for my child and will always be in my top five because of it.

Did you know there are special author events being held all over the country to celebrate Children’s Book Week? To find one in your local area visit the Official Events page of the National Children’s Book Week website. My family went to an event with Laura Numeroff last year and really enjoyed hearing her read her own books out loud.

If there is an event in your area you should try to attend, your kids will love it!