My son could read the same book over and over for hours. Studies have shown this is a good thing and a part of language acquisition and development; but it can get old. And let’s be honest your mouth can only take so much rhyming and word craziness.

I’ve made a deal with my son that each night he gets to pick one book and I get to pick one,  so that I don’t get so bored. We are avid library goers (every Friday) so we are always on the lookout for good books. I hate bringing home a book, reading it to my son only to find out it is so annoying to read…and then of all the books we brought home, the annoying one is the book he wants to reading every single night that week, over and over! I hope it doesn’t make me a horrible parent, but I have learned to really screen our book choices. He does still get to pick out books, but I generally bring him a handful and he picks from there.

I thought I would share some of the books that Kian has loved, that are great reads for Mom and Dad too, even if they are put on repeat. Clicking on the images will take you to the books on Amazon. I highly recommend trying them out through the library before buying. But if you are getting a gift etc. I tried to make it a little easier. These are in no particular order.

 

Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems is just plain fun. The pictures are a unique blend of cartoon characters against a backdrop of real life black and white photos, that are engaging for kids and parents alike. It is also the perfect length. Kian doesn’t lose interest in a page before the reading is done and vice versa.

Robot Zot by Jon Scieszka and David Shannon

We love Jon Scieszka books! The stories are always unique, a little bit quirky and with a lot of subtext humor that adults can enjoy. The illustrations in this book add a completely different story line and my son loves finding new things in the illustrations and interpreting them (I love that too, it means he is using some analytic thinking skills!). I’m pretty sure every little boy loves robots and Robot Zot is as Kian says “the perfect robot”. Jon Scieszka also runs a program promoting reading in boys. He has a website called GuysRead.com. I love it, he gives great book suggestions especially for my older son. Boys are much less likely to spend time reading for various reasons, but reading is so important. So I strongly support any program that encourages boys to read. His mission is to get boys books they want to read. So most of his books even for younger boys are on topics that they love.

 

Good Night, Good Night Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker is by far one of Kian’s favorites. I love it because it encourages bedtime too! The pictures are calming and it has a nice rhyming pattern that is easy to read aloud.

 

Awesome Dawson by Chris Gall is a comic book style read aloud that has quirky characters, and a silly plot. The pictures are bright and have a lot to look at that sparks the imagination.

 

 

The Monster at the end of This Book & Another Monster at the end of This Book are seemingly lifetime favorites for my boys. Aiden who is 9 will still stay and listen to these when I read them to Kian. Both my boys loved these books from a really young age; 18 months or so. If you haven’t had the joy of reading one of these to a child, go and do it now!

 

Making a second appearance on this list is Mo Willems with Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The text in this book is in the form of text bubbles from the characters. It promotes interaction with the characters and has helped Kian make connections with the fact that what we say can be represented with letters on a page. It’s also a quick, fun, read. I usually pick this one when I am not feeling up to reading a ton.

 

How Are You Peeling? by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers is so unique. It has given me many opportunities to talk about emotions with my boys. It has also helped me talk to them about understanding how they should react when someone else is feeling a certain way, and facial ques for feelings.  The photos are cool, and the text is easy to read. There are other similar books by the same authors; Food Play, Food for Thought, Dog Food, Play with Your Food and Fast Food, have all been enjoyed by our kids.

If I Had a Dragon by Amanda Ellery and Tom Ellery is perfect if you have a child who is feeling put out by having to play with a sibling. I went looking for a book to help my oldest see the advantages of having a younger brother who loves to be with him and this one was the most engaging and the one that produced the best discussion. It is very imaginative, the illustrations are great for encouraging thinking. And this book won’t drive you totally batty if you have to read it over and over (I wonder how I know that?!?!)

 

Making another appearance on this list is Chris Gall with DinoTrux. Let me let you in on a secret; all little boys love dinosaurs and all little boys love trucks. Okay so maybe that’s not really a secret, but this book is the perfect combination of everything every little boy loves. The text can get slightly long on a few pages for my liking, but Kian doesn’t care, he could look at a single page for a long time.

Now go get some awesome bedtime read-alouds from the library!

Becca

Mom, money saver, crafter, budget loving blogger

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