Home Reading lists Reading with kids (3 to 8 years)

Reading with kids (3 to 8 years)

by John Maguire
0 comment
Share 10mh on Social Media

One of the advantages of being an uncle is that every time I purchase books for my nephew and niece, I get the pleasure of reading them first and then re-reading over and over when babysitting. You soon start to recognise the marks of a good quality piece of storytelling when reading with kids regularly. A positive moral or message, an imaginative narrative and a healthy dosage of kookiness, that’s the recipe for a successful kids’ book. Over the last few months, I have begun to compile a list of favourites and the chosen titles are as follows:

[If you are in the UK, you can buy a copy from an independent bookshop near you via our affiliate links. Just click on the book title to be taken to Bookshop.org. We may earn a small commission if you do!]

5. Dog Loves Books by Louise Yates (3-6 years), Publisher: Cape.

dog loves books

A comical little tale about a dog who runs a book shop and finds that books are the key to other worlds.

4. Croc and Bird by Alexis Deacon (3-7 years), Publisher: Hutchinson.

croc and bird

Two eggs hatch side by side, a crocodile and a parrot. The creatures believe they must be brothers, a funny mismatch that celebrates diversity.

3. Mr Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown (4-7 years), Publisher: Macmillan.

Mr tiger goes wild

A dapper tiger complete with a top hat and Edwardian dress embraces his inner feral animal and starts an alternatively natural trend.

2. Zeraffa Giraffa by Dianne Hofmeyr, illustrated by Janne Ray (4-8 years), Publisher: Frances Lincoln.

Zeraffa Giraffa book cover

A beautifully illustrated true story about a giraffe sent from Egypt to a French King in the 1820s.

1. A Children’s Treasury of Milligan: Classic Stories and Poems by Spike Milligan by Spike Milligan (8-108 years), Publisher: Ebury

A Children's Treasury of Milligan

My four-year-old nephew has a tendency to cantillate the Milligan poems at random. Limericks like:

There are holes in the sky where the rain gets in.
The holes are small, so rain is thin.

Or my particular favourite:

the pig
A very rash young lady pig
(They say she was a smasher)
Suddenly ran
Under a van-
Now she’s a gammon rasher.

Milligan’s scribblings are absolutely barking mad. Sentences of insanity highlighting an imaginative perspective of the world and all who sail in her.

I highly recommend these philosophical pieces of writing for reading with kids. They are guaranteed, I can assure you, to make any sadness in the heart rapidly dissipate.


Photo of children’s books by Kimberly Farmer on Unsplash


Share 10mh on Social Media

Related Articles

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.