Reddit mentions: The best beginner readers books for children

reading is awesome!

Thanks for the contest!! I love children's books. I have two on my Under $6 wishlist that I just absolutely love.

• The Velveteen Rabbit is an amazing story about this toy rabbit who spends his life loving a little boy. He loves so much that he becomes real! It's a really cute story, and the moral is that love will make you real--more substantial and worthwhile. I'll go ahead and be picky about it--I'd like either a used hardback copy in very good or like-new condition, or a new paperback :) I prefer hardback, but paperback is only $1.50 with prime shipping, so you could gift multiple people!
  
• Je t'aimerai toujours is the French version of Love You Forever. It's a really really sweet book about this little boy growing up and causing his mom a lot of grief, but every night she goes to him and sings "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living, My baby you'll be." Well, he grows up, and his mom gets old and sick, and one day she knows she's going to die. She calls her grown up boy and tries to sing the song to him, but she's too weak. Instead he picks her up and sings to her "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my Mommy you'll be." It's so touching and sad and I absolutely love it! I prefer this book new (it's only a paperback, and used children's books can be kind of dingy). It's $6.25 with prime shipping :)
  
  I also have some YA books on my Under $6 wishlist (First Test and Page), but I wasn't sure if they counted as children's books.
  
  Thanks again for the contest! Reading is amazing and awesome and wonderful, and I love children's books :)

I can't remember too much from my childhood in terms of things I read alone as my memory is terrible, but here are some books I loved when I was a kid :)

Little Dracula Goes To School - this whole series really, i found it in a box a while back and had loads of fuzzy feelings over it. Also good for a kid that's not too fond of going to school.


The Jolly Postman may be a bit English but this and its sequel The Jolly Christmas Postman are amazing. There's loads of little pop out bits and letters you can take out and read and right at the end of one there's like a concertina thing you bring out and you can look through the letterbox XD We must still have my copies somewhere but I think I shall have to add them to the list to get some less well loved ones heh

I had to consult mum on this one but Tales From Fat Tulip's Garden again might be a bit English (all these are best to buy used going by the prices!!) but it's hilarious. The main thing I remember is this greedy gardener has a feast in his shed and a load of animals sneak in and try to eat it. I remember a tortoise almost being mistaken for fruitcake/having to disguise himself when the gardener came back.

Little Bear's Trousers because cute.

Ok I think I need to stop before i get over sentimental haha plus they are the main ones that come to mind :)

Get those kids some books!

I'd like Measure For Measure if I win :) it's prime-eligible in UK but used is fine too if cheaper with shipping :)

My 14 month old twins LOVE to read. Some of our favorite books include:

The Dreamers series by Emily Winfield Martin. All of her books are amazing. The art is beautiful and there’s whimsy to her stories. There are two more books outside of this set I linked and they enjoy them both.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is very well liked by them, although it’s not my favorite. They love the bright colors and the fun attitude. It was one of the first ones I read to them when they were newborns (with the big paper back size) because the colors and shapes were bold.

Mama Loves You So is a short and sweet story. I love the illustrations and my girls love it too.

Wish is especially great for those who have struggled with infertility or loss. And even if you haven’t, it’s a lovely story. Warning: I still cry every time I read it to them.

Every Little Thing for you Bob Marley fans

Take Heart My Child is a sweet book for those of you who are sentimental. They don’t always love to sit still for it now, but it’s great for newborns.

And in general, they LOVE the books you can interact with and touch a feel like the dog/animal books with different furs. They like this Monster book that has a bunch of textures. They like this Dont Touch the Button book that is fun and interactive. They love flip the flap books, especially ones with animals and they helped them learn the sounds very easily. They also like the little puppet books.

I used to work as a page in the children's department of a library. I would read picture books when I got bored.

Robert Munsch is a fantastic children's author. He's absolutely hilarious and his stories have good messages, too. When I was little, I especially loved Moira's Birthday and Stephanie's Ponytail. My mom read these to me when I was a kid, and they're still great almost 20 years later.

Rainy Morning is another really fun, silly story for kids. It's about an old couple who keep inviting animals (and eventually people and circuses!) in to their house because it's raining outside. Lots of fun.

On a more serious note, Lost and Found is a really sweet story. It's about a boy and a penguin, and friendship. It's cute and the art is fun, too.

Eric the Math Bear was a particular favorite among all the pages, because it's so darn cute. It's about a red bear who likes math, so if you're looking for some numbers with your words this is the way to go.

Maxwell Eaton has several books that are great for kids, my favorite of which is The Mystery. The artwork is really adorable and the stories are lighthearted and fun.

Regardless of which books you wind up choosing, make sure they are appropriate for your audience in terms of length and complexity. The Max and Piggy books are far simpler than the Robert Munsch ones, so younger children might not be able to follow Munsch or others like him. If you have a wide variety of ages, try to include books at multiple levels so everyone has something to enjoy.

Also, don't forget to practice reading the books aloud before you go to story time. Read with lots of expression; young kids may not pick up nuances in the text, and having an animated storyteller is more fun, anyway.

Hmm what's his reading level like? Is he catching on quick, or is he learning a little more slowly? In my son's kindergarten class, his teacher read the Mercy Watson books to them, which are hilarious. Some of the kids were able to read them by themselves, but my son was not at that level until the end of first grade.. Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type is another good one - my son LOVED it. He was able to read that one in kindergarten though partly because he'd memorized it from hearing me read it to him so so so many times - but many kindergarteners are able to read it by themselves. The classics like Dr. Seuss are always a good stand-by too. Green Eggs and Ham is especially great because it's the same 50 words over and over, so it's easier for beginning readers.

If he's not a very strong reader (and if he likes animals/nature), he might enjoy the National Geographic kids series of books - pre-reader level. They're great for giving more confidence to readers who get overwhelmed by small print and lots of words. Hoot Owl was my son's favorite; I even got him a snowy owl plushie because he loved it so much. But we also had the Safari one, the Rainforest one, the one about bugs.. If you want to get him something with an educational angle, the Bob books are really good at teaching sight words and building reading ability.

First, it's nothing you did, you sound like a great dad! Your son sounds A LOT like my six year old, who has a lot of sensory issues, and was later diagnosed with ADHD-Combined type and mild anxiety. Depending on what your insurance allows you can ask for an occupational therapy referral or evaluation. A lot of times insurance won't pay for OT for sensory issues, but will for fine motor issues if he has any. They will work on sensory issues (did wonders with my 6 year old with sensory issues). The way they explained it to me is, "his job is to be a kid, and we help with whatever gets in the way of that!"

​

I'd suggest seeing a developmental pediatrician too. They're a bit more skilled / informed in all this stuff. My son's developmental pedi is awesome. The way he explained the sensory stuff to me is "we are all going to be exposed to things we don't like (loud noises, bright lights etc, dirty fingers etc) it's our job as parents to get them used to those things slowly and safety now so they aren't going to prom with headphones on." I know that sounds harsh, and taken out of context of our conversation he might sound like a heartless bastard, but let me add that I adore this man and he's taken great care of both my boys. He also explained that in my sons case that the need for routine, sameness, resistance to change are all (or could be) byproducts of his ADHD. The Dev. Pedi said something like, "think about it like this, you have a million thoughts swirling around in your head all the time.. it's scary for a little kid... It's already hard to concentrate, you're going to cling to and find comfort in what you know (your routine)." He was right, once we put him on adhd meds a lot of those social issues he was having calmed themselves.

​

As for the books, my son really enjoys the "Let's read and Find Out About Science" series. A Drop of Blood and Germs Make Me Sick! are two of his favorites. My father in law is an MD and was impressed at how accurate the vampire book is, so that's something. They have tons of other books too.

​

​

​

Hmm, this looks similar to The Eleventh Hour, which we had as kids, and spent hours on. There's a few red herrings in it, too, which took hours to solve, then turned out to be nothing. Wholely aggravating. My mom worked on it with us, and we never did figure it out. I ended up cheating by peeking at the answer. But I still have the book, and hope to work through it with my stepdaughter.

I started her slow, by going through Puzzle Island with her. I also got The Red Herring Mystery, but we haven't solved this one yet, and we've gotten away from this. I want to work up to The Eleventh Hour, though. It looks as though Graeme Base has other books as well, which we'll have to check out. My stepdaughter is incredibly smart, and she's eight years old now, and she loves these kind of puzzles. She also REALLY relishes anything that she can do with one of her parents (and yes, I count as one of them - she really digs me these days, which is TOTALLY AWESOME! I get to really be a mom, YAY!).

Anyway, "Masquerade" in Hardback in Good condition is selling for a penny for $3.99 shipping, so I bought a copy. Looks good. :) I'm all for things like this!

The Magic Treehouse is a series of at least 50 books by Mary Pope Osborne. The first book is Dinosaurs Before Dark and they are fiction, but the children in this book can travel back in time to various time periods and learn a lot of cool and interesting facts about events and culture in those days. I think it's a great "non-fiction" series for kids, they will learn a lot about so many things. I also really like Bailey School Kids by Debbie Dadey, and The World According to Humphrey by Betty Birney. If your daughter likes animals, Puppy Magic by Sue Bentley, also The Animal Rescue Club by John Himmelman, and Rainbow Magic Fairies is a cute, "girly" series and I think perfect for a 6 year old. Amelia Bedelia is hilarious, and so is Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle.

I'm working with my son on this right now. My sister is a teacher and has helped me get started on this. There are two main schools of thought in terms of teaching reading, phonics and 'whole language'.
The current 'winner' seems to be phonics (Phonics is where you learn the general sounds each letter makes and you sound-out words.), with the addition of teaching 'sight words'. Sight words are a set of words that are most common in reading and that you should know by sight. "Fry's sight words" are a really good resource. The first 25 words make up 1/3 of all we read!

I'm assuming your brother knows all upper case and lower case letters? If not you should start there. My sister then said it is good to start with a little bit of multiple approaches, if that makes sense. You don't want to work on sight words only, for example. So, start with the first two sight words ("the" and "of). Write them clearly on a blank index card and tell him what words they are, and then as he starts to learn them, add in more ("and" is the next word, etc). Use these multiple times a day. When he first wakes up, before breakfast, when you're about to leave somewhere, during a snack, while in the car is another great spot, etc. They are so quick and repetition will help him learn them quickly. Knowing these key words by sight will be a big confidence booster when he's reading.

Request from your library "Leapfrog Letter Factory" which is an awesome introduction to phonics, and has a game at the end where you have to guess which letter makes the sound. My son loved this. Additionally, work on his name, say what sound the first letter makes, and dot-out each letter of his name and have him trace it. Note that the Leapfrog DVD introduces the most common sound each letter can make, but there are more than those out there, and there are a lot of rules.

After the basic phonics introduction, you can start showing him how to make the word "at", and how you can add a letter in front of it to make bat, cat, fat, hat, mat, etc.

After the basic introduction, look at things like Bob books from the library.

They key is to do this consistently, several times a day for short periods each time so they don't burn out.

And you're quite an awesome big brother for doing this! Learning to read is surprisingly complicated but if you break it down into small segments he'll start getting it. Good luck!

He'll never know and won't care because you care enough to try.

When my wife and I got married we were flat broke. We had two little boys 3 and 5 from her previous marriage and not a lot to give them for Christmas so we were very creative.

There was a Christmas store in our area with a giant outdoor display of decorated trees, blow up figures and lawn decorations. We'd take them there once a week to visit "Christmas Town" and walk through, they loved it especially when it was snowing out. Our town had a holiday lights in the park display you could drive through for a fee but the night it opened it was free to walk through so we did that. Also when kids are that little some of the toys from the Dollar Store or Salvation Army are like receiving gold to them and you can get little things to pack their stockings. Also the cheap cardboard "bricks" you can buy flat and assemble fill out the giant mound of toys you'd like to see for them under the tree.

When they're little pump up the magic in their heads, their imagination will do the rest and make great memories.

PS - One of the things our kids loved the most was Wacky Wednesday based on the book - http://www.amazon.com/Wacky-Wednesday-Beginner-Books-R/dp/0394829123

On Tuesday night after the kids were in bed we'd go around the apartment and hang all the pictures upside down, put colored bulbs in the lamps, move the furniture, put mustaches on the family photos and put food coloring in the milk. Then when they woke we'd tell them to put their clothes on backwards and start looking for Wacky Wednesday stuff. They still talk about it today and they're 13 and 15.

Merry Christmas!!!

I don't have time to read into the article, but your title reminded me back to a book my mom would read my brother and i from time to time. When i was way younger, and it's stuck.

I want to say it was called the "Paper Bag Princess" or something. I'll look, but it's basically a princess who saves herself, wears a paper bag, i think she saves the knight, and he returns the hero or something...i forget how it ends. I forget how it ends, but my mom was real adamant on showing my brother and i that girls are just as good as boys.

She didn't have to read us a story, being 28 now i see how strong women can be. She raised my 2 brothers and i while working full time and going to college to get a nursing degree and helped put 2 of us through college with my youngest starting soon.

She showed me she was strong by her actions, not her words. :D

This game does LOOK awesome, i like the aesthetic so i'm excited to check it out later! :D

EDIT: Here it is!
http://www.amazon.com/The-Paper-Bag-Princess-Annikins/dp/0920236251

It’s not a graphic novel, more of an illustrated chapter book, but it looks perfect for a 7 year old.

Marvel Super Hero Adventures Buggin' Out!: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1368008577/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_VLSXDbBK56FCP

Loved the show, loved the books. They're I Can Read Books, so they're awesome for learning, helped me to do so. It was great. Plus, they're cheap and they're just cute little stories. Get those kids some books! Any of the books on my list will be awesome. That books, plus others are on there!

Also, look into Amelia Bedelia, one my fave characters from when I was little. They're so cute and silly.

When he can reliably read those, I love the BOB Books series for emerging readers. They're little books and they really build up children's confidence nicely. Plus, they don't randomly throw in non-phonetic words out of nowhere like a lot of early readers. Bonus if you get your own set, the illustrations are mostly black and white so when he's mastered a book, he can color it. That might be a cool incentive for him and a way to "celebrate" reading the book successfully.

edit: added link

Baby's first book? Hm. If it's going to be read to the child without them wrecking the paper, I recommend https://www.amazon.com/Chicka-Boom-Board-Book/dp/1442450703 - it has a super pleasant rhythm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPf5Rr1SGi4

For self-paced you really want something indestructible and cleanable, with bright colours and not very many words. Maybe cute animals. Something like https://www.amazon.com/Nontoxic-Education-Activity-Crinkle-Toddler/dp/B076P8C2X4

Not occult in the 'requires the proper colored robe' sense, more in the 'nobody fucking knows this shit' sense.

http://www.amazon.com/Chaos-Making-Science-James-Gleick/dp/0143113453/

http://www.amazon.com/Dancing-Wu-Li-Masters-Overview/dp/0060959681

http://www.amazon.com/Critical-Path-Kiyoshi-Kuromiya/dp/0312174918/

http://www.amazon.com/Oh-Thinks-You-Can-Think/dp/0394831292/

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1402754744/

http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Game-Theory-Martin-Osborne/dp/0195128958/

http://www.amazon.com/Finite-Infinite-Games-Vision-Possibility/dp/B006Q9RCV4/

http://www.amazon.com/Synergetics-Further-Explorations-Geometry-Thinking/dp/0025418807/

I don't know a single thing about you, who you are, what you are looking for, why you are interested, or why you care.

This just happens to be a great excuse to let people know about a couple books I care about.

A book is 'occult' by virtue of it containing information about which most people haven't a clue.

"Occult" anything need no special handshake.

I wasn't raised religious, so never had those issues, but my parents are feminists and read me The Paper Bag Princess (http://www.amazon.com/Paper-Bag-Princess-Annikin/dp/0920236251) and Not One Damsel In Distress, (http://www.amazon.com/Not-One-Damsel-Distress-Folktales/dp/0152020470) both of which I and my sisters loved. When they get older, Tamora Pierce has a bunch of fantasy books with female protagonists, and Diane Duane's So You Want To Be A Wizard books were also favorites.

Edit: How could I forget Madeline and Pippi?! https://www.buzzfeed.com/sarahbreen/feminist-books-ftw?utm_term=.hs2PoxVvj#.ug2KJ8X0B
Also Ella Enchanted is a great retelling of the Cinderella story, I think it's either Jane Yolen or Ursula K LeGuin

Books for Young Children

• Good Night, Sam
  
• Skippyjon Jones
  
• Skippyjon Jones in the Doghouse
  
• Those Darn Squirrels
  
• Oh the Thinks You Can Think!
  
• Bad Kitty Does Not Like Dogs
  
• The Itsy Bitsy Snowman
  
• The Littlest Elf
  
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
  
• The Good Dinosaur
  
  I Can Read - Books
  
  
• A Kiss for Little Bear
  
• Little Bears Friend
  
• Amelia Bedelia
  
• Merry Christmas, Amelia Bedelia
  
• Eloise Visits the Zoo
  
• Eloise Throws a Party
  
• May I Please Have a Cookie?
  
• Pete the Cat: At the Beach
  
• Mac and Cheese
  
• Splat the Cat
  
  Books for Older Kids
  
  
• Disney Fairies, The Never Girls Collection
  
• Ivy + Bean’s Secret Treasure Box
  
• The Ramona Collection
  
• Pippi Longstocking
  
• Mr Popper’s Penguins
  
• The Chocolate Touch
  
• Magic Tree House Boxed Set
  
• Girls Think of Everything
  
• Knock-Knock Jokes for Kids
  
• Owl Diaries
  
• 5,000 Awesome Facts
  

Love Sesame Street.

One of my favorite kids' books, is Chicka chicka Boom boom

https://www.amazon.com/Chicka-Boom-Board-Book/dp/1442450703/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1504836973&sr=1-1&keywords=chicka+chicka+boom+boom

Stop making it work. Do you read to him every night? If so, just start reading books like the one above that focus on letters and numbers. Your public library should be a great source.

He shouldn't necessarily know his alphabet yet. Is he in prescho

Hands down, I think every single (preschool-aged) child should have the "Blue box of BOB Books" as their very first readers:

http://www.amazon.com/Bob-Books-Set-Beginning-Readers/dp/0439845009/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376121216&sr=8-1&keywords=bob+books

After Bob Books, other books that were on the "early-ish" side included:

"Jack and Jill and Big Dog Bill" by Martha Weston:
http://www.amazon.com/Jack-Jill-Big-Dog-Bill/dp/0375812482/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376121351&sr=8-1&keywords=jack+and+jill+and+big+dog+bill

We also liked, "Fat Cat Sat on a Mat" by Nurit Karlin:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Fat-Cat-Read-Book/dp/0064442462/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376121427&sr=8-1&keywords=fat+cat+sat+on+the+mat

The "Biscuit" and "Dick and Jane" books were great to have on hand. I think it's worthwhile to own a small stack of easy readers for the child to become familiar with and read over and over... and then get some to circulate from the library for new challenges.

Could it be "A Promise is a Promise"?

Allashua parent's tell her not to go fishing in the sea because the Qallupilluit will reach through the cracks in the ice and pull her under. But she disobeys them and goes fishing in the sea anyway. Just like her parents warned, the Qallupilluit pulls her under, but Allashua promises to bring her brothers and sisters down to the sea if the Qallupilluit lets her go.

So the Qallupilluit releases Allashua, who runs home and tells her parents what happened while they warm her up (she was pulled under the ice after all). Her parents tell her to gather up her brothers and sister and take them down to the sea. While Allashua and her siblings go down to the sea, Allashua's parents invite the Qallupilluit into their home and distract them. In this way, Allashua can keep her promise to bring her siblings down to the sea without the fear of the Qallupilluit pulling them under the ice, so they all escape the grasp of the Qallupilluit.

I would like to take a moment to recommend The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch if anyone is looking for a good children's book with a strong female character.

It's about a princess who decides to rescue the prince she's supposed to marry from a dragon when he gets kidnapped. However, the only thing she can find to wear is a paper bag. After the princess eventually outsmarts the dragon and rescues the prince, he's a complete jerk to her because of what she's wearing. So, she calls him an ungrateful bum and decides not to marry him after all.

Frozen book for my darling daughter on Books - Zoie WL. =)

Thank you for the contest! <3

you got a lot of great movie opinions now here is a kids book my daughter loved at that age The paper bag princess

I remember those books! I think they were "The Jolly Postman", I adored them as well.

Is this it?

Amelia Bedelia! I read these books all the time when I was younger. Perfect name for your kitty. =)

Lipstick! Or the pencil you suggested for me (it's $3.44 from Blue Scandal)

The Jolly Postman It was about a mail man delivering letters in a storybook kingdom, and some of the pages were envelopes, and you could actually take all of the letters out and read them. It was awesome.

my almost 4 year old is reading the Bobs books. They are great for beginning readers to build confidence slowly.

http://www.amazon.com/Bob-Books-Set-Beginning-Readers/dp/0439845009/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412881941&sr=8-1&keywords=bob+beginning+reader+books

Not to say that second languages deserve a special place in a high school curriculum, but if you're arguing with someone who does believe that (or just wants to preserve the status quo), then it won't work if they understand that programming languages aren't really effective substitutes for natural languages.

Just because they're both types of "languages" doesn't mean you can swap one in for the other without fundamentally changing the curriculum. For example, one might argue that learning other languages is important because, like... cultural awareness, history, having a well-rounded liberal arts education, etc. Whatever. Point being, if you get rid of all the Latin classes to make way for programming classes, people aren't getting the same thing out of it.

I think a lot of people would be resistant to the idea of replacing Latin classes with Java courses. And rightfully so, because:

• It's harder to learn Latin on your own than to learn Java. (Or most programming languages in general, but I'm just going to keep saying "Java" because it's popular.)
  
  
• We might not even be using Java in ten years. We probably will, but we might not. Programming languages fall out of use sometimes. Who uses COBOL anymore? Nobody, except people maintaining really old stuff. People will totally keep wanting to translate Latin, though. Otherwise we'll never learn the story behind this book.
  
  
• When you learn Latin, you typically learn a lot of Roman history, which is interesting. When you learn Java, you learn a lot of buzzwords related to object-oriented programming that might've been impressive twenty years ago. Just thinking about it is pretty depressing.

On Amazon I found some more Latin translations aside from Harry Potter:

• Fairy tales
  
• The Giving Tree
  
• Ferdinand the Bull
  
• Cat in the Hat
  
• Winnie the Pooh
  
• Gingerbread Man
  
  I also remember that my college bookstore had a bunch of picture books in Latin (along with other foreign languages) - parents liked to get them as gifts for their kids. Might be worth looking at a local college?

Big Snowman, Little Snowman (Disney Frozen) (Step into Reading) on its way :) Merry Christmas!

Choose a well known or silly book in a foreign language and you've got the makings of an awesome game.

https://www.amazon.com/Oeufs-Verts-au-Jambon/dp/1569756880

Here we go!

Turns out there's two versions of this book. There's the full-length hardcover (like this) and a significantly abridged board book version (like this). We had the second one growing up, and I remember walking around in a Barnes & Noble when I was like 16 and having my mind blown when I picked it up for nostalgia's sake and found out there was a whole second half to the story.

Only a few bucks on amazon! WOO!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0064441555?pc_redir=1406514512&robot_redir=1


Nostaaaaalgia

The GOAT alphabet book is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

It's a little early for alphabet, but this is still my favorite book from being a toddler. I can recite the whole thing still.

I have nothing relevant to add, but this is my favorite princess story.

Edit: Mixed up brackets. Derp.

Yeah, it was a bit over the top. If I remember correctly, it was "spirit week" at school and this was "Wacky Wednesday."

The only thing I could find is:

A Promise is a Promise by Robert Munsch

http://www.amazon.com/A-Promise-Classic-Munsch/dp/1550370081/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1341856658&sr=8-2&keywords=a+promise+is+a+promise

Well - today IS Wednesday.

Wacky Wednesday!

My kids love this book. https://www.amazon.com/Wacky-Wednesday-Beginner-Books-R/dp/0394829123

Their parents, however, loathe it.

>https://www.amazon.com/dp/1368008577/ref=cm\_sw\_r\_cp\_api\_i\_VLSXDbBK56FCP

Annoyingly he already has this one, but thank you very much for replying,

Buy her The Paper Bag Princess! It's a cute twist on a fairy tale where the princess rescues her prince from a dragon on her own. When he insults her appearance afterward, she decides not to marry him.

https://www.amazon.com/Paper-Bag-Princess-Robert-Munsch/dp/0920236251

This one maybe? A promise is a promise-Robert Munsch https://www.amazon.ca/Promise-Robert-Munsch/dp/1550370081

Amazon has lot of French children's books:

Le Petit Prince (of course!)

Madeleine

Les Oeufs Verts au Jambon

Poisson Un Poisson Deux Poisson Rouge Poisson Bleu

Le Chat Au Chapeau (in English and French)

Horton Entend un Zou!

Je t'aimerai toujours

Le Petit Nicolas

Bonsoir Lune

La Chenille Qui Fait Des Trous

Max Et Le Maximonstres

L'Arbre Genereux

And Harry Potter A L'Ecole des Sorciers

I read this book several times when I was younger don't know if this is what you were hoping for but it popped in my head as soon as I read your question!

As a beginner, I only have one Latin book. But, Cattus Petasatus seems to be pretty spot on. Even down to the meter and rhymes. Sure it's a little more childish than some other books but you gotta start somewhere, and why not Dr Seuss?

this book prepared me

A lot of people have recommended the 'Bob' books to me:
http://www.amazon.com/Bob-Books-Set-Beginning-Readers/dp/0439845009/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342496092&sr=8-1&keywords=bob+books

The first book in the set can be read with just 4 sounds. Each book after that introduces 1 or 2 new sounds.

Not quite the same, but I get The Paper Bag Princess for all my friends’ daughters. A princess rescues her prince from a dragon, but the prince turns out to be an ungrateful jerk so she leaves him and lives happily ever after.

My son is 2, we rotate through a number of books..

Some on the current rotation:

• Goodnight Moon
  
• Love you Forever
  
• Matt / Sam (Bob Books)
  

You might want to look into the BOB books. They're available for all levels of reader and are designed for kids who are learning to read.

Does he have a genre preference?

Your sketch reminds me of the dragon from Shrek.

I googled "female dragon kids book" and the only thing that seemed to resemble your sketch from that time frame is The Paper Bag Princess

Cat in the hat in Latin

Edit:[found a bunch of translated children's books] (http://m.mentalfloss.com/article.php?id=28021)

Apparently there are some who didn't keep up on their reading when they were kids.

http://www.amazon.com/Oh-Thinks-You-Can-Think/dp/0394831292

Was it Wacky Wednesday?

Was it Danger in Quicksand Swamp?

It's been many years since I read it, but that was my first thought on seeing your title, and I seem to recall those details being in there.

Here you go!

BOB Books

Get a set of Bob books. My daughter is 4 almost 5 and my who is a kindergarten teacher has her read one every night. Normally we spend a week or more reading the same book until she has it down. Then every few weeks we read all the ones she's completed.

Bob Books, Set 1: Beginning Readers https://www.amazon.com/dp/0439845009/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_JoLTAb650M9H4

For when they're older:

All the [Amelia Bedelia] (http://www.amazon.com/Amelia-Bedelia-Collection-Read-Book/dp/0060542381/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334469423&sr=1-1) books and all the [Mrs. Piggle Wiggle] (http://www.amazon.com/Mrs-Piggle-Wiggle-Betty-MacDonald/dp/0064401480/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334469515&sr=1-1) books

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Rainbow Fish

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

No, David!

Are You My Mother?

The Berenstain Bears

Amelia Bedelia

Stellaluna

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

Max

Clifford

The Little Engine That Could

The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Madeline

Corduroy

Arthur

Franklin

Edited: to add some more.

Congratulations! :D