Reddit mentions: The best children performing arts fiction books

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.

Here's a few that my almost 4 year old girl loves these days:

Sector 7 - Kind of like a beginners sci-fi picture book

Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present - A simple little tale, beautifully told about a girl and a rabbit (Maurice Sendak illustrated)

Paddle to the Sea - Little boy carves a canoe and sends it off to the sea. This book follows its journey along the Great Lakes to the sea. Also a great NFB short film.

When Louis Armstrong taught me Scat - Cute story for music lovers.

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble - A young donkey finds a stone that grants wishes.

Click clack moo - Cows find a typewriter and start making demands on the farmer. Kind of an introduction to collective bargaining.

I'd recently made a similar post elsewhere, so I'll go ahead and copy that below. In addition to that, another thing my four year old and I have done is to make a scale-distance solar system on the sidewalk using chalk. Look up the distances of planets in AU, draw the Sun, and then get walking--one large step = one AU. Don't worry about properly scaling the planet sizes themselves because then everything would be tiny. Feel free to include fun details like the asteroid belt / Ceres, large moons, dwarf planets, etc. And at the very end, Voyager. Its amazing to see how far out that one has gone!

So many good books to choose from! Examples:

• Moon's First Friends
  
  
• The Sun is Kind of a Big Deal
  
  
• Hello World - Moon Landing
  
  
• First Big Book of Space
  
  
• There's No Place Like Space
  
  
• A Place for Pluto
  
  Other book recommendations here: http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2018/space-books-kids.html
  
  Looking through a telescope is another fun activity you can do. But please don't bother with a "kids telescope" - those are basically toys, are difficult to use, and barely help in seeing even the Moon. The smallest real telescope is around a 4.5" - 5" reflector. This will obviously be too large for a 4 year old to operate, but with your help he will be able to see things first-hand. If you are unfamiliar with the sky, free apps like Stellarium or Sky Safari (iOS) can guide you where to look. Jupiter and Saturn are currently out in the night sky.
  
  View the International Space Station! See here for when the ISS will be making a pass over your area, and explain what he is seeing!
  
  Follow current space events! This can include watching rocket launches (SpaceX does a great job with webcasting these) or NASA/ESA science missions (Mars 2020 launches next year, and those landings are always very exciting).

All Ages (age ratings sourced from Comixology)

• The Backstagers | James Tynion IV
  
• Fable Comics | Charise Mericle Harper
  
• Fairy Tale Comics | Telgemeier, Thompson, Mazzucchelli, et al.
  
• Guinea Pig: Pet Shop Private Eye | Colleen AF Venable
  
• Hilda and the Troll, Hilda and the Midnight Giant, Hilda and the Black Hound, Hilda and the Bird Parade, Hilda on the Stone Forest | Luke Pearson
  
• Julia's House for Lost Creatures, Little Robot, Nobody Likes a Goblin | Ben Hatke
  
• Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo, The Secret World of Arrietty | Yonebayashi & Miyazaki
  
• Lumberjanes | Stevenson, Watters, Ellis
  
• Marvel Age: Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spider-Man, Spider-Man Team-up | McKeever, Dezago, et al.
  
• Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four, Hulk, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Superheroes, Super Heroes (2010), The Avengers | Sumerak, Tobin, David, Bejamin, et al.
  
• Marvel Universe: Guardians of the Galaxy, Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble, Avengers Assemble Season Two | Caramagna
  
• Mighty Jack, Mighty Jack and the Goblin King | Ben Hatke
  
• Nightlights | Lorena Alvarez
  
• Nursery Rhyme Comics | Thompson, Mignola, Telgemeier, et al.
  
• Tamsin and the Deep | Brown & Cameron
  
• Thor: The Mighty Avenger | Roger Langridge
  
• TOON books: The Shark King | R. Kikuo Johnson
  
• Zita the Spacegirl, Legends of Zita the Spacegirl, The Return of Zita the Spacegirl | Ben Hatke
  
  Ages 9+
  
  
• Adventure Time | Ryan North
  
• The Adventures of Tintin | Herge
  
• Amulet | Kazu Kibuishi
  
• Asterix | Goscinny & Uderzo
  
• Atomic Robo | Brian Clevinger
  
• Bone | Jeff Smith
  
• Five Worlds | Siegel & Siegel
  
• Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away | Hayao Miyazaki
  
• Moomin | Tove Jansson
  
• The Nameless City, The Stone Heart | Faith Erin Hicks
  
• Power Pack | Simonson, Brigman, et al.
  
• Roller Girl | Victoria Jamieson
  
• Smile, Drama, Sisters, Ghosts | Raina Telgemeier
  
• Usagi Yojimbo | Stan Sakai
  
• A Wrinkle in Time | Madeleine L'Engle
  
  Ages 12+
  
  
• DC: The New Frontier | Darwyn Cooke
  
• Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant, Delilah Dirk and the King's Shilling | Tony Cliff
  
• Giant Days | Allison & Cogar
  
• Gotham Academy | Becky Cloonan
  
• The Legend of Wonder Woman | Renae De Liz
  
• Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur | Reeder & Montclare
  
• Mouse Guard: Fall 1152, Mouse Guard: Winter 1152, Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard | David Petersen
  
• Nimona | Noelle Stevenson
  
• Star Wars | Aaron
  
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Eastman & Waltz
  
• Ultimate Spider-Man | Bendis
  
• Most superhero comics at DC and Marvel
  
  Resources:
  
  
• goodokbad
  
• comicbookresources
  
• comicsintheclassroom
  
• ilovelibraries
  
• pastemagazine
  
• /u/urko37’s [Recommendation] “What comics are good for my kids?”

Drummer Hoff

This was one of my most favorite books as a child. I can't find it at any of the local used book stores and I'd love to have it again to relive my childhood joy!

Thanks!

-)

That is such a good idea! I'll have to remember that if I have a kid. Here are some of my favorites (new and old). I'm not sure how unusual they are (many are Caldecott winners) but they might help.

The Paper Bag Princess

Wolf in the Snow

Drawn Together

Any of Chris Van Allsburg's texts (some are very popular, like Jumanji)

Imogene's Antlers

Dreamers

Mirette on the High Wire

A House that Once Was

Where's My Teddy?

There's Something in My Attic

There's a Nightmare in my Closet

The Hilda series by Luke Pearson is really great. I think Hilda and the Troll is the first one, but I don't think they necessarily need to be read in order.

Also, all the Raina Telgemeier. She has Smile, Sisters, Drama, and Ghosts, as well as graphic novel versions of the Babysitter's Club books that are fantastic. And Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson.

>Discover the world of Star Wars’ Jedi through this fun and fully interactive reading experience.
>
>Star Wars: The Secrets of the Jedi is the ultimate in-universe guide to the world of the Jedi, transporting young readers to a galaxy far, far away through interactive features, fascinating facts, and captivating insights. With thrilling original illustrations and amazing special features including lift-the-flaps, textures, and more, Star Wars: The Secrets of the Jedi is guaranteed to thrill the saga’s legions of young fans.

Yeah, it's definitely Jediography. They have just changed the name of the book on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Secrets-Marc-Sumerak/dp/1683837029/

This is a fantastic list of books and other resources: http://creativewithkids.com/resources-for-talking-to-kids-about-race-and-racism/

And /u/Shostakovich22, the book you're thinking of is Amazing Grace - definitely a great one!

I didn't think much of Shakespeare, and then I studied King Lear, I reccomend Laurence Olivier's performance, he is so natural in his delivery that the meaning is usually very clear. You might also want to check out Ian Mckellen talking about his portrayal of the character of Lear, and look at some lectures on YouTube. All of this helped my understanding greatly.

This guys lectures are very good:

http://youtu.be/wo9DSOJ0LsI

Also, I got this book when I was in school, and it is a good starting point for Shakespeare, as you can find out what is going on in his plays. Leon Garfield has adapted them into stories.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shakespeare-Stories-Leon-Garfield/dp/0140389385/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458681942&sr=1-1&keywords=leon+garfield

We read (sang) On Top of the Potty over and over and over and over and...well I basically have it memorized right now. Sister recommended it after doing it with her kids and ours enjoyed it, I don't know if I can quantify how much it helped.

My 4yo still holds it in for a day or so, she just doesn't like to poop. One thing that helped was we used to really celebrate when she'd poop and she got a kick out of that. She still wants us to come and see when she poops, but at this stage, you know, they don't poop anymore. She takes a shit. Like, a beastly, middle-aged, alcoholic bum shit that stinks up the whole floor, and we're still trying to give positive feedback but enthusiasm is waning!

Personally I like Drummer Hoff a Caldecott Medal winner to boot.

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

Just as a joke you should give her a copy of the David Myles (Canadian Musician) book "Santa Never Brings Me a Banjo". It's based on his song and pretty cute.

https://www.amazon.ca/Santa-Never-Brings-Me-Banjo/dp/1771086270

The Phantom Tollbooth

Here are two I think that could work that were my favorites growing up:

Dave at Night: An orphan boy goes to live at an orphanage in New York City where everyone is mean to him. He sneaks off into the streets of harlem every night and discovers parties, jazz, a whole cast of characters (takes place in the 1920s).

Chasing Redbird: A young girl lives with her aunt and uncle for the summer and decides to clear the trail behind their house while confronting her own demons (she feels responsible for some tragedies that have happened).

This nursery rhymes CD. It's by the BBC in the 90s, it's all British voices, they do the proper versions of everything. We basically have it on repeat any long journeys for the last 6 months and I don't hate it yet. Actually it's been really awesome seeing her doing the actions to songs she's learned at nursery that we've not taught her

With that said, [this is a solid children's book](A Place for Pluto https://smile.amazon.com/dp/1684460042/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_VTxACb9MEGP10) that does a good job of explaining differences between planets, dwarf planets, moons, and more.

Is it A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban?

Thank you so much for the offer. Aidan is 11. He likes the Wimpy Kid books. http://a.co/4EW188c
link to book

Aidan

Great stuff, and some excellent nostalgic recs in this thread. If you're interested in filling up the shelf with some more contemporary (but excellent) picture books, I recommend...

Yoko by Rosemary Wells

No David! by David Shannon

Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

Bark, George by Jules Feiffer

The Whole Pigeon Series by Mo Willems (board book sets are readily available if I'm not mistaken)

Little Hoot by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (I like her book Little Pea as well)


And two of my own nostalgia picks that I haven't seen mentioned but that really stuck with me through the years:

Drummer Hoff by Barbara and Ed Emberley

Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag

I recently read Beautiful Music for Ugly Children and it was pretty alright. It's a MG novel about a closeted trans guy in high school who DJs on his neighbor's radio show and gets the idea to introduce himself there using the name he really wants to go by. It backfires when kids in his school start to listen to the music.

When I was a child, my favorite book was "Ballerina Bess" in her red ballerina dress. Reminds me of that book very much.

https://www.amazon.com/Ballerina-Bess-Dorothy-Jane-Mills/dp/1553697146

Mine was Drummer Hoff (Fired it Off)

Simpsons Season 13 - 15.49, prime, highest priority

Drummer Hoff - 14.84, prime, high priority

Atlas Shrugged Part 1 and Atlas Shrugged Part 2 - 8.06 and 10.04, both prime, high priority

total 48.47

Drummer Hoff.

Oh my gosh, you totally have to get him this book!! I just saw it at Barnes and Nobles the other day.
A Place for Pluto

Star Wars: Luke Skywalker and The Secrets of the Jedi https://www.amazon.de/dp/1683837029/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_HRCSDb1C35ZXY


The page I mentioned is actually shown in the preview pics. :D

Anyone else's parents read this delightful bit of anti-war propaganda to them as children? I remember reading it and thinking "wow, war is so futile." My opinion really hasn't changed since then.