Good books as presents eg recommended but unlikely to have already

My DD was given a collection of children's Shakespeare (12 books in all). Fantastic and now I'm a bit more clued up too. Again, these will be for when she's older.

But also (and less pricey than an 'adult' collection)
No Matter What
Pants
AA Milne When we were very young (someone else suggested, but this is beautiful for children't poetry, I love it)
A squash and a squeeze

I also like giving book ends for the books...

The Sleepover Club

Allan Ahlberg
Clive King
Richmal Crompton
Robert Louis Stevenson

Also:

Black Beauty
Sam McBratney
Ian Serraillier
Puffin books
Quentin Blake
Noel Streatfeild
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Rudyard Kipling
E Nesbit
Margaret Bateson-Hill
Edward Lear
Richard Scarry
Lynley Dodd
Nick Butterworth

These are all the books/authors I remember having from when I was little.

The Wizard of Oz
The Velveteen Rabbit
We're going on a bear hunt
Eric Carle
The Gruffalo
Hug
Owl Babies
Water Babies
Just So Stories
The Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly
The Tiger Who Came to Tea
Because I Love You
You Are Special
You Are Mine
When We Were Very Young
I Love You Forever
Oh The Places You'll Go
The Story of Babar
The Tale of the Three Trees
Wind in the Willows
Peter Pan
Rupert Bear
Paddington Bear
A. A. Milne Winne the Pooh stories
Thomas the Tank Engine (old editions with beautiful pictures by C. Reginald Dalby)
Beatrix Potter
Narnia
Alice Through The Looking Glass
Madeline
Pippi Longstocking
Milly Molly Mandy
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Trebizon
The Real Tooth Fairy by Marilyn Kaye
Anything by Dr Seuss
Judy Blume
Anne Fine
Chalet School
Swallows and Amazons
What Katy Did
Charlotte's Web
Dick King Smith
Roald Dahl
Little Women
Animal Ark
Mary Poppins
Five Children and It
The Borrowers
Home Farm Twins
Aquila
Robin Hood
The Worst Witch
Demon's Headmaster
Jacqueline Wilson
My Naughty Little Sister
Topsy and Tim
Flat Stanley
Matt Buckingham
Kaye Umansky
Philippa Pearce
Scooby Doo

The Green Ship by Quentin Blake for 5+

Also a nicely illustrated book of fairy stories (Grimm, Anderson etc) so that children don't think that Snow White, the Little Mermaid etc are Disney creations

My girls (just 2, and 3) love Nick Sharratt. The illustrations are bright and bold and the rhyming of 'Shark in the Park' and 'Pants' are particular favourites with us. They both know them word for word and we play lots of games around them (making telescopes, hiding a plastic toy shark when we're out and about, fabric pens and ribbons on knickers...) maybe a book present and a make and do present for after reading

Love this one - Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney also:
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A Milne - favourite in this household
For older children:
Tom's Midnight Garden
The Silver Sword
Swallows and Amazons

I'm australian so get sent a lot of australian ones that aren't widely known here but nonetheless lovely stories with beautiful illustrations. Possum Magic is a favourite.
I also think Sandra Boynton's books are under-appreciated here - Moo Baa La La La is wonderful.
Richard Scarry's mystery books as well (the great Pie Robbery, he does a pop up called The Busiest Pop up Ever! which is fab and a great present).
Oliver Jeffers' How to catch a star in hardback is simply wonderful and magical.

Emily Gravett - Orange Apple Pear Bear and Monkey and Me. Both fabulous repetitive sounds for small babies. DS is nearly 2 and has adored OAPB since he was a few weeks old, and we had M&M out of the library so much earlier this year they wouldn't let us renew it anymore and we had to buy our own copy.

great minds think alike

Zagazoo. Brilliant. Quentin Blake. Every parent should read it. Actually, anything by Quentin Blake.

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes. Lovely illustrations. Lovely rhyming text. Makes me cry every single time I read it to DD (little fingers! little toes! ).

xpost cookie

the paper bag princess - my mum's absolute favourite when I was little

the quangle wangle's hat (helen oxenbury's illustrations are my favourite)

where the wild things are

the paper bag princess

room on a broom

here we go round the mulberry bush

the animal bop

ds is a big fan of nick butterworth.. he has written loads about percy the park keeper but a particular favourite is Albert le Blanc about Mr Jolly's toyshop and the follow up albert le blanc to the rescue

Teddy Robinson books

big mum plum

Harold and the Purple Crayon is great and an unusual choice

he Baby Catalogue and Peepbo (or poss Peepo? Peepbo surely), both Ahlbergs, both brilliant. They're dated but children look at the pics forever.

I also found the Usbourne books such as Everyday Words good: they're A4 size pages of model towns or houses or farms with loads going on, lots of humour if you hunt for it and a cute duck to find on every page.The models are made of plasticine and very clever, children just love them. We can kill hours with one of those books

Zoo-ology by Joelle Jolivet.

It is a beautiful book full of illustrations of hundreds of different animals, categorized into things such as big, small, hot, cold etc etc.

My DS, 3 loves looking at it, but so do older children too.

It is a really tall book though - so doesn't fit on a standard bookshelf, but that is part of the charm of it I think!

when we were very young A A Milne

A child's garden of verse (illustrated) Robert Louis Stevenson

both classics to save though I read them both to my dc before they could read for themselves, they insisted on having them read over and over again and learned their favourites off by heart Can't go wrong in my opinion

Buy the hardback editions and write an inscription.

I love The Baby Catalogue for small babies and for toddlers. DS is 3 and has adored this book since he was around 18mths. He will pore over it on his own for ages, or go through pointing out all the items - he also 'reads' it to his little sister now. The illustrations are lovely and provide loads of opportunities for chatting about what's going on.

Hairy Maclary

My Cat Just Sleeps

Calm down Boris

Joe's Dog