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Original poster

Your top five books for under 3s?

91 replies

Smithagain · 02/02/2008 21:43

I run a toddler group and I'd like to upgrade our book collection.

If you had to draw up a list of the five all time greatest books for children aged about 18 months to three years, what would you include?

I'd like to have some things that the mums (first timers in particular) might not have come across yet, but should have on their bookshelves!

OP posts:
PeterDuck · 03/02/2008 12:39

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UnquietDad · 03/02/2008 11:38

DD used to love Blue Kangaroo. We've still got them - the early ones in paperback, quite battered, and the later ones in hardback, less so - sad that she is really too old for them now (7) but she'll still have them now and then as bedtime "comfort reading"!

Sobernow · 03/02/2008 11:31

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suzycreamcheese · 03/02/2008 11:31

peter duck
ds fav book is You Choose..though he choose the same things for about 6 months....!
its a great book..

room on the broom
(can recite most of it unaided now)
et al they are good

dr suess.. green eggs and ham is a big favourite

Sobernow · 03/02/2008 11:31

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UnquietDad · 03/02/2008 11:30

Has anyone mentioned Blue Kangaroo yet?

posieflump · 03/02/2008 11:29

Maisy books too

freddiesyummymummy · 03/02/2008 11:28

the gruffalo
the gruffalo's child
the very hungry caterpiller
Harry and the dinosaurs (all of them!)
the apple tree farm series

posieflump · 03/02/2008 11:23

Oh yes and the Charlie and Lola ones are great

posieflump · 03/02/2008 11:21

Monkey with the right Blue Bottom, ds loves that

agree with Gruffalo, Room on the Broom, the Smartest Giant in Town

Also rhyming ones like The Giraffe who can't Dance (I forget the author)

Ds loves anything with dinosurs in The Very Dizzy Dinoasaur is a good one

lucymack · 03/02/2008 11:17

I sell children's books and would be very happy to give you a great discount if you're placing a large order. Please contact me at [email protected] if you're interested.

In addition to all the ones mentioned above I would probably add more Julia Donaldson ones like Gruffalo, Tiddler, Room on the Broom etc and also some Nick Sharratt ones like Pantsa and also the Jolly Postman.

Let me know if I can help you. Thanks

evenhope · 03/02/2008 10:25

nighbynight you probably think the Ahlbergs unoriginal because they've been copied so many times!

I love the illustrations in Peepo- they are my gran's house to a T (but then I am very old)

BigBadMouse · 03/02/2008 00:50

Bear hunt drives me mad... I just really struggle to get into it so DDs have to rely on nursery for that one. Gruffalo's Child is going to be unavailable at our local library for some time until I can find a copy going cheap somewhere - that's much more fun

RosaLuxOnTheBrightSideOfLife · 03/02/2008 00:32

Well you may not like Ahlberg Nighbynight, but I have three girls who all love everything they have ever drawn or written.

seeker · 02/02/2008 23:52

Isn't it amazing that out of all the books published, we have all chosen the same ones! I forgot Lulu and the Flying Babies though, which no one has mentioned yet and which has been popular chez seeker for 11 years now.

malfoy · 02/02/2008 23:39

One Bear at Bedtime by Mick Inkpen

in addition to ones already mentioned.

sb6699 · 02/02/2008 23:35

Our fav's have pretty much all been mentioned:

Guess How Much I Love You
Owl Babies
The Hungry Caterpillar
We're Going on a Bear Hunt

One book I ended up having to renew in the library about six times was "Baby's New Shoes" but can't remember who wrote it.

Nighbynight · 02/02/2008 23:19

I can never understand why the Ahlberg stuff is so popular. My mother bought them for dd1, she never took to them and I found them revolting, unoriginal and badly illustrated.

dd2 is keen on:
Beatrix Potter
a highly coloured Finding Nemo book
Bugs And Slugs
Miffy

marina · 02/02/2008 22:54

Peepo
Each Peach Pear Plum
The Gruffalo
Duck in the Truck
Slinky Malinki

charleymouse · 02/02/2008 22:54

DDs (3 yrs) recent favourites
Six Dinner Sid
Mrs McTat And Her House Full Of Cats
Giraffes Can't Dance
Very Hungry Caterpillar
Baxter Bear Goes To The Farm

Bluenosesaint · 02/02/2008 22:51

The Large Family

The Gruffalo

A squash and a squeeze

Room on the Broom

The big red bath

onebatmother · 02/02/2008 22:48

The Grumpalump! No one ever seems to have heard of it and it's absolutely fabulous.

CaliAndiemcdowellFrau · 02/02/2008 22:45

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BroccoliSpears · 02/02/2008 22:36

I think our faves have been mentioned over and over in this thread, so will just add the Knight books by Davis Melling - 'Good Knight, Sleep Tight' and 'The Kiss That Missed' are both lovely.

wheelybug · 02/02/2008 22:30

Peterduck - dd has just got 'you choose' in her aged 3 book start pack and she adores it. We are reading it over and over again. Its great because you can really leave her with it and she can just talk about it. Genius.

Shame we got each peach pear plum as our other one which dd has loved since 1. But a great book nonetheless.