What book did your toddler children love you reading to them?

[JimandPam]

My two boys are at the age where they are absolutely loving story time before bed. They are 2 and 4 so a great age to enjoy a good story

We have really exhausted our book collection and I wondered what story you cherished reading your children at this age/they cherished you reading to them?

We have all the classics but I've been surprised when gifted books I would never have bought myself as they gone down so well

I know it is cheeky using AIBU but I wanted to put an order in World of Books tomorrow for the weekend!

So what were your much loved books?

The big red bath - with ben and bella

Usborne Phonics readers - fat cat on the mat and Ted in a red bed being favourites - ( sure an advert for bed company copied that book)

Dr Seuss books.

Shark in the Park
We're all going on a bear hunt

I love:-

The Rattletrap Car by Phyllis Root
Dogs Go Shopping by Sharon Rentta ♥

Hairy Mclary series

Agree. Any Julia Donaldsons. Plus
Tidy up Trevor, Who's a Cheeky Baby, Chocolate Mousse for Greedy Goose

Oh No George.

The gruffalo, the gruffalo's child, don't wake the bear hare, sharing a shell.

Wow said the owl, car car truck jeep I can't yet see mentioned, we read these a lot!!

Really little - Goodnight Moon, The gruffalo, Mr Men books, the hungry caterpillar, anything in the 'That's Not My.....' series.

Infants - Brambly Hedge series, 10 minute tales.

Primary school - Roald Dahl books, Harry Potter series, horrible histories,

Ooh forgot to add the ones with 'The Large Family' with all the elephants '5 minutes peace' think it was called. The ones with little bear in them by Jane Hissey

Anything Julia Donaldson
The Dinosaur the Pooped Series
Tiger That Came to Tea

I joined the library with my youngest so we get new different books once a month. It's given a variety to what we read definitely and not just reading the same ones we have. We have a very extensive collection as well thanks to alot of teachers etc for family and friends. They love a book present lol

Where is the green sheep
10 little fingers and ten little toes

Goodnight Moon, where we used to hunt out the little mouse on each page.
They LOVED Where is the Green Sheep?

Giraffes can't dance
Brown bear, Brown bear what do you see

Charlie and Lola (original not tv based
Anything by Gill Murphy
Winnie the witch
Mr Men (I don't like a lot of them them but some of my children loved them)
Oliver Jeffers books
There's a hippopotamus on my roof eating cake (the updated version where the dad doesn't smack)

Slinky Malinky
Farmer Duck
The Runaway Train
Dr Seuss
Room on the Broom
Monkey Puzzle
The Gruffalo

I love the responses this thread has generated.

I can feel the smiles on the faces of you all as you enthusiastically type out these memories of reading to the kids

My husband and I alternate reading stories for bed and it's easy for it to become a 'chore' to get done before dealing with tidying up/our dinner etc. I'm going to make more of an effort to stop and enjoy these moments 😊

My boys are grown men now, but reading through this thread reminds of so many old friends that we all loved.

Our top picture books included:
Owl Babies
Ten in the Bed (the Penny Dale version)
Rosie's Walk
Hairy Maclary
Whatever Next
Farmer Duck
All the Mr Mens
anything by Richard Scarry
all the Alfie and Annie Rose stories by Shirley Hughes
Each Peach pear Plum
We're going on a Bear Hunt
(and for a slightly older child) The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson

We also have some ladybird classic fairy tales and nursery rhymes. These have really survived the test of time. I've had to read the three little pigs the last three nights.

Not sure if anyone's mentioned Anthony Brown. His illustrations are a joy.

Current favourite with my toddler is ‘Cake’ by Sue Hendra & Paul Linnet (of Supertato fame, which we also love).

My older kids love the Mo Willems pigeon series, starting with ‘Don’t let the pigeon drive the bus!’ Very funny to read

I foster and one of my joys is sharing books with the children who stay with us. What is so fascinating is that they all take to a different couple of books as their all time favourites and it's often impossible to guess what it is about a certain book that's grabbed then. so I'm seconding the recommendation of a pp. a library visit where they can just grab anything they fancy and you get to try them all out before buying.

The very hungry caterpillar - Eric Carle
The Gruffalo - Julia Donaldson
Captain Yellowbelly, the tale of the terrible pirate - Preston Rutt
Captain Flynn and the pirate dinosaurs series - Giles Andreae
The tiger who came to tea - Judith Kerr
Dogs don’t do ballet - Anna Kemp
Worst in show - William Bee & Kate Hindley
The book with no pictures - BJ Novak
Wide awake Jake - Rachel Elliot
Grandad - Rachel Elliot (I love this book)
The monkey with a bright blue bottom - Steve Smallman
Norman the Slug with the Silly Shell - Paul Linnet and Sue Hendra
Jack and the flum flum tree - Julia Donaldson (kids belly laugh at certain bits of this and the voices we’ve made up for it)

ooh also,
Pigs might fly Jonathan Emmett, my daughter loves this one!

Every child should have Haunted House by Jan Pienkowski - author of Meg & Mog; find Mog on each page, pop up book with lift the flaps, make the crocodile snap, find the skeleton, etc. I had it as a kid & both my DC have had it & bought it for lots of friends DC as they've got older.

Oh and The Large Family collection!! I used to read them to my little sister who is now in her 30s and love sharing them with my children now! A couple of them are the exact same books I read to her, slight worse for wear but still plenty of life left in them!

(I’ll stop now 🙈)