Books like Gruffalo/Duck in the Truck etc

[fatowl]

My DC are all secondary age now and while I can remember some of the books they used to love, I'd love to know what sort of books your 4-7 year olds love now (in addition to the "classics")

I now have a job (overseas) teaching ESL at a Kindergarten and I do a storytime session with them, their English level is not too bad but sometimes they don't "get" a concept.

So far they have loved:
Where's my Teddy? - Jez Alborough- totally got the teddy mix up and thought it was hilarious
Duck in the Truck - Jez Alborough - liked the rhyming and the fact everyone got dirty
The Blue Balloon (Mick Inkpen)
Harry and the Dinosaurs
Winnie the Witch - Valerie Thomas
All the Julia Donaldson well known ones (Gruffalo/Room on the Broom/Tyrannasaurus drip/Snail and the Whale)
Kipper
Rumble in the Jungle
They love the Mr Men- and I do read these sometimes, but I find them a bit difficult to read to a group (10-12) as they are so small in format.

They didn't like/get:
Funnybones
The Large Family stories
The Rainbow Fish
Guess How much I love you

I'm in the UK in a few weeks and hoping to get some recommendations to stock up on some more stories (the book shops here are a bit limited)

Grill pan eddy!! It's fabulous!! Really funny and rhymes.

And the highwaymouse is brilliant too.

The pirates next door is good. We love that.

Duck in the truck here
All the Dr Zeuss
Giraffes can't dance
No matter what

Hairy Maclary
Sir Charlie Stinky Socks
Little Bear
Dexter Bexley and the Big Blue Beastie

My youngest loves 'The Yes' by Sarah Bee and an illustrator (sorry, he's famous but I forgot his name). The Yes (a sort of friendly beast) is hampered by many Nos. Will the Yes triumph? Gorgeously inventive language.

Little rabbit foo foo
Two left feet

Thanks!
Oh yes, little Rabbit Foo Foo - that one has been around forever!

Grill Pan Eddy looks right up their street.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Browsing on Mazon at the moment, but hoping Waterstones or someone has a good 3 for 2 offer on - I have a limited budget from the school!

Amazon not Mazon obviously!

Oh and Father Christmas needs a wee (counting/rhyming)

Baby Owl "Baby owl decided to explore the woods. 'No one will bother me," he thought. Then along came [cast of characters who think he's a baby when he thinks he's a kick ass grown up]." Whoever wrote that book, thank you for lovely story and curse you for still being in my head.

I don't know if this might be a concept too much for them but my ds7 stills loves I'm Coming to Get You! by Tony Ross. It's a story showing this rampant space monster eating planets etc (leaving them like apple cores) then he finds a little earth boy on his radar and heads for earth to 'get him'. The tension is really built up until the last page when the monster leaps out to get him and it turns out the monster is smaller than the boys shoe and the boy doesn't even notice him. My ds used to laugh like a drain

You could try some Oliver Jeffers. Lost and Found is fab with a great penguin in it. Also Stuck is really popular.

Hairy Maclairy
The Little Red Train series
Maisy books
Humphrey books

Here be Monsters -lovely to read aloud dramatically and gruesome in a funny way
Bear snored on -again, fab for reading aloud
Giraffes Can't Dance
When the Dragons Came
Dogs don't do ballet
The tiger who came to tea
plus ad you said anything by the fab Julia Donaldson!

"Pants" and "More Pants"

The Worst Princess

Mr Magnolia, Shirley Hughes, Charlie and Lola books, Aliens love Underpants.

Aliens love underpants - rhyming and funny

The Very Annoying Elephant by David Walliams is good too.