Stocking up: buying LOTS of books for 2-5 & 5-8 year olds

[caramelgirl]

So, we are moving to Singapore at the beginning of August and my friend has advised to stock up on kids' books asap. They are v expensive out there and library access is limited.
I have a two year old boy and a five year old girl. Planning on staying there for three years.
We have most Julia Donaldson, Mog the Forgetful Cat, Tony Mitton, Shirley Hughes, Ahlberg picture books.
Five year old is not yet reading confidently by herself. Likes to be read Famous Five, My Naughty Little Sister, Milly Molly Mandy, Gobbolino the Witch's Car, Carbonel. Tried to like Rainbow Fairies and the Secret Mermaid but we hid them as they are annoying. She isn't great at even mild peril.
Two year old likes Octonauts and Mr. Men books (also often mysteriously lost..), Tiger who came to tea, Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb, Tanka Tanka Skunk.
My ideas were to buy as many of Dianne Wynne Jones' books, Harry Potter set but I am feeling a bit blank.
So... I have a shiny new credit card ready to max out, what should I buy please? Thank you!

Dr Seuss
Winnie the Witch
How to Train Your Dragon to read to 5yo and them to read later
Beast Quest

if you do need to but while you are out there then The Book Depository offers free worldwide delivery and their prices are normally reasonable too.

derek- montessori and steiner waldorf are very anti television, I suppose that extends to other screens too.

We have no television... but not montessori reasons.
We do have an unfeasible number of books, children's too.

Don't forget Ahlberg's Funny Bones- just fantastic.

Charlotte's Web
Stuart Little
Animals of Farthing Wood

For non-fiction, the Usborne Lift the Flaps books are really good- they have See inside Space, See inside your body, See inside Earth, See inside Trains, Flip Flap Farm etc. They also do fantastic dictionaries (First 1000 Words) and history encyclopaedias etc. DK do fantastic encyclopaedias too, and all sorts of non-fiction pictorial books. (like the animal ones, dinosaurs, inventions, arctic etc)

Ooh like the idea of factual lift the flap books. DS already going to bed with an usborne book of sharks and a ball so think he may be more into non-fiction than DD. or just like the gruesome pictures.
Excellent information re free or cheap worldwide delivery. Thank you.
And I have not yet bought our own copy of funny bones. Will get onto it.
Thanks.
Am still not entirely clear what Montessori stands for but it is most convenient school we can attend without being religious and she loves her teacher. So don't follow all their advice but do sometimes panic a bit and worry. Next week's parents' lecture is on raising non competitive children in a dog eat dog world. Am assuming will be a lot of turning the other cheek, but not thinking "what would Spider-Man do?"

Simple kindle is not blue light, not back lit at all. The page looks just like a page in a book.

Kindle app on a tablet.... Different thing.

So you would think that reading my paper white wouldn't have any effect on melatonin for example? Interesting.and a bit off topic on my own thread, oops, butterfly mind

Doubt it. Anecdotaly, I read in bed either paper books or kindle til I all but fall asleep.

Its the reading a story and wanting to know what happens next bit that means I'm still awake at 1am, not the media I'm reading from... Tis a bad habit I know.

DS doesn't see kindle time as computer time. Its just another book. He can't play games on it or watch TV programs. I have a few kids books on my kindle for DS as its sometimes handy if he hasn't brought enough reading material along.