Future classics and great recent books for 0-4

[LeeMiller]

I have a new baby who I want to start building a book collection for, starting with board books. My 1.5 and 3.5 year old niece and nephew are visiting shortly and love being read to so I'm also thinking of also buying some books for them to enjoy wihle here which I can keep for DS. Since I won't be choosing the books to suit the interests of a specific child I'm interested in sure-fire hits.

I'm familiar with the classics from my own childhod (Eric Carle, the Ahlbergs, Dr Seuss, Judith Kerr etc) and some of the super famous more modern stuff like the Gruffalo and Bear Hunt. But beyond that I have no clue about stuff published in the last 10, 15 years or so.

Does anyone have any recommendations for really great recent books that you can't go wrong with? The kind of books that will become classics in the future? Stuff by authors like Oliver Jeffers, Chris Haughton, Herve Tullet, Jon Klassen looks appealing but I'm not sure which to choose. And there must be many other wonderful things I've never come across.

All 3 kids are being raised bilingual in non-English speaking countries so anything particularly stimulating language-wise (beyond normal parental interaction when reading!) is of particular interest.

PS A while ago I asked for recommendations which led to me buying Stuck by Oliver Jeffers for DN, it couldn' have been a bigger hit, which is why I'm turning the the wisdom of MN again. :-)

This has been so helpful, thank you everyone! Lots of completely new titles and authors as well as a few I knew but had forgotten about. It's hard for me to browse as we live overseas and shops stock a limited range in English, and though most titles are available in translation the text is often very different and it's impossible to know how good the English version will be. So this has been great.

@RicStar the Rob Biddulph penguin/dog books look fab. I can imagine the funny rhymes in the Oi books being a hit too, @DownWentTheFlag. The Jonny Duddle pirate books look like they'd be a hit with the pirate-loving three year old.

I love the look of the Herve Tullet books like Press here but wondered if they were more appealing for adults than kids, so good to hear you DS loves it @moreismore

I've never heard of The Polar Express but it looks magical. But perhaps it should be saved for a Christmas present along with The Snowman?

@Arnoldillo Click Clack Moo sounds great. Though I will probably need to explain what a typewriter is.

I've ordered a set of 10 Julia Donaldson books which seemed like a good place to start, and The Day the Crayons Quit as I couldn't resist the title. We already have We're going on a bear hunt, Each Peach Pear Plum, Peepo and The Hungry Caterpillar and some Dr Seuss ones. Off to pick out a couple of new titles for 3 year old DN and make an amazon wish list for us so I don't forget any of these recommendations.

DS and DD love books that are short. We just finished reading the Peter Pan picture book and are open to new suggestions as to what to try next.

Love this thread. I have a couple of extra suggestions:

Would you rather... by John Burningham. A lovely picture book which provokes lots of great discussions. Would you rather have breakfast in a balloon, tea on the river or supper in a castle? Would you rather be crushed by a snake, swallowed by a fish or sat on by a hippopotamus?

The Giant Jam Sandwich, by Janet Burroway. Wonderful rhyming language.

One I enjoyed reading over and over was Penguin by Polly Dunbar.

Another vote for 'Oi frog!'. Also 'meet the parents' Peter Bentley and 'oh no George' and 'a little bit lost' Chris haughton.