What are your favourite books for 4 year old girls?

[MilaMae]

DD loves books and we have loads but she has a bday and Xmas coming up so wondering if there are any lovely ones she's missed.

She loves Blue Kangaroo, Lettice Rabbit, The Bog Baby, Winnie the Witch, You Choose, Fancy Nancy etc

Have you tried the 'Daisy' boos by Kes Gray, such as Eat Your Peas, You Do, Yuk, 006 and a Bit? DD loved these, also the original Angelina Ballerina books.

The 'Princess Poppy' books are all nice stories. Don't be put off by the title- she's not actually a princess and the books aren't at all princessy.

here

My daughter loves Princess Poppy but we are so sick of it!!!
At the moment, she loves "Harriet Dancing" and also "Dear Bunny", both illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church.
We are also big fans of Emily Gravett and Polly Dunbar.
She is also really into traditional and fiary tales os we have got the new Lauren Child "Goldilocks and the 3 bears" and the new Niamh Sharkey "Cinderella" (which is really beautiful!)

My daughter has loved the Seriously Silly Story collection. Funny twists on traditional tales. Eco-wolf and the three pigs being the favourite read for over a year.

Do not go near Rainbow Fairies - once you have read one you have read them all. Its painful. DD got box set of 20 and I had to put them away til a few weeks ago when she was able to read them all by herself..

Milly Molly Mandy

Thanks for those-she loves the Daisy books (we have them all). I'd forgotten Princess Poppy we got 1 from a library and she loved it!!!!!!! She loves the Nick Sharatt fairy tales too.

Will look out for the Lauren Child 3 bears.

Am looking forward to getting my Milly Molly Mandy books out,wasn't sure she was ready. Do you think she'd cope with Eloise,Madeline and Pippy Longstocking now too then????

Hi there,

My god-daughter is 4 years old and loves the Usborne Sticker story books. Great for me 'cos I can get them cheap !!!!

Have a look at www.usborneonline.org/bevhorkan for the full range

Teddy Robinson

My DD loved Milly Molly Mandy at that age too.

Debi Gliori's bedtime stories

We have the Pippi Longstocking with Lauren Child illustrations and it is great.

Debi Gliori's Bedtime Stories

Milly Molly Mandy a big hit with dd too
And flipping Princess Poppy
We also like Winnie the Pooh, Old Bear and Beatrix Potter as well

I am trying Milly Molly Mandy on DD1 (aged 4) but she doesn't yet 'get' the concept of books which don't have a picture on every page.

Also, MMM suspiciously anachronistic in concept with extended family all living in one house, gender-stereotyped activities etc.

DD1 prefers:

1. ancient Ladybird books - identifying the animals in What To Look For In Winter is seemingly just as gripping as following the plot twists of The Gruffalo - she is now an expert on the differences between leopards and cheetahs, not that they crop up in What To Look For In Winter but you know what I mean
2. 'reading' Maisy books to DS1 (aged 2) even though I grind my teeth at the thought of Maisy making gingerbread yet again
3. astonishingly to me, AA Milne poems. I read her a few, thinking them esoteric and a bit mad, but she was enchanted. Current favourite = The King's Breakfast, where he wants butter and the cow suggests marmalade.

My new theory is that poems offer a helpful bridge between picture books and 'grown-up' books, because they don't have a picture for every image, yet they have rhymes (which kids are used to with the Gruffalo etc etc etc) and they are short enough to hold a 4-year-old's attention span when there is nothing to look at.

Ah Madeline- I loved my books when I was small!
Definitely for younger than Pippi and Moomins