Mumsnet users share with Scottish Friendly their favourite books to read to their children

[EllieMumsnet]

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Reading to your DCs can be a great source of not only downtime and bonding but it can also help your children learn and develop. Many of our most nostalgic memories contain at least one recollection of our parents reading our favourite book to us, therefore Scottish Friendly would love to know which your favourite books are to read to your children and why? Plus what are your favourite childhood books?

Do you love reading the classic Winnie the Pooh because you get to do all the voices? Perhaps your DC loves adventure books and you’re not one to shy away from acting out the scenes? Or do you love a books that your child can read along with you? Maybe you and your DC love to get all cosy with some pillows and blankets and read their favourite Roald Dahl book together?

Here’s what Scottish Friendly have to say: “With just two weeks left of summer, perhaps it’s getting to that time when you’re looking for new ideas to keep your little darlings amused. Even if it’s just to give yourself the chance of a well-deserved cuppa and to put your feet up for longer than 5 minutes!

Scottish Friendly is celebrating 20 years of supporting children’s literacy with a game your kids can play called ‘Letterfall’. It’s fun and educational too, and to celebrate this milestone anniversary we’ve added an extra twist! Now kids all over the UK can play to try to beat the current high score for a chance to win a fantastic prize for their school – an iPad Pro, iPad and an iPad Mini are all up for grabs! Visit the site to play (terms apply, more details on the website.)”

Whatever your favourite book to read to your child is and why, share it on the thread below to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

We tend to read Oscar all the classics we remember from our own childhoods - things like Peepo, and The Tiger Who Came To Tea!

My DCs (7 and 9 year old) love Captain Underpants and Horrid Henry series. When they were younger, they loved Julia Donaldson's and Rebecca Elliot's books.

Harry McLairy books for me! I love the way they are written and the fabulous illustrations.

We loved reading The Incredible Adventures of Pig. My husband does a very strong Dorset accent and I do a very bad American accent and the kids think it's hilarious!
I can't wait to get them started on Enid Blyton's The Faraway Tree and the Wishing Chair. Both of those books took me away to a different world and I loved them.

DD (4) adores all of the Shirley Hughes ‘Alfie’ books. I have such warm memories about having them read to me as a child, and it’s a joy to read them to my own daughter now. She has particular favourites that she likes me to read to her, and others that she likes her dad to read to her when he does bedtime.

6 year old and I are working our way through the 'How to train your dragon' series which is fun. 2 year old is now at the stage where he can fill in bits of stories he knows well, so the Gruffalo is lovely. He's also an expert at 'This is Apple Tree Farm. This is Mrs Boot the farmer....'

We love Cats Ahoy. It's everyone's favorite and me and DH know it by heart now! Other favourites are Room on the Broom, Charlie Cooks favorite book, the Gruffalo books and Giraffes can't Dance.

Firstly I recommend the Heronimo Stilton series. If you can get the Colour editions they are fab but they are also being published in the U.K. now. Geronimo is a mouse who runs a newspaper and has adventures all across the globe. The use of different size and type of fonts means the story leaps out and theybhave really helped my reluctant reader with his reading.

Secondly I absolutely loved Pamela Butchart‘s books which are fast paced ad funny. So much so that you can’t do anything but read them with expression and speed. My boy loves ‘the baby brother from outer space’

Lastly - stig of the dump. Clive king died recently and it reminds me how much I wanted to be the boy who fell into the he dump and met stig. I am reading it to my son (7) as a bed time story and because he is the kind of child who picks up all kinds of junk he is absolutely in love with stig and wants to be him.

Bugger

Geronimo Stilton.

I read Enid Blyton books every night as a child, the famous five books were my favourites and I will read them to my children.

My two year old is currently in love with Miffy, so we snuggle up every night with a Miffy story. My 6 year old loves the Beast Quest stories and still like to be read to at bedtime, the stories are a little less snugly than Miffy though!

Roald Dahl books, Julia Donaldson are the obvious ones that everyone loves. A lot of laughs with these.
Also love a bit of holes and Harry Potter.

SLEEPING BEAUTY

We love anything Julia Donaldson, current favourite is the snail on the whale.
I am excited to introduce Enid Blytons Faraway tree series when my ds is a bit older.

We love the Hungry Little Caterpillar. It never loses its value over time. Great short book

I can remember reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid and laughing so much. It's that age where they start to read to themselves. I was happy to be able to join in.

My daughters favorite book at the moment is hide and seek pig as she loves lifting all the flaps up (they now nearly life themselves they have been lifted so much).

Growing up my favorite book was the lion the which and the wardrobe.

The Tiger who came to tea is one of my favourites to read.
It was a favourite with the small ones when they were little too along with Each Peach Pear Plum- which we all know by heart- and Rosie's walk

Now they are older and loving the Sophie series by Dick King Smith

Traditional stories such as 3 little pigs, gingerbread man, 3 billy goats gruff etc.... never get old and are the perfect length for a night time story.

My eldest son has profound medical and complex special needs (so the mental age of a baby) his younger siblings are 10 and 13 and fortunately have always loved reading and still often read to themselves. Moreover they pick up some of his favourite books and read them to him too. Pooh bear and friends are always great, as are Beatrix Potter, anything by Julia Donaldson too. I'll be honest I think it's his siblings spending time with him and reading in silly voices that excites him the most - but we all love these books and many, many more

My son currently likes the Bear Grylls books and my daughter likes the Tom Gates series.

Big hits for reading together over the years bring no real surprises :The Magic Faraway tree, Roald Dahl, Harry Potter. Earlier on, Julia Childs and Nick Sharrat.

Looking at the thread to see where to go next.

Five children and It
Famous five
Narnia
'Ottoline' books
Enid Blyton

I read with my son every night & he has a huge library. He's only 3 and loves anything with repetition so he can join in. Current favourites are Penguin by Polly Dunbar and Green Eggs & Ham by Dr Seuss. We also read books in Welsh and he especially loves Y Bath Mawr Coch and anything featuring Sali Mali. He's just moving into his "big boy" bed & i'm looking forward to reading him longer books before he goes to sleep, especially things like Emil & The Detectives and Paddington.

My children love Goosebumps by R.L. Stine.

My seven year old is going mad for "The Sleekit Mr Tod". I'm Scottish but live in the South of England and my mum sent it down as she though my my kids would get a kick out of it.

It's "Fantastic Mr Fox" translated into Scots and its a brilliant read. Listening to my youngest trying to read it in her RP accent makes me laugh and she loves to guess what the Scottish words mean in English. I like it too, as she's fascinated listening to me pronounce things in my natural dialect. Would heartily recommend for transplanted Scots everywhere!