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

For my 2.5 yr old DC Wow Said the Owl has been great for learning colours. She has SEN and loves looking at books together. One of the first Makaton signs she learnt was 'book'. Looking at books together has really helped her language/speaking/signing development.

4 year-old DC loves Jazzy in the Jungle, and Peck Peck Peck.

9 yr-old DC is enjoying anything by David Walliams at the moment. She reads independently most of the time, but does still like me to read to her at bedtime.

We love to read Goosebumps and any Roald Dahl books :)
My personal favourites are the Mog the forgetful cat books but, alas, she has grown out of them :(

My 2 year old son loves so many books, but in particular Julia Donaldson, oi dog/frog and the ten little (monsters/pirates/dinosaurs) series. I love reading to him and can’t wait until he starts to read.

The Worst Witch (still have mine), Stinky (when they were younger) and old school Famous Five.

I love 'Not Now Bernard' and 'Five Minutes Peace' - DS loves them & I find them hilarious so it's a win all round!

As he's getting older we're moving onto Roald Dahl - my favourite as a child was George's Marvellous Medicine so I'll enjoy sharing that!

I love What The Ladybird Heard and The Highway Rat, I have done them by heart on car journeys

Now DD is a little older, DH and I are loving Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton and Dick King-Smith.

Our favourite book is 'Oh, the places you'll go' by Dr Seuss.

It has a very important message within it.

Anything with Mog the cat, because they are funny for the grownups too! And Funnybones, I know it off by heart! 🐱📚

Monkey puzzle is our favourite books to read together (8,6&2 yo)

The first book my DS loved was what the ladybird heard by Julia Donaldson, so we pretty much bought all of hers after that.

We then moved on to Roald Dahl starting with George’s marvellous medicine which I bought in the bigger colour edition which really are wonderful and fabulous to share!!

Then we read through David Walliams entire collection with grandpas greatest escape being his favourite and demon dentist being mine.

And now we are slap bang in the middle of the Harry Potter series which I never thought I’d enjoy and we are both loving them...my favourite part of my day is curling up before bed with my boy and sharing a book...should never be underestimated!!

We love Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson "and whoooosh they were gone" The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl and The Smartest Giant in Town (Julia Donaldson) also a fab book called "Chickens can't see in the dark" which has born a love of carrots for my little girl!

Dd2 favourite book is the singing mermaid. She is 5.

Dd1 is Harry Potter. She is 8.

My favourite ever book to read with them is called Stephanie's Ponytail it's the greatest kids book I have ever read. Ever!

When they were small- We're Going on a Bear Hunt, Little Rabbit Foo Foo and The Gruffalo.
As they got older, Harry Potter.

My sons favourite book when he was five was 'Wheels' by Shirley Hughes. I loved it too. I also loved reading them famous five and the books about Lara, the dog who was a retired undercover agent. I was a sucker for 'just one more page mum'.

Classics like Dogger and Dear zoo

Mine love mo willems books quite a lot, I do too. Ones that rhyme I prefer to read but really pretty much anything will be tried once. Getting into some older ones now like Enid blyton - I remember them from my own childhood.
But really, so many - too many to name them all. Owl babies, paper dolls, most Julia d really and some gems like Gaston (about dogs), beegu (a lost baby alien), the slodge....they'll sometimes like the same one over and over, which I'm not keen to do as it slightly does my head in. We also enjoy story cards where they have to make up their own stories. My three year old comes up with some really random stuff!
We've done stories since day one really as it seems the best way to end the day. If we can't read one together for any reason they take a book to bed to read/look at and cuddle!

The cat in the hat by Dr Seuss
It rhymes, it's a good yarn for adults and kids, what's not to love?

I love reading all the picture books from my childhood. Each Peach Pear Plum, The Gruffalo, Peepo etc.

We have also started reading some chapter books to our eldest, again reading what we read as children. Roald Dahl and C.S.Lewis.

My son also picks books from the library.

I like to share Dear Zoo with my baby as it was my favourite book when I was a child

I am addicted to Kindle books for reading novels and have also started reading them to my daughter, aged 8. One she really enjoyed last weekend was called Vicky's Visions, about a girl who can see into the fture, but nobody believes her. It was very funny.

An old book called "It's Mine!" It is all about sharing with your friends.

We take full advantage of the local library's 24 books per child so can mix it up a lot and not get bored

We (my 15mo and I) love reading the "That's not my..." books together. And she has a fondness for Pom Pom the panda - we love "Pom Pom gets the grumps"!

But I have a whole host of books that I can't wait to share with her. From the Meg and Mog books, through to the Worst Witch.
And a host of beautifully illustrated books moving up to my old and much loved Enid Blyton, EE Nesbit and JR Tolkein - I can't wait to read so many more with my little one!

We like the tiger who came for tea. We read this over and over again.

My toddler ds loves the that's not my series of books- current favourite that's not my car. Dd (5) loves Julia Donsldson and enjoying the princess Mirrabell series. My dh has just started reading Harry potter to her and she is loving it.