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

I still remember reading Enid Blyton's "of adventure" series that got passed down to me from my older cousins. I rediscovered them at the library when my daughter was younger and she asked me to buy her a set of her own.
Later on we enjoyed reading Brian Jacques Redwall series. I like the way he writes the dialogue so you have to read it out in the correct accent.
My son's favourite book was Puss Jeckyl, Cat Hyde which I had read so often that I could recite the whole book without looking at it.

What's in the witches kitchen and kitchen disco are my absolute favourites as DS has so much fun reading them with me.

We love Dr Seuss - the rhythm and rhyme are brilliant and stories so silly. Julia Donaldson also a big favourite - particularly the gruffalo for the character voices

Anything by Shirley Hughes for my three year old -currently loving 'Alfie Gives a Hand'
The illustrations are just so gorgeous.

We have been reading (over and over) Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffries because not only is it a lovely story, they way it is illustrated means you can see immediately how the boy and lost penguin are feeling, which is easy for youngsters to follow. It's a heartwarming story of friendship, and home is where the heart is. It melts my heart every time, its short enough for bedtime, and we went on to look for more books to engage the interest in reading.

Roald Dahl is heaps of fun. Enjoy reliving The Famous Five and Malory Towers with my 8 year old

My daughter's favourites are 'Guess how much I love you' and 'we're going on a bear hunt'. She also loves all the Disney classics

My DC have enjoyed all the usual Julia Donaldson ones etc, which are lovely. I like to read them books that are funny and shock them a bit though . Favourites are Tadpole's Promise by Jeanne Willis, The Spider and the Fly by Tony DiTerlizzi and Not Now Bernard by David McKee.

For me it's the Swallows and Amazons series. My boy loves having me read them to him, as my dad read them to me, and his mother read them to him.

Anything by Julia Donaldson, or the Hairy McClary books by Lynley Dodd. My daughter used to love the rhymes, and guessing what came next.
I remember a teacher at primary school reading the Magic Faraway series to us as a class, one chapter before home time every day. I couldn't wait to find out what happened, so went and borrowed the books from the library.

My daughter and I love Enid Blyton stories. We have worked our way through The Naughtiest girl in school series, The Far away tree series and the Amelia Jane series. We are currently on book 2 of the famous 5. Good old fashioned fun and a look in to old times. My son and I however read Harry Potter every night. Couldn't be more different but also brilliantly written and great fun.

My 4 year old loves books, all Julia Donaldson books are a firm favourite. My husband and I can now recite the highway rat and the Gruffalo from memory. He even dressed as the highway rat for world book day.

My favourite at the moment is Goodnight Moon because it's my DS's bedtime book and we snuggle together to read it.

I love reading the Snail and the whale and the gruffalo, although mine are getting a bit old for those books now. Read them to my niece instead

The Lynley Dodd Hairy McLary and cat books, the language used is fabulous and it was a joy to me that my three year olds used and understood words like caucophony. Twenty years later and we can still recite many of the books from memory. In fact my children wanted to call our new dog Hercules Morse. I give these as gifts now to other people's children

My 17 week old son adores Dig, Dog, Digging. He gets so excited at the pictures and the rhymes that we now have to read it in the day as it makes him too excited at night time! I can’t wait to be able to read him Enid blyton and all of those wonderful classics! I just hope he ends up loving reading as much as I do!

Ds1 adores Mr Men books. He’s been able to name about 90% of them by sight since he was 2.5

I love Winnie the Pooh and the shifty mcgifty books. Oh and oi dog and oi frog make laugh!

My son loves The Jolly Postman books, the Winnie the Witch series and anything by Oliver Jeffers. I try to read a wide selection to him and include different versions of Fairy Tales and simple retellings of Greek Myths because I think it’s really important to know these stories.

I’ve tried him with the original Winnie the Pooh books but he’s not interested at the minute.

I
Love reading the Enid Blyton books to my 7 yr old dd . We’ve done the Faraway Tree series and are now working our way though Amelia Jane . They are the perfect mix of fantasy adventure but not too scary for before bed reading .
My fave children’s classic is Watership Down. Each time I re read it I discover new things in it

The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson and mine was Milly Molly Mandy

My favourite book as a child was The tiger who came to tea by Judith Kerr. My boys both love her stories too. The mog books are great and The other goose. I really hope that someone adapts some of the Mog stories into a Paddington style film!
I usually try to get my 5 year old to read to me as well so he has to read me first then as a reward I read to him. I really hope he enjoys reading as much as I do!

‘We’re going on a bear hunt’ was a favourite here.

I love reading How to Hide a Lion, and perhaps more so, How to Hide a Lion from Grandma. They are full of suspense and funny.

Rhymning books and funny stories are always the most popular here - so classics like Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes are always a winner-

Although you do end up knowing them all by heart FOREVER!