Best baby / preschool books -- any recommendations please?

[Socci]

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Dear Zoo has been a favourite with all of mine from a very young age.

Also Each Peach Pear Plum and We're going on a Bear Hunt

yes to all those, they're great

Any of the Spot series with the flaps, Where the Wild Things Are and the Maisy ones too and you can't go wrong

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Blindingly obvious, so you've probably got it, but The Very Hungry Caterpillar and anything else by Eric Carle. Also The Baby's Catalogue , Peepo , and absolutely all of the Hairy Maclary books, which are a joy to read out loud. Then there's the Alfie books by Shirley Hughes, My Naughty Little Sister......

A good reference book is Babies Need Books , which I think goes up to the age of 6. Have fun!

um.... Elmer series by David McKee
did your parent's keep any of your old books from when you were a child? they don't have to be contemporary IME

Helen Oxenbury is fantastic, anything by her really, she illustrated Bear Hunt

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Goodbye Moon

What age for? My ds got BABY BOO in the Amazing Baby range for Christmas. He was 4mths then and it was a winner straight away. He still loves it. Amazing Baby have great books for babies. Highly recommend.

Usborne touch and feel books
Baby bright books

Both my dss absolutely love the Ladybird books -

"Night Night Baby", "Hey Diddle Diddle", as well as, among others

"Fidgety Fish" by Ruth Galloway (Little Tiger Press)

"Whatever Next" by Jill Murphy (Campbell Books)

"Chamelion's Crazy Colours" by Nicola Grant and Michael Terry (Little Tiger Press)

"The Snail and the Whale" (which even brings a tear to my eye) by Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler (MacMillan)

3yr old ds1 has memorised them all and reads them to his yr old brother,

and there's an ABC picture book with rather surreal pictures but I don't have it to hand so couldn't tell you who it's by.

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Dorling+Kindersley are a really safe bet, the next stage up from the chunky board books are great, with lots of photographs that the kids love to identify

oh and Tony Mitton and Ant Parker have an "Amazing Machines" series out about rockers, aerolplanes, diggers, trains, fire engines and boats published by Kingfisher in the UK.

And of course good old RIchard Scarry.

sorry can't remember if you have boys or girls

Have just purchsed the Tickle Book.........it's fantastic, DS who is 14mths just loves it!
He also loves Elmer, Poppy Cat and My Cat just Sleeps.........

can't stand maisy.

The little Owl is lovely

Starving Marvin (the sheep that ate the world is brilliant)

all the ... Tank Engine ones are wicked too and Mr Men

Satoshi Kitamura - ds loved his books at 3 months and still does at 16 months. Cat is Sleepy, Duck is Dirty are the two we've read, although there are others. Some of the very few interesting and funny books for the REALLY small IMO.

the Harry books have been reissued - Harry the Dirty Dog, No Roses for Harry and others. Maybe for older preschoolers, but again ds seems to love them.

The Baby Who Wouldn't Go to Bed by Helen Cooper.

Fix It Duck by Jez Allborough - I think it's better than Duck in a Truck although it's more complicated.

Absolutely bizarre book called Dashing Dog, can't remember the author, a real tongue-twister at 5.30 am but ds really went for the rhythm.

Incidentally I test as many books as poss out from the library first.

'Don't let the pigeon drive the bus' is brilliant, One of my favourite books. You can really get involved and end up shouting at the book, trying to stop the tricky pigeon from getting his way. here

Where is the Green Parrot (where you have to find a green parrot on every page - mine still love this book now)

For pre-schoolers,
The Tiger Who Came to Tea
Blue Kangaroo series
Mog series
Meg and Mog

For babies,
mine loved that series of books touch and feel trucks, dinosaurs etc.

Other absolute faves at the moment are the Lola and Charlie books - they are worth getting if only for the illustrations (though the stories are hysterical).
I am not sleepy and I will not go to bed
I will not ever never eat a tomato

Would you rather...? by John Burningham is very funny and very good - lots of audience participation, they have to say whether they'd rather dance with a rhino or swim with a hippo, that kind of thing.

These are a few that my children love(d):

Dogger - Shirley Hughes
The Pig in the Pond - Martin Waddell
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie - Laura Joffe Numeroff
Oh no, Peedie Peebles - Mairi Hedderwick
The Baby Who Wouldn't go to Bed - Helen Cooper
Green Eggs and Ham/ Mr Brown can Moo, How about You - Dr Seuss

DS (2) loves the Bing books by Ted Dewan (check out his web site)

Also, Peepo, The tiger Who.., Each Peach.., Slinky Malinky, all the Alfie books by Shirley Hughes.

There are just so many and I can't resist adding more and more to our collection.

For babies/toddlers:
Thats not my - fairy, dinasour, puppy etc series
lamb's friends (both mine have totally giggled at this at the age of exactly one)
Maisy board books (maisy' train, maisy likes playing etc)
Dear Zoo
The hungry caterpillar
10 little ladybirds

For toddlers/pre-school:
Peace at last - Jill Murphy
Whatever Next - Jill Murphy
Bear Hunt
The Gruffalo - and all the rest of this series (there are 6 in total inc. Monkey Puzzle, The snail and the whale, the smartest giant in town etc)

'Owl Babies' by Jez Alborough is lovely adn has excellent illustrations, suitable for 2yrs +. Our dd1 is 3.5 and really likes the Angelina ballerina stories too, plus the Mog books.

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dear zoo, and duck in the truck.
oh yes and each peach pear plum