Input requested: Good books for little children
I have a 13-month-old girl, and I want to get her some good books for Christmas. Probably board books, though maybe she'll be able to sit with me and look at paper books within a few months. Do you have any specific recommendations? I looked in your store and liked the Greek/Hebrew Bluedorn books, but I'm hoping for a few other ideas as well. -BethHi, Beth! Great question. Finding good quality books for young children can be a challenge - one we've experienced first-hand.
Some of our favorites for colorful, learning board books without silliness or unrealistic characters are from Dorling Kindersley. These are not Christian books, and you have to weed through them as some have objectionable things, but the majority of them are very good and Kathrynne loves them. We use these for teaching her about names of objects, counting, animals, colors, shapes, and more. You can usually find a nice selection of these at your local bookstores.
For a little bit older children (Kathrynne can't always sit through an entire reading of some of these books yet), we really like the children's books from Christian Light Publications. I haven't seen every single book they offer, but I've seen most of them and been very pleased. My younger siblings used these for learning to read. They also have some excellent children's activity books and their Just Learning to Color book is perfect for wee little ones.
A few of Kathrynne's other favorites include Johannah Bluedorn's beautifully illustrated books, Bless the Lord, My Mommy, My Teacher, and The Lord Builds the House. She also loves her new book, Teach Them To Your Children. These books might be a little too much for your young daughter, but they all have colorful illustrations and, when Kathrynne was 6 months to a year or so, I'd just read a page or two to her a day and look at a few pictures and she usually really enjoyed it. Now that she is older, she can usually sit through an entire reading of Bless the Lord or The Lord Builds the House since they are short, simple, and colorful. She will often sit and look at them by herself for quite some time as well.
Those are just a few suggestions, I'd love to hear from others. I'd like to eventually sell a much larger selection of high quality children's books and am always on the lookout for new items to add to Kathrynne's library.
posted by Crystal Paine at 7:31 AM
13 Comments:
Teddy's Button, the NEW illustrated version, from Lamplighter Publishing is great! But for around age 6 and up unless your children have a long attention span...
www.lamplighterpublishing.com
For older toddlers whose parents wish to introduce them to Biblical themes and beautiful language at an early age, you cannot beat the following authors: George MacDonald (especially his fairy tales and "At the Back of the North Wind"), C.S.Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, and Jill Briscoe's children's books-especially "Jonah and the Worm" and "Harrow Sparrow." These are stories that can capture little one's imaginations and love, and introduce a framework by which they can better comprehend the Gospel later on.
Also, introducing young children to the rythm and language of the Bible by reading to them straight from the Psalms, Gospels, and Epistles is also invaluable.
We have read "The Big Picture Story Bible" to our boys who are now nearly 2.5 for at least a year. We love the illustrations but more than that, the redemptive thread the authors weave from the very beginning to the very end. It is the most GOd centered children's bible we have come across.
You can order it here:
http://www.gnpcb.org/product/1581342772
We have read "The Big Picture Story Bible" to our boys who are nearly 2.5 for more than a year. We love the illustrations but more than that, the redemptive thread the author weaves from the very beginning to the very end. It is the most God centered children's bible we have ever found.
You can check it out here:
http://www.gnpcb.org/product/1581342772
Thanks for responding, Crystal and others! I do read "older" books to my daughter as she plays with her toys... not sure how much she understands, but she tolerates it. :)
I agree about reading the Bible. In fact, I like to read to myself from Psalms, Proverbs and the Gospels daily, in addition to reading through the Bible, and I just do it aloud now! If there's a good reason for me to hear it over and over and over, there's a good reason for her to. God's word speaks for itself, but it is different from the way we speak now and I agree that it's important to get children familiar with it. Some things I hated before I got to know them (like Psalm 119) are now my very favorites.
I recently bought the book "Piggies" by Don and Audrey Wood for a friend for a baby shower. It comes as a large board book and as a regular paper-page book. It's not Christian, and it is silly, but it's fun and has beautiful, colorful, and engaging illustrations. It's simply a story about 10 little piggies - the fingers on your hands - and their adventures. I think I'm going to make it my standard baby-shower or baby birthday gift.
I too like the DK books for board books! We also really like the Little Jewel book series from Rod and Staff.
You might consider Sarah Maxwell's "Moody Family Series" which has three books so far for children of all ages. The books are loosely based on her own family's experiences.
Her books and a variety of other resources her family has available can be found at Titus2.com. I also highly recommend "Keeping Our Childrens Hearts" and hear that many people have been blessed by their organization materials.
Sorry if this post shows up twice. I think I goofed the first time I tried it.
My little girls love "Just Like Mama"- an Amish children's story by Beverley Lewis;"The Princess & the Kiss" by J. Bishop;"The House at Pooh Corner"-A A Milne & we recently read "Mary Jones & Her Bible"-Christian Focus.We are slowly moving into more classic books now.We use the KJV Bible alongside good quality childrens Bible Story books like the old ones from the SDA's.They are about 95% doctrinally correct-we leave out what we disagree with- & the illustrations are beautifully reverent.
Claire
I was recently asked this by a close friend and recommended these two very Biblical books with breathtaking AND reverent illustrations (no images of God):
The Creation Story, Illustrated by Norman Messenger
The True Story of Noah's Ark, Tom Dooley & Bill Looney
A simple board book Christmas story that's a favorite at our house is Who Is Coming to Our House? by Joseph Slate amd Ashley Wolff. It is a story of the stable animals anticipating the arrival of the Christ Child.
These aren't strictly Christian books, but they have a beautiful message:
I Love You, Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
Both of these talk about how mom will love you forever, no matter what.
My 2 1/2 year old son especially likes I Love You, Stinky Face (funny name, I know) and asks me to read it over and over.
Margaret Wise Brown's "Goodnight Moon" was a favorite with our children... still is actually and they're 12 and 14! :-)
The Lamplighter books are wonderful but I agree, read them in small bits with the young ones!
I wish I had read more King James version to my kids when they were young. The language is so rich and full.
And I agree with commenters to just do it even when your kids are little... let them draw or play on the ground while you're reading the "heavier" books.
Great topic!
Annette
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