Celebrating Our Favorite Children’s Books

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Today is International Children’s Book Day! This day started back in 1967 as a way to celebrate all of the fabulous children’s books available to us and to (hopefully) instill a love of reading.

It isn’t a secret around here that I love books and so do my children. Even as an adult, many of my favorite books of all time are children’s books and I still love to discover new ones. Whether they’re filled with great illustrations or an inspiring message, children’s books tend to stick with us for a lifetime. Many of the books in our current collection are my favorites from when I was a child.

Children's books for kids from 0-18 - Celebrating Our Favorite Children's Books for International Children's Book Day - toddlers, preschoolers, preteens, & teens

Today I am celebrating International Children’s Book Day by putting together a list of our favorite children’s books through the years. You will find books that are perfect for toddlers, teens and in between. I hope this you find something great on this list to read with your own kids. 

Toddler (1-2)

Picture books for toddlers - Celebrating Our Favorite Books for International Children's Book Day

Maisy (multiple books) by Lucy Cousins

The Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle

Pete the Cat (multiple books) by James Dean

Press Here by Herve Tullet

The Pigeon books (multiple books) by Mo Willems

The Farmer and the Clown by Marla Frazee

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Chicka Chicka 123 by Bill Martin Jr.

The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone

Llama Llama (multiple books) by Anna Dewdney

Preschooler (3-5)

Picture books for preschoolers - Celebrating Our Favorite Books for International Children's Book Day

The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds

Chloe and the Lion by Mac Barnett

13 Words by Lemony Snicket

A Perfectly Messed-Up Story by Patrick McDonnell

The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch

Take Away the A by Michael Escoffier 

Little Elliot, Big City by Mike Curato

Gaston by Kelly DiPuccio

Maple by Lori Nichols

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen

The Dark by Lemony Snicket & Jon Klassen

That is Not a Good Idea by Mo Willems

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems

Middle Grade (6-12)

Books for preteens - Celebrating Our Favorite Books for International Children's Book Day

Goosebumps (multiple books) by R.L. Stine

Fablehaven (series) by Brandon Mull

Gregor the Overlander (series) by Suzanne Collins

Percy Jackson (series) by Rick Riordan

The Kane Chronicles (series) by Rick Riordan

Heroes of Olympus (series) by Rick Riordan

Harry Potter (series) by JK Rowling

Middle School, the Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson

The Magic Tree House (multiple books) by Mary Pope Osborne

Geronimo Stilton (multiple books) by Geronimo Stilton

Ramona (multiple books) by Beverly Cleary

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

Teen (13+)

Books for teens - Celebrating Our Favorite Books for International Children's Book Day

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

Unwind Dystology (series) by Neal Shusterman

The Giver (series) by Lois Lowry 

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (series) by Michael Scott

Maze Runner (series) by James Dashner

Ender’s Game (Quintet) by Orson Scott Card

Zom-B (series) by Darren Shan

Cirque du Freak (series) by Darren Shan

The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Hunger Games (trilogy) by Suzanne Collins

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Walking Dead, Rise of the Governor by Robert Kirkman & Jay Bonansinga

I’d love to add some more books to our list. What are some of your favorite kids’ books?

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4 Comments

  1. I really love my children reading and I’m glad I came across your list. However I really disagree with Go Ask Alice being an appropriate book for ages 6 to 12?? I truly believe that book is a good book for teenagers to read so they won’t go down that path, however I would never let my twelve-year-old read it.

    1. Go Ask Alice is definitely meant for the higher end of that range. I think I read Go Ask Alice when I was about 11 and in 6th grade and it really depends on the kid. Then again, I read my first Stephen King novel when I was 12 or 13 so maybe I was an anomaly. 😉 I fully admit that my reading choices were more advanced than a lot of my friends and so are my son’s, so I admit that I may assign a younger age to some of choices than others would.

  2. This is a great list! My personal favorite children’s book that I think everyone should read is called Thank You, Bear. It’s by Greg Foley, and it’s so sweet. It’s about a little bear who finds something he thinks is amazing, but everyone was telling him what was wrong with it. In the end, it was just as perfect as he had imagined it would be. It’s a board book, which is definitely great for 1-2 year olds. It warms my little heart every time I read it. 🙂

    http://www.amazon.com/Thank-You-Bear-Board-Book/dp/0670785075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428515948&sr=8-1&keywords=thank+you+bear

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