I have a growing list. It grows and grows and grows. It is a list of books I want for my boys. The list has more than 100 books on it and I think the boys probably have close to 200 books now. I have never sat down and counted them though…
I read reviews online, or see a book somewhere and think “Oh I want that” but I have had to curb my book buying expenditure lately {as I was racking up quite the credit card bill buying books on amazon.co.jp!}
I haven`t even started writing a list of books that I want them to read or read with them once they are a bit older- I am still focusing on picture books at the moment. I have two lists- one is just any book and the other is books by Australian authors or books with an Australian feel- inspired by Medea who is always on the hunt for Canadian literature to share with her kids!
Around the time Noah was 18 months I wrote a post with a list of his favourite books at the time. Some are still favourites that he drags out most days but he has also taken to a few different books lately.
So another list {yep, I love lists!} of some of his favourites now as an almost 2 year old.
His all time favourite book at the moment is
Big Brother, Little Brother by Penny Dale
This was a Christmas present for Noah that I bought in Australia. He was not interested in it at first but over the summer I put it back on the bookshelves and I am pretty sure I have read it everyday since. This is a book that he will sit and flick through himself all the time. I didn`t really think he “got” it but he loves it when I say something like “Shion is your little brother, hey”. The illustrations are really cute and the story is simple enough for a child Noah`s age.
Does a kangaroo have a mother, too? by Eric Carle
I don`t think I have ever read an Eric Carle book that kids didn`t like. I think Noah loves this one for the repetition more than anything…and the animals! He loves that some of the animals he knows appear in this story as well as other stories- even though he might not of seen those animals in real life before. Whenever we get to the penguin and swan page he always signs “bird” at me excitedly.
Look and find with Harold- Thomas & Friends
I picked this book up second hand at Book Off months ago for 300yen and it was on the shelves at our old place {in the living room} but it ended up in the bookshelves in Noah`s bedroom and I only bought it downstairs again recently. Noah loves trains right and he giggles when I say “Look again” because this book has a flap, and then a flap underneath the flap while they look for Henry.
Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
I remember loving this book when I was younger so it makes me so happy to see Noah {and Shion} enjoying it as well. Noah loves the beginning and end pages {inside covers} as it has the different animals and he likes me to name them for him or find the ones I ask him to find. If we are reading this book and get to the frog he jumps up to find his froggy blanket- it is cute that he has made the connection!
Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox
I had heard great things about this book but hadn`t actually read it myself {as an ex kindy teacher I had read a ton of different books, many of which my kids now own!} but I got it off amazon a couple months back and it has become a fast favourite. On the last page when I announce that we have found the green sheep Noah gets so excited- he also loves the page with the train {see, train obsessed!} and will often get me to read that page several times before we move on. This is a book that Shion really seems to like too and usually gets a giggle!
{First} Body
It is not actually the one above but it is similar {and we do own this one as well!}- mum sent a package over to me a month or so back and this book was in there as an “extra” for the boys. Noah took to it straight away because it has pictures of real people- his favourite page is titled “faces” and has kids doing funny, happy, tired, scared, laughing, naughty and more faces. He often brings the book open to me on that page already so that I can do the faces for him. He knows almost all of his body parts now too- even some of the more complicated ones like elbows and chin!
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault
This is a great book! I loved it when I was teaching and I still love it now- like Eric Carle`s books I don`t think I have ever read a kids book by Bill Martin Jr that I didn`t like {and of course their collaborated work is genius!}- it has a great rhythm and it is a nice introduction to the alphabet. I think the silly characters climbing to the coconut tree is cute and Noah thinks so too. His favourite part is the black eyed “P”- he always points it out and laughs. I guess because none of the other letters have black parts. I love that Lois Ehlert {Illustrator- she has some of her own books as well} makes the kids in the book lower case letters and the adults uppercase letters.
Giggle Giggle Quack by Doreen Cronin
Personaly I think he likes this book because I make funny noises and he just likes me to make a fool of myself! The pictures in this are especially cute.
The Little Red Caboose- A little Golden Book
I bought a whole bunch of Little Golden Books before I even found out I was pregnant with Noah. I had about 30 of them {plus a selection of other books} for my future kids starter library. We had a ton of them when we were younger {such a shame we didn`t keep our childhood books!} and they were always favourites. We don`t have any other books soley about trains {that are not “Thomas & Friends} but when I introduced this to Noah originally he was not interested. The text and pictures were too small for him I guess and the story too long. Now he will happily sit and read through this himself. He will stop every so often to make the sign for “train”….
Hand hand fingers thumb by Al Perkins
For me, I love the size of this book. It basically can go anywhere with us- and I have read it so many times that I can recite it from memory anytime as well. Noah loves the “dum ditty dum ditty dum dum dum” repitition- he knows the book so well that I can read and he will turn the pages at the right time every time. I also exagerate the word “more” when MORE monkeys come with MORE fingers. This is a favourite with Shion too!
I love that he enjoys books and reading so much. He still loves anything by Eric Carle, Karen Katz, Eric Hill {Spot!}, Dr Seuss and Mem Fox.
It is nice now that a mix of Noah`s favourite books are paper based and he treats them with care {most of the time!} of course with Shion on the move now we have to be a bit careful though. Noah will often take a paper book off Shion and give him a board or cloth book to chew on instead.
Shion likes books too. He prefers to try to eat them though. I never had this problem with Noah…Shion loves listening though and comes to climb on my lap if I am reading to Noah. I love it when I read to both boys at the same time on the beanbag, it makes me so happy. I try also to read a book or two just with Shion each day {usually if he is awake while Noah naps} as well but of course he is listening in or reading with us at different times of the day as well.
Would love book suggestions to add to my growing list! I will look them up and add them to my list if we don`t already have them!
Popularity: 5% [?]
I am just a twenty something Aussie girl living in Chiba, Japan with my Japanese husband trying to make sense of the crazy Japanese world we live in! We welcomed our first son in December 2009 (Noah) and a second son in January 2011, 2 months premature (Shion). I am working hard at raising them to be confident, bilingual, happy kids!
What an amazing list! Now you’ve gone and done it, and I have added most of these to my Amazon Wish List.
My one must-buy is http://is.gd/IR1nJi We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. Great rhythms, and perfect for getting kids into bed.
We`re Going on a Bear Hunt is already one on my list- it is a great book! We had it at the school I last worked at and was always a favourite to act out. My wish list for the boys is just in a word document but I should put it up on amazon, hey?!
A couple books you have reviewed on your blog are on my list too- like Spork! I love the look of it.
When the boys are a bit older {and Shion is less likely to eat pages} we will also go to the local library which I hear has quite a selection of English books apparently.
Flynn also loves books ( ” Dear Zoo ” and ” The Little Red Caboose ” happen to be on his favourites list too! ) and i love the time we have together reading. I also love that he;s just started sitting and flipping through them by himself, or “reading” them to his toys… too cute!
Our favourites though – and by “our” i mean the ones i love to read that he really enjoys aswell – are by Kate Thoms. She has done a series where she has taken nursery rhymes are re-done them with a twist. ” Twinkle Twinkle Little Star ” is our favourite ( about a mouse who wants to be a star ) and ” Old McDonald Had a Farm ” ( which features dancing pigs, a prize egg laying hen and some wolves! ) are the ones we love most…
Oh I have not heard of Kate Thoms- I will have to check them out! THey are going on the list! Thanks!
Noah reads some of his books to himself as well, and does actions {like when reading Mr Brown Can Moo, can you? he always Moo`s and knocks the page when they say knock knock. He is starting to notice the difference between his Japanese books and English books too {He only has about 15-20 picture books in Japanese- about 5 are downstairs at a time} and will pull out a Japanese book if his Baba is here or if I tell him to choose a book to read with Daddy.
Thanks for the Kate Thoms recommendation.
do you have “Mama Mama Mad at Llama”? i don’t know offhand who the author is, but we have it at work and it’s one of my favorites! it’s about a little llama who gets tired (see: total temper tantrum) while shopping with mama at the “shop o’rama.” the rhyming is great and it’s a cute story too. also another one called “Tracks in the Snow,” i’ve read to the kids at work recently is about a little girl who sees tracks in the snow and goes out looking for the animal that made them. good “winter” book but also talks about animals.
i have two little stuffed animals that i bought for my future children (and i’m not even married yet! ha) but i imagine books won’t be far behind! i’m trying to hold back as lomg as i can!!
We don`t have Mama mama mad at Llama BUT it is on our list as I have heard good things but not seen it myself. I think she has other books in the series too. I have not heard Tracks in the Snow- so will look it up and add to the list. I try to buy some themed books too and will be ordering some Christmasy/wintery books soon so that will be good. Thanks!
Where is the school you are working at now? Minato?
Laura. You’re awesome and I’m a little envious of your collection. Mine is small, but will try to make it grow as I find good ones. Sitting with a case of some of my childhood favs and 2 really cute new ones to bring back to Japan, otherwise will look on Amazon from now on
Xx Thanks again for this – so helpful!
Joey, glad you could pick up some in SA! My husband thinks our collection is too big but pfft, i don`t care. The boys collection of Japanese books is tiny though- If SIL or MIL ask what to get for boys at different times I always suggest Japanese books as I am not really sure of what is good. We have been given some from Japanese friends though and I also choose a handful before the boys were born {board book types} as well as a couple more famous ones that i knew. They definitely do not get as much use! Amazon.co.jp does have a good selection though! Amazon.com also ships to Japan if it is books but it can get expensive! Would love to hear what books Brent ends up really enjoying!
Can I suggest Hairy McClairy books? They are an NZ series of kids books, I absolutely LOVED them as a child and the tradition carries on as my niece and lots of my friends’ kids have them and love them. The rhyming is fantastic and they’re so cute
Oh we actually have two Hairy McClairy books! Noah enjoys one of them {we have not read the other yet together!}- and they are funny! I like the pictures and now that Noah is getting ore into dogs I should bring them out again. Shion also seems to like dogs {Noah has always been a bit aprehensive but recently on our daily walks he likes to stop and try to pat the dogs we see walking with their owners. He seems to like cats more though?! Strange as hub & I are both more dog people} – Will keep them in mind for the future. How sad is it that I did not know they were from NZ!
Great list. DS is going through a stage where he doesn’t like story books, he’s really into “info” books. His favorites are his books about bugs, but he also has a book about Ancient Egypt and a book about knights that he loves as well. DD loves story books but she’s still not gentle enough with her books yet so I keep most of the put up where she can’t reach them for now. It seems like Noah treats his books pretty well though? I think DS was about 3 before I felt confident letting him read non-board books unsupervised. Nowadays though, DS is super protective of his books and I don’t let DD near his favorites because if she destroys one there will be no end to it!
How very montessori of your DS to enjoy non-fiction more! I am on the look out for some books with real pictures now- he has some animal ones which he does like but at the doctors surgery there is some books about trains and shinkansens that he always goes to get. They are in Japanese but have real pictures/photos with info about the trains etc.
Noah is pretty good about how he treats his books yes. Shion I tend to only give board books too unless I am closely supervising. This morning I caught Shion flicking through “That`s not my puppy” and he was bending down to “kiss” or “lick” the dogs! lol – I am okay if the books get used but I try to teach them to treat them with respect. They are not too bad but I can see some of our favourites having to get replaced at some point {I already had to replace “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” as tape was just not holding it together anymore! Some of our lift the flap books also have the flaps stuck back in with tape. This is not an issue with Noah now though as he knows if he pulls too hard they come off and that upsets him so he is good.
What brand are the books about bugs? Noah might like them {might be a bit young for knights though?!}
The books about bugs and knights and egypt are a whole series and they’re in Chinese but they are translations from an English book series called “Insiders” and there are books on Space, Dinosaurs, Insects, Egypt, the Ocean, Flight, Rain Forests, Extreme Weather, Knights and some other topics I can’t recall. They’re intended for older kids I think but the pictures are big and colorful and even if DS can’t understand the words, he loves flipping through them. Even the one about knights has lots of pictures of castles and diagrams showing the layout of the castle. Each page is fully illustrated with only little captions and explanations so they’re very fun to look at. We’re going to get the whole set for DS eventually since they’re books that will still be interesting to him when he starts grade school and can read the text. Non fiction books are great like that, they don’t really “outgrow” them. DS already classifies alot of his storybooks as being “mei mei’s books” (mei mei means little sister, hehe) which to him means they’re babyish.
Will have to look out for them! Thanks Jess!
That is true about picture books vs non fiction- I still loved picture books at 7 even though I was also reading chapter books by then though. I think it depends on the kid. REALLY wish we had kept more of our childhood books!
Dr. Seuss! And, (although if you were looking at a list of Canadian kids lit then you probably already know about him) Dennis Lee (Aligator Pie, Jelly Belly)!
Books were kept in my family. A lot were given away to friends but my favourites are in boxes iny dad’s basement. If I do end up having kids in Japan I’ll be doubly glad to have kept all the books!!
Oh thanks for the suggestions of Dennis Lee {We have a lot of Dr Seuss already!}- I don`t think I have read his books before but will add the name to the list.
That is great that you have kept some of your favourite books. Jealous! I have but from my teenage years- most of my “novels” might not interest the boys either!
Making notes making notes! A friend sent Chicka Chicka Boom Boom for when Little S is older – glad to hear you think it’s good!
Another one she sent was Love You Forever by Robert Munsch – you probably know it or have it already but here’s a link to the text from it: http://www.rogerknapp.com/inspire/loveforever.htm
The parcel from my friend arrived when I was having a hard time after Little S was born and when I read it for the first time I cried and cried. It still makes me tear up now!