Children seem to have fun doing just about anything… even reading!
But they probably love books so much because children’s books are simply so entertaining (fun) to read.
These books are great for helping children develop their speaking skills, learn new vocabulary, correct and practise pronunciation as well as develop a new hobby!
6. “Goodnight Moon” by Margaret Wise Brown
“Goodnight Moon” doesn’t really have much of a story. The book is just a description of certain things like kittens, a mouse and a quiet old lady. There are also mittens, a toy house and even a cow. The author introduces everything in the beginning and then says goodnight to
each of them at the end.
“Goodnight Moon” uses repetition of the same sentence structures with different vocabulary, which is great for young children. For example, one line in the book reads, “Goodnight room. Goodnight moon. Goodnight cow jumping over the moon.” This is really helpful for learning a lot of new words.
5.“The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle
“The Very Hungry Caterpillar” is about a caterpillar who eats more and more food during the
week. The book starts with a little caterpillar who comes out of its egg and starts searching for food. He does this every day.
In the beginning, the caterpillar eats healthily, such as fruit and vegetables. Later, the caterpillar begins to eat junk food more and more, until its stomach hurts. Because of this, the caterpillar decides to eat something good again and it feels better. In the end, the caterpillar wraps up into a cocoon and soon becomes a butterfly.
This children’s book is great for learning essential English words, such as numbers, foods and days of the week. Once again, repetition is very important for improving young children's vocabulary and pronunciation, and this book has lots of great repetition.
4. “If You Give a Moose a Muffin” by Laura Numeroff
“If You Give a Moose a Muffin” is about a moose who always wants something more in his life. First, he wants a muffin. Then he wants some jam to go with it. When he’s finished eating, he wants some more until they’re all gone. Then, he asks you to make more, and more…
This book is one of the shortest on the list, and its language uses a lot of future tense. This means most of the sentences have the verb “will” in them. For example, “If you give a moose a muffin he’ll want some jam to go with it.” This book is especially helpful for learning future tense and its contractions (he’ll, you’ll, etc.).
3. “Curious George” by H.A. Rey and Margret Rey
“Curious George” is a very famous series about a monkey named Curious George. The word “curious” means to be interested in knowing more about something. Curious George is a little too curious, which causes humans to catch him and bring him to their big city.
There, the monkey creates all sorts of problems. He calls the fire department, ends up in prison (jail), escapes from prison, is carried into the sky by balloons and eventually, arrives safely in the zoo.
This book uses a lot of short, simple sentences, which makes it very easy to read for young children. For example, “One day George saw a man. He had on a large yellow straw hat. The man saw George too.” As you can tell, the sentences are very short and choppy, which is what makes “Curious George” a great read for children.
2. “Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr Seuss
In this book, a cat named Sam really likes green eggs and ham. So he offers it to a friend, but the friend does not want to eat green eggs and ham.
They go on a train, inside a tunnel and even into
the lake, but Sam’s friend still does not want to eat green eggs and ham. After Sam asks his friend many times, his friend finally tries the green eggs and ham. You’ll have to read the book to see if he liked the meal or not.
This book is a long and very entertaining poem. It uses repetition like “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” does. Despite having a mostly simple vocabulary, the words are used in a way that feels smart. There is a lot of rhyming and the use of similar words, which is what makes this book so clever and fun to read.
1. “The Cat in the Hat” by Dr Seuss
Written by the same author as “Green Eggs and Ham,” this famous book begins with two siblings. They have to stay inside one day because it is cold and rainy outside. They don’t know what to do to have fun, and their parents are not home.
Suddenly, a cat in a hat knocks on their door and invites himself in. The cat makes a mess while having fun and playing around. The cat leaves and returns with Thing 1 and Thing 2 inside, making a bigger mess. Will the siblings be able to clean up before their parents return? You will have to read the book to find out.
“The Cat in the Hat” is the longest of the children’s books on this list, but it is one of the best ones. The Cat in the Hat character is one of Dr Seuss’s most popular stories. This book is excellent for young children because of its simple language and diverse vocabulary.
Children’s stories are great because they have important life lessons, memorable scenes, a useful context for remembering new words, and simple vocabulary and grammar.
Children should be encouraged to read books even from a young age. Books are a great way to help with learning new vocabulary, improve pronunciation and make them aware of grammar, punctuation and spelling!
If you'd like to have some 'reading time' for your kids and books are not easy to come by... check out our storytelling playlist on youtube by clicking this link: Storytelling Playlist