World Book Day!

I've posted before about the importance of reading to your little ones to help foster a love for reading from an early age, help develop language skills, and stimulate the senses with bright pictures or "Touch and Feel" books. But with today being World Book Day it seemed like an opportune time to visit this important topic again. We read to the boy-o every night before bed, and sometimes during the day too when he's willing to sit still long enough for a little cuddle. Some of his old favourites are still strongly preferred, but we've introduced some new favourites into the mix as well.

Currently the boy-o's favourites include: The Belly Button Book, The Barnyard Dance, and B is for Bear. We have a lot of Dr. Seuss books that we read pretty frequently as well. There are so many excellent children's books out there it can be hard to choose which ones to buy--which is why I'd suggest that if you don't already, register your child for a public library card and go speak to your local librarian! They're excellent at providing age appropriate books that will be of the most interest your little one. 

Some of my favourites that we don't currently have which are aimed for more of a pre-school audience are:

1. Oink-A-Doodle-Moo: My sister was actually the person who introduced this book to me and I think it's so fantastic it's now become my go-to book gift! It's basically barnyard telephone gone horribly wrong! It's very short with only a few words on each page and full page pictures. It provides lots of opportunity to be silly and explore how the game of telephone can go wrong..

2. The Llama, Llama Series: There are several books in this series and they're all fantastic! They help teach concepts like patience and feelings in a fun way. The Llama Llama books are very creative and are written in a simple rhythmic style that helps to keep the attention of littler littles. The illustrations are also wonderful and you'll certainly enjoy accompanying Llama Llama on his adventures.

3. The Lady With the Alligator Purse: This book was always a big favourite at the daycare I used to work at. There's an accompanying song you can sing the book along to, but even just reading out the rhymes is great fun. It's a silly book with excellent illustrations that stretch the imagination to the world of the impossible. 

Canadian Authors:

Guy Gavriel Kay:

And finally, being Canadian I have two Canadian authors whose work I really love that I'd like to share with you as well. The first is an adult author, and I own ALL of his books and eagerly await the announcements that a new one is coming out. Guy Gavriel Kay writes Fantasy books and the worlds that he creates are truly astounding. I've listened to him do a book reading before where he explained that his books are loosely based on historical cities and civilizations and that makes me love them even more! My favourite books by him include The Finovar Tapestries, Ysabel, and Tigana. 

Melanie Watts:

The second Canadian author that I'd like to share with you is Melanie Watts. She writes children's books and is quite well known for her Scaredy Squirrel series, but she also writes a fantastic series about a cat named Chester! We have two of the Chester books so far, and although these are definitely meant for pre-school+  I look forward to being able to read them to the boy-o one day because they are quite funny and very creative. Chester the Cat likes to try and take over the story and "re-write" it as it goes along with his red marker. I highly recommend this series to everyone! 

But most importantly, whatever kind of book it is you enjoy reading today on World Book Day pick it up and do some reading--and read to your little ones. The love for reading starts early and as parents we should do all that we can to help that love grow!

Your Turn: What's your favourite book and who introduced you to it?