Recommended Kids Books

Reading is fun!!! As a past Learning Ladder consultant I understand the importance of reading regularly to our lil munchkins. So when I recently asked our amazing Facebook Community what their kids favourite books are at the moment it was great to see so many fantastic recommendations that I had to share them with everyone. Check out Mem Fox's 10 Reading Commandments below as well; she is amazing!

Favourite kids books as recommended by the parents of the alittlebird community:

• Hairy Maclary - Shoo! and Scarface Claw by Lynley Dodd
• Camilla the Cupcake Fairy by Tim Bubbird
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear Brown Bear what do you see by Eric Carle
• Hairy Maclairy - ALL of them! by Lynley Dodd
• The Little Mermaid
• It's Wacky Wednesday and Go Dogs Go by Dr Seuss
• Time for Bed and Where is the Green Sheep by Mem Fox
• Dimity Duck by Jane Yolen and Sebastian Braun
• In the night Garden Books
• Anything by Dr Seuss
• The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child by Julia Donaldson
• The Wheels on the bus
• Clippity Clop by Pamela Allen
• Grug Series by Ted Prior
• "when I'm feeling..." series by Trace Moroney

Mem Fox's 10 Read Aloud Commandments

1. Spend at least ten wildly happy minutes every single day reading aloud.
2. Read at least three stories a day: it may be the same story three times. Children need to hear a thousand stories before they can begin to learn to read.
3. Read aloud with animation. Listen to your own voice and don’t be dull, or flat, or boring. Hang loose and be loud, have fun and laugh a lot.
4. Read with joy and enjoyment: real enjoyment for yourself and great joy for the listeners.
5. Read the stories that the kids love, over and over and over again, and always read in the same ‘tune’ for each book: i.e. with the same intonations on each page, each time.
 6. Let children hear lots of language by talking to them constantly about the pictures, or anything else connected to the book; or sing any old song that you can remember; or say nursery rhymes in a bouncy way; or be noisy together doing clapping games.
7. Look for rhyme, rhythm or repetition in books for young children, and make sure the books are really short.
8. Play games with the things that you and the child can see on the page, such as letting kids finish rhymes, and finding the letters that start the child’s name and yours, remembering that it’s never work, it’s always a fabulous game.
9. Never ever teach reading, or get tense around books.
10. Please read aloud every day, mums and dads, because you just love being with your child, not because it’s the right thing to do.