Books

When my children (not 2&4) were a little younger I had an Usborne books party. I got a ton of free books & I really love their selection. The kids really like them too.

Any of the "Walter the Farting Dog" book series are great and we also love David Shannon's books, especially "How I Became a Pirate". My 3.5 yr. old LOVES going to the library to pick out books to borrow, have you tried this?

D. M.

Books are wonderful things. Our 3 sons loved going to the public library in Orlando every Saturday. I'd let them each select 7 books each week and it was like a "free shopping trip" for them because they could pick out anything that caught their fancy. They got pretty good at choosing things that really interested them.

It was their responsibility to take care of the books. Any over-due "fines" would come out of their allowance, so they were very good about not misplacing them.

Take a look at this waaay cool web site: http://shelsilverstein.com
Some of his books are too old for a 4 year old, but the animation on the site is fun to watch - for any age. Try some of the excerpts on her and see if she "gets the humor".

Also we got a kick out of "Amelia Bedelia" books. We even did a little video with the boys and a neighbor girl. They enacted the goofy things that Amelia did because she takes every word literally. Great fun!

The Orlando Public Library looks like a huge "castle" and it is truly filled with amazing treasures! They even have a home delivery service that is GREAT! If you have a library card, you can go online, request the books you want and they drop them off in a few days at your door! FREE!

Maybe Lakeland has something similar.

Try the velveteen rabbit, a chapter each night, my kids loved when ir ead books to them with chapters in it, we would discuss what we read the previous night and sometimes they just could not stand the suspense of what was going to happn in the next chapter,

HEY A.!!

TRY GOING TO THE LIBRARY WITH HER, THEY HAVE A WHOLE SECTIONS FOR CHILDRENS..
YOU CAN SEE WHATS NEW TOO..AND HEY ITS FREE=)
OR GO TO ANY USED-BOOKED STORES AND GRAB BOOKS FOR SOMETIMES .25 CENTS..
BOOKS ARE ALWAYS BEING CHANGED AS THEY GET OLDER..JUST AN FYI

TAKE CARE
J.=)

Hi A.,
I have a 5 year old who loves to read before bed too. He doesn't seem to quite have the attention span for chapter books, but I think if you daughter is able to sit still while you read Ramona--give it a try!! Also, I would try the books from the line "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie...". There are several books in this series and they are very entertaining with fun pictures too. They are a little longer than a Dora book or other character books. Good luck!

H.

If she enjoyed The Mouse & the Motorcycle, have you tried the sequel (Runaway Ralph)? Also, she might enjoy the Stuart Little books and possibly the Borrowers adventures. Good luck and great reading!!

K.
Brightest Blessings!

I read my kids the "Chronicles of Narnia" books, they're really good if your daughter would sit through them. My kids also really loved "The Hobbit". I also read them fairy tales and fables. I love Shel Silverstien also, but I haven't had the chance to read his poems to my kids yet.

One of the best childrens books in our home is " The Giving Tree " It is by Shel Silverstien.

Here are some suggestions for books that are good for her age:

Shel Silverstein books

Stellaluna

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

The Velveteen Rabbit

Olivia

Berenstain Bears

Thumbelina

The Princess and the Pea

Priscilla books

Amelia Bedelia

Personally I think Ramona is too advanced. If I remember clearly it's usually recommended for the 9 - 12 age group. A lot of bookstores online will tell you the suggested age group for books. If your daughter seems bored with the 2 - 4 books you might go for books in the 4 - 6 group which all of the above are in. And if those bore her, try the 6 - 9 age group. Best of luck to you! And good for her loving books. I did too at that age and this list has some of my favorites.

Hey A.!

Madeline recommended Shel Silverstein and Amelia Bedelia, I also was going to recommend Shel. He has GREAT books! The first book I bought when I was pregnant with my son was called 'The Giving Tree'. That is one of my most favorite books ever. I remember loving Amelia Bedelia when I was young! There is an OLD line of books that are both educational, with great pictures and fun. The line is called Value Tales by Spencer Johnson and Ann Johnson. I absolutely loved those books when I was young. If you look in some consignment/thrift stores you might be able to find this awesome collection otherwise try Ebay. There are about 43 titles about REAL people told in a way children get. There's Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie, Johnny Appleseed, The Wright Brothers, Sacagawea, Florence Nightengale and so many more. Hope that helps!!

J.

You should look into the Illustrated Classics series. You can find them at most book stores. They are all the classic stories, each in its own book, with some illustrations, but the content is pared down so it is easier for kids to understand. The books are longer and would last for you to read some to your daughter.

Hi A.
One of my girls has just turned 5 and she really enjoys all the Enid Blyton books especially the Faraway Tree stories. All the books are made up of short chapters about the same characters. I did bring all of mine from England with me but I know they can be purchased over here and on Ebay. Hope this helps (I read Enid Blyton when I was a little girl too and have always loved the stories)

A.,

My son loves the series, If You Give a Pig A Pancake and If you Give A Mouse a Cookie, I'm sure there are others in this series, but these are the two we read. Also, the Bernstein Bears are great!

Hello. My 4 and 2 year old love Beatrix Potter books-Peter Rabbit, The Story of Miss Moppet, etc. Literally, they are wonderful and descriptive. Hope this helps;o)

Hi A.,
The books by Laura Joffe Numeroff are great, one of them is "If you give a Moose a Muffin."
Olivia books are great too.
The readalong ones are great, the ones that come with a tape that they can follow along. My sister learned to read at 4 years old.

My daughter loves going to the library too to pick out books.

You could also try anything by Mercer Mayer like "There's an Alligator Under My Bed" or anything by Bill Peet like "No Such Things," "The Caboose That Got Loose." I loved those when I was her age. I still remember checking those out over and over again from the library when I was little! Also good: "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" by Judith Viorst and "Tikki Tikki Tembo" by Arlene Mosel or "Wayside Stories from Wayside School."

I think its great that your daughter enjoys you reading such a variety of books. My kids loved me reading to them when they were younger. My kids said they really enjoyed Because of Winn Dixie, Good Night Moon, Love You Forever, everything by Shel Silverstein, The Scrambled States of America, Frank was a monster who wanted to dance, The Rainbow Fish, Charlotte's Web, Where the Red Fern Grows, Holes, James and the Giant Peach, and Cricket in Times Square just to name a few. Hope this helps.

Hi A.
Besides going to the library I have found a World Thrift on dixie highway between Forest hill and 10th ave. on the west side of D hwy that sells used books in a bag (about 7 books) for $1.95 they have all kinds. The store is cash only. I Hope this helps.
Good luck.
Also might want to check out local garage sales.
C. T