Ten to read by the time you're ten! (Top Ten Childrens Books)

Member Name: bruffyboy

Product:	Top Ten Childrens Books
Date:	08/06/09 (72 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great fun, imaginative

Disadvantages: none

As a parent to two baby boys, I've been reading a lot of children's books, and the following is a selection of favourites I've read to them, as well as old childhood favourites of my own.

**NO.10: Kipper, by Mick Inkpen**

I know Kipper from the TV, and was surprised this book was just called 'Kipper', so imagine it is the only or main book about the dog. With that, I expected it to be really good.

The story is about Kipper having a clear-out in his basket and getting rid of all his old stuff. When he is finally cleared out, he can't get comfy, so he copies the way lots of different animals sleep to see if it will help him, but of course it doesn't.

The illustrations don't fill the whole page, which I always feel is a shame; the books that have full page illustrations are much more exciting to look at for kids. I admit that the illustrations in this book are nice, but they would be so much better if they were full page. The illustrations are pen drawn with watercolour painting, in the old-school style of so many kid's books. It's nice to see. The inclusion of lots of animals in the pictures is bound to attract kids, who seem to have this affinity with animals when they are young.

If you liked it, why not try out the TV show, and other tie-in products.

All in all, a nice, simple kids book.


**NO.9: The Cow that Laid an Egg, by Andy Cutbill**

This book is all about a cow on a farm that feels left out and unspecial. To boost its self esteem, the chickens trick it into thinking it has laid an egg. Soon the press are onto it, and the cow is a celebrity which annoys everyone else who know the trick. To prove its her egg, they wait for it to hatch, and find a chick that moos!

The illustrations are full page which is nice to see, and they have made a real effort to make it visually alluring. Like the Charlie and Lola books, the pages are covered in bright patterns that have nothing to do with the story, which makes it exciting to look at.

The only annoying thing is the way it has a hole cut in the front cover, making you think it might be one of those types of book, but it isn't! Bit of a con that I think.

**NO. 8: Ducky Dives In, by Richard Waring**

This book is all about a little baby duck who wants nothing more than to dive in the mud, but whose mum is always stopping him. One day, he sneaks off to do it, but his mum charges in to stop him. She slips and lands in the mud herself, and then they both end up playing in there all day.

The best thing about this book is the stunning illustrations. They're actually unique in that they're done in an odd way. I think (if art class memory serves me right) that they're done by floating ink over water then lying the paper on it. The result is a chaotic mix of colour unlike anything I've seen in a kids book before. Not every page is like this, but enough to make it one of a kind.

The illustrations are filled with animals means kids are going to love it. The inclusion of lots of animals in the pictures is bound to attract kids, who seem to have this affinity with animals when they are young.

**NO.7: The Hobbit, by JRR Tolkien**

The Hobbit was the first Middle Earth story that Tolkien published. It is more of a children's story than The Lord of the Rings, and focuses on a series of adventures Bilbo Baggins the Hobbit goes on, under the tutelage of Gandalf the wizard. The story is both fantasy and adventure, and precedes many of the events that take place in The Lord of the Rings. Here is your chance to read how Bilbo came to possess the One Ring, and to meet Gloin (Gimli's dad), not to mention our first meeting with Gandalf.

For me, the book is a great one to read (or have read to you) as a young child. Memories of sitting on the sofa with my dad reading this to me and my brother still stick in my head, despite being 20 years ago. For young children, the fantastical is always fun, as we find an adult who has an imagination that matches ours.

I always tell my students that they should read The Hobbit as children, and The Lord of the Rings as young adults - then they can try the Silmarillion when they get to 25!

This is the first time the world was introduced to Hobbits, and the book was a huge success. It was printed during the paper shortage of WW2, and so early copies were more scarce than they otherwise would've been, but the book still caught the imagination of the world. Early copies fetch thousands of pounds, but cheap copies can be picked up on Ebay for less than £1.

Ideally, I would recommend this book to two distinct groups. First off, children who like adventure and fantasy. I think an 8 year old would enjoy having this read to them, and young teens would enjoy reading the books themselves. The second audience are those who got into LOTR through the films, and are missing Middle Earth. Reading The Hobbit will be like finding your parents' diaries from their youth, like finding an old friend again.

**NO.6: Mr Silly, by Roger Hargreaves**

My son got this book for Christmas and with anticipation I sat down and read it to him. Believe it or not, I've never read a Mr Men book before, and wondered at how there could be so many Dooyoo reviews on them when they are, ultimately, tiny little simple kids books: how wrong was I?

Mr Silly is a Mr Men who lives in Nonsenseland, a place where everything is stupid. An example of this is that the dogs in Nonsenseland wear hats and the dogs fly backwards. Every year, there's a competition to see who can come up with the silliest idea, and the book is about Mr Silly's entry.

With 18 small pages of writing, the book took less than ten minutes to read to my boy, and held his attention throughout - each page is joined to a page of colourful pictures, so there's plenty to grab the imagination. The story itself is very imaginative too, which is a nice change from a lot of kids stuff that is based in the real world these days.

What really struck me is the difficulty of the language. There are some words that a twelve year old wouldn't understand, such as 'pondered' and 'incidentally', which made me wonder who this book is suitable for. You can make your mind up yourself on whether these words are above your own child, and decide then whether to get it or not. The language is also pretty old fashioned, and clearly written some years ago, but I guess that's what gives it some of its charm.

Interestingly, Roger Hargreaves (creator of the Mr Men) said that Mr Silly was his favourite, which is nice for Mr Silly I suppose.

In conclusion, at £2.50, this is a nice enough little book to read to kids, but some of the words may confuse even the brightest of them.

**NO.5: 'The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe', by CS Lewis'**

WHAT IS IT ABOUT:
A group of children discover a magical world that can be entered through walking to the back of a wardrobe. The land they discover, Narnia, is in trouble, as the White Witch causes untold hurt which the children must battle against with the help of Aslan the Lion, rightful heir to the throne.

IS IT ANY GOOD:
This book is one of a series by C S Lewis that was published in the 1950s. The novel is a fantasy adventure for children that is imaginative and thoughtful, but fails on an adult level due to its over simple allegorical context, and lack of depth.

FOR CHILDREN:
An exciting adventure with plenty of interesting characters such as talking beavers, the tale is an enjoyable and easy to read tale of good vs evil, with a strong moral and allegorical message behind it. Despite its age, the language is still accessible, and the novel can be enjoyed as part of a similarly entertaining series. Some scenes (such as the death of a major character) are very sad, and caution should be taken with particularly young children over these passages.

IF YOU LIKED IT:
You can read the rest of the series, and watch the two recent films which have been released.

**NO.4: We're Going on a Bear Hunt, by Michael Rosen**

This book was a firm favourite of my wife's when she was a little girl, and so we nostalgically bought it for our two year old. I'd never seen it before, and I have to say I'm not sure what all the fuss is about.

The story tells about a family that go on a walk, which they call a bear hunt. They walk through a variety of tough weather conditions, before finding a bear which chases them home.

The book uses repetitive language to help children learn words, which can only be a good thing. Sure enough, my two year old can recite it after only a few reads, which is nice.

The best thing about the book is the illustrations, which are watercolour paintings or ink drawings painted in watercolour. They are sketch-like, and add an old school feel to the book. Sadly, every alternate page is black and white, which I just don't understand: when one of the big things about the book is the colour, why scrimp?

The story is best read with dramatic action and fun, almost singing it. The story elicits this response as, for example, you run away from the bear. It's a great laughing tool, but rather dull if you just read it. Needless to say, my wife reads it to our son whilst bouncing him all over the place.

Michael Rosen wrote it, and obviously he's a firm favourite in children's literature.

At a price of £5.99 for the softcover of around 20 pages, it's adequately priced, but bear in mind a hard-cover may be more appropriate for a book that is likely to get pulled and bashed about a fair bit.

All in all, a nice book that encourages dramatic reading, but the alternate black and white colour pages do it no favours.

**NO.3: My Dad is Brilliant, by Nick Butterworth**

This nice little book focuses on the often overlooked dad! I read it proudly to my son. It is basically a list of some of the good things about dads from a child's point of view. It's a simple yet touching tip of the hat to dads everywhere.

The language is simple, and there are very few words in the whole thing. Each page has around 7 words on it, meaning you can finish it in two minutes flat. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but be prepared by having another book on stand-by would be my recommendation.

All in all, this is a nice simple little book that will be over very quickly, but is well worth having if not just to bring some attention back to daddy.

**NO.2: The Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle**

A timeless classic, this book tells the story of a caterpillar's hunger through a week that eventually ends in a weekend binge (oh how I can relate), before the caterpillar sees the error of his ways, eats healthy, and becomes a beautiful butterfly.

The book is a success on many levels, both for kids and adults:

1) Beautiful illustrations adorn the pages - drawn in a unique style, it's great to get away from computer graphics and see something interesting. I have to say that as an adult I enjoy the pictures, and I know my boys do - they're bright, colourful and vibrant (just like my boys in fact).

2) The repetitive language - always a favourite for little ones grasping just a small amount of English, the repetitive language allows kids to access the book. It has a very basic vocabulary that my two year old has no problem with.

3) The holes/small pages. The size of the pages vary, and each has a little hole in it to show where the food has been eaten. This break from the norm of books makes it exciting to touch, which is a rarity in books too.

4) The moral - eating healthy is the name of the game, and with record levels of obesity, it's a timely reminder of the healthy eating agenda.

If you liked it, try 'The Very Busy Spider', by the same author, and with the same beautiful illustrations.

There are also numerous (and I mean dozens) of spin-off products, such as colouring books, sticker books, and small books that hang off a key-ring (saw them in Waterstones yesterday).


**NO.1: Dogger, by Shirley Hughes**

Dogger is my number one favourite story from childhood. Written and illustrated by Shirley Hughes, it tells the story of one boy's love for his soft toy dog, and the upset it causes when he loses it. In the end, he finds it for sale in a jumble sale, and his sister makes a big sacrifice to get it back for him. Each page contains a full page picture that backs up the text.

Undoubtedly the real joy of the book comes in the stunning illustrations, a mix of pen and paint, that have become so famous with Hughes' work. The pictures have an old school, sketchy vibe to them that may not sit so well in today's world of computer graphics, but certainly ring nostalgic bells for me.

Text-wise, there is a lot of writing in the book, and it takes a good fifteen minutes to read. We read it to our two year old, but for a child to be able to read it to themselves, I would say they would need to be about 4 years old.

Like many books, it can be bought for around £5 in the soft-cover format, although they get bent easily, and a hardcover may be worth going for.

Shirley Hughes has written over 50 books, so if you like her style be sure to check them out.

All in all, a lovely book which still works with little ones today.


So there you have it, ten books to read by the age of ten!

Summary: do it