I don’t know any two or three year old that doesn’t love books. Sure, I can name loads of grown ups I know who don’t read much, or who’d rather watch a movie over reading a novel, but kids? They just get so excited about books. My three year old is so happy and grateful if we buy her a new book (Although rather helpfully, when I asked her what her favourite books are, for the purpose of this post, she pouted and said “NONE!”… You’ve gotta love three year olds!) But in reality, she has lots of favourites – those books she wants to read again and again. And because she gets excited, I get excited too and I love discovering new books for kids her age.
So I asked loads of parents I know to recommend the book that their kids were a bit obsessed with at age two or three and I’ve compiled a list of 40 books to read before you’re 4. I’m going to try to work my way through this list before my daughter turns four in September. Our local library card is going to take a right bashing…
1. 13 Words by Lemony Snicket – recommended by Kelly, who says, “It is brilliant, hilarious and beautifully illustrated.”
2. Green Eggs And Ham by Dr Seuss – recommended by Leeanne, saying, “My eldest is called Sam – and that’s the name in the book, so it was a particular favourite of the Dr Seuss books. I find all his books great, as the books are so mad, and the kids just find them great fun. The illustrations are excellent in all the books.”
3. Press Here by Herve Tullet – recommended by Minty. “That book really gets their brains ticking over – such a simple idea but great fun.”
4. Owl Babies by Martin Waddell – recommended by Gemma. “This was bought for my son when I went away to Spain with friends for three nights without him. It is beautifully illustrated, has haunting words and mother owl came back!”
5. The Baby Who Wouldn’t Go To Bed by Helen Cooper – recommended by Kelly. “Bought at a car boot sale, this book became our bed time adventure every night, with my daughter memorising every word each night. Now my son is turning two and the same floppy, ripped book appears every night.”
6. Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson – recommended by Sarah. “My eldest daughter likes joining in with the bear in this book… especially the big sneeze!”
7. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle – recommended by Nic, saying, “My daughter loves The Very Hungry Caterpillar because she can put her fingers through the holes, she loves that he gets really really fat and then turns into a beautiful butterfly! We love that it is secretly teaching her days of the week, counting, and the idea of the life cycle.”
8. Spider Sandwiches by Claire Freedman – recommended by Debbi. “It’s about a monster called Max who eats things like crunchy cockroach curry and smelly fish eye cheese, eliciting delighted cries of ‘yuck’ and ‘disgusting’!
9. You Choose by Nick Sharratt and Pippa Goodheart – recommended by Jonathan, saying, “My son likes to pontificate and consider every question really carefully.”
10. Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell – recommended by Emma. “Dear Zoo is a classic from the early 80s and I remember this one from my own childhood. It explores different animals – all hidden underneath flaps and both my children love to make the animal sounds when they reveal the animal – they roar so loud when we open the lion’s crate that I’m sure the neighbours can hear!”
11 What Colour Are Your Knickers by Sam Lloyd – recommended by Kelly. “It’s a hilarious rhyming lift-the-flap book. The pictures are vibrant and the language simple so it’s a really good book for young children. Added to which, my girls think that knickers is a rude word so they get a real thrill from reading a ‘rude’ book.”
12. Hairy MacLary From Donaldson’s Dairy by Lynley Dodd – recommended by Vanessa. “I loved that after reading a couple of times, the boys remembered the funny rhymes and we all recited them together.”
13. How To Catch A Star by Oliver Jeffers – recommended by Katy. “My three year old son adores How To Catch A Star. Like most pre-schoolers, his favourites change on an almost daily basis but this is one book he will always come back to. He just loves the idea of catching a star and having it as a friend.”
14. Good Luck Bear by Greg Foley – recommended by Helen. “It’s a sweet, sweet story, beautifully illustrated…so simple. My kids all memorised words, they loved it so much,” she says.
15. Monkey Puzzle by Julia Donaldson – recommended by Lauren who says, “We like Monkey Puzzle because not only is it a lovely story but it’s easy for children to join in too. Our children always have to say the ‘no, no, no’ lines. We also like how it teaches difference between animals in how they look and how they move around.”
16. Peace At Last by Jill Murphy – recommended by Tas. “I bought it because I remembered I loved it as a child too. It’s become our favourite read, especially the line ‘Oh no, I can’t stand this’. Great classic that I think is going to stay a favourite for now.”
17. I Love You, Blue Kangaroo by Emma Chichester Clark – recommended by Helen. “I still can’t bear to pass the Blue Kangaroo books on and my kids are nine & six now!”
18. Mog The Forgetful Cat by Judith Kerr – recommended by @mrskwazii. “We love the pictures – Judith Kerr’s style is lovely, especially the picture of Mog thinking dark thoughts in the dark. I suppose it’s because it’s a simple story, but you’re rooting for the cat who’s a bit of a pain – but who comes up trumps. We like the other Mog stories too. Mog and the Granny is brilliantly bonkers.”
19. Goldilocks And The Three Bears – recommended by Kate, who says, “My daughter had a book of traditional fairytales for Christmas, and Goldilocks is the favourite. Hadn’t realised how scary a few are though!”
20. What The Ladybird Heard by Julia Donaldson – recommended by Emma. “We loved it because there’s lots of repeating. It’s very good. We read it very night for months!” she says.
21. The Paper Dolls by Julia Donaldson – recommended by Jenny, who says, “My three year old got The Paper Dolls for her birthday and she loved it – you need to read it first so you don’t cry!”
22. Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae – recommended by Sarah. “Firstly, any book staring a giraffe called Gerald and featuring chimps doing the cha-cha is a winner for me. Through the book, Gerald learns that ‘we all can dance when we find the music that we love’. It’s a really heart-warming little tale about being being a bit different and finding your own talents.”
23. The Maisie books by Lucy Cousins – recommended by Nicola, saying, “They’re all really simple stories but they seem to appeal. My daughter can read entire books from memory.”
24. Dr Seuss’ Sleep Book by Dr Seuss – recommended by Hannah. “It is very sweet plus the rhymes gradually get quieter & calmer until you finish up with ‘good night’.”
25. Big Sarah’s Little Boots by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark – recommended by Sally, saying, “Big Sarah’s Little Boots helped my daughter come to the terms with the terrible trauma of growing out of your favourite shoes and having to buy new ones.”
26. I’m Sorry by Sam McBratney – recommended by Katy, saying, “It’s great for little stubborners who refuse to apologise!”
27. Lost And Found (pop up) by Oliver Jeffers – recommended by Emma. “It is the most magical pop up book we’ve ever seen, it really brings to life the wonderful artwork and the pop ups are all interactive in some way to help imagine the story actually coming to life. My little boy loves the page with a rowing boat the most, there is a sliding tab to make the little boat move across the page. Every page has something – pop ups, lift up flaps and tabs to pull, there are even pop ups hiding behind flaps!”
28. Aliens Love Underpants by Claire Freedman – recommended by Molly. “It’s funny, features brilliant illustration and has a catchy rhythm my three year old finds infectious.”
29. Barry The Fish With Fingers by Sue Hendra – recommended by Aimee. “We sometimes have to hide this book because otherwise we have to read it every night! The story makes us laugh, and the bright, bold (and sparkly!) illustrations make it easy for the boys to find something new to talk about every time. (Plus, we love that his fingers really do look like glittery fish fingers).”
30. Meg And Mog by Helen Nicoll – recommended by Marianne, saying, “Meg and Mog were the first books my girls fell in love with. They adored the brightly coloured but simple illustrations and the story is told in small phrases but with wit and intelligence. We read them so many times, the girls knew them by heart and refuse to let them go now even if we’ve moved on to ‘Big Girls Books’.”
31. The Highway Rat by Julia Donaldson – recommended by Margaret, who says, “We like The Highway Rat because at three, my son is at that age where sharing and taking turns is increasingly important and I like the way the book shows those lessons of socialisation in a cheerful, colourful way. It also has plenty to talk about on each page so we are building up his vocabulary and understanding.”
32. Topsy And Tim series by Jean Adamson – recommended by Sarah. “Both of my daughters have loved Topsy and Tim because the books are all about situations they can relate to. I have used it for this too – dentist, aeroplane, school etc..to prepare them for things. They also like the puzzle at the end and the map of the village.”
33. Practice Your Phonics With Julia Donaldson’s Song Birds by Julia Donaldson – recommended by Katie. “Her phonics collection is painfully dull to adults, but apparently music to toddler ears! My eldest loves anything that rhymes – so Julia Donaldson pretty much rules in our house.”
34. The Big Snuggle Up by Brian Patten – recommended by Gemma, who says, “My daughters like to guess which animal will come out of the snow next and they love the ending when all the animals are snuggled up inside the house. Also the illustrations and adorable. It’s such a cute book.”
And six books MY daughter loves (even if she does say “NONE” when I ask her which her favourites are!)
35. The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson – This was the first ever Julia Donaldson we read and it’s our firm favourite. I love how it appeals to young kids, but it also has a clever storyline for the grown-ups reading it. That clever mouse!
36. Peppa Pig Fun At The Fair – We have a huge bumper pack of Peppa Pig books but if you only buy one, it should be this one. Why? Because Mummy Pig gets all kick-ass and annoyed when Mr Labrador is sexist. GO Mummy Pig!
37. Miffy by Dick Bruna – My daughter loves this book (even if I don’t think it’s that great – it’s a bit old fashioned with its gender stereotypes and some of the rhyming isn’t spot on.) It’s a calm book, great for a bedtime reading session after a hectic, high energy day.
38. Good Little Wolf by Nadia Shireen – I used to work in teen mags with Nadia, but I’m confident that hasn’t influenced me when I say that this is one of our favourite books. The illustrations are amazing and it’s genuinely funny (especially the end).
39. We’re All Going On A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen – now this is another book that I kind of don’t really understand the appeal of… but my daughter LOVES it. She has it memorised and can ‘read’ me the story, and gets so excited when the bear appears and the family have to rush back home.
40. Guess How Much I Love You (Pop-Up) by Sam McBratney – this pop up version is just beautiful. We hadn’t read the story before we were given this book but now we love it. It’s sweet, calming and the interactive elements with the pop up pages and flaps make it fun. (Just make sure your child doesn’t rip it… er, like mine did…)
What do you think? Are there any books your child loved at that age, that you’d like to add?
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Lovely list! One of E’s all-time faves is The Baby’s Catalogue, the classic picture book showing the lives and days of several families with small children. As the story is told through the pictures, there’s so many different ways to read it, and we find new things each time we read it as there’s so much going on. I also love the way breastfeeding is presented several times as a completely normal and unremarkable part of family life, and that there’s a working mum and stay at home dad (brilliantly progressive for something that’s over 30 years old). E also loves one of her new Christmas presents, Wow said the Owl. It’s a sweet story about an owl and a sneaky way of teaching them about colours.
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I haven’t heard of either of those, Gill – but they both sound ace. I enjoyed compiling this list SO much, because I’ve learned about so many new books that look great. Thank you for your suggestions!
We would totally agree with Topsy and Tim, Goldilocks and the Owl Babies and add Starting School(she doesn’t want to return it to the library) and The Worst Princess.
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I loved Topsy and Tim books when I was little, but haven’t read any since then. I’ll definitely be seeking out Owl Babies, as lots of people have mentioned it.
Dear zoo has been a favorite for all 3 of my elder kiddies I must get hold of a copy for baby x
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It’s fab, isn’t it? We had a buggy book version too, which was great at distracting my daughter when she threatened to have a melt down while I was out and about! 🙂
Impressive list – lots of new titles to add to my list. I forgot to add Would You Rather and When The Crayons Quit to your list, both BRILLIANT books! x
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Ahh the crayons one looks amazing! I had never heard of Oliver Jeffers until this weekend and now I’m going to check out all of his books. Thanks Molly.
We’d better get cracking then as my boy will be 4 in September !
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Plenty of time 😉
Wow! What a list! I found myself nodding at half the list “oh yeah, that’s a great book” and saving for later in my amazon basket for the other half that I’ve not read yet! Isn’t it fab to see so many parents contributing to your list and that so many do read to their children. Thank you for including me 🙂 x
Oh and just incase you do a 50 books to read before you’re 5 or conquer the list before September 🙂
• The Tiger who came to Tea
• I want my Hat Back
• Stuck
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Thanks Emma! The Tiger Who Came To Tea was one of my favourites growing up.
To fabricate a fuller perception of area, a much further complete elevated education undergo and too to improve the full model commencing the university. Into his identifiable terminology, Robert Zimmer, President of the University allied with Chicago.
Great list! I always love this kind of post to discover new books, so have pinned it 😀 Although there are lots of familiar favourites there, about half of them we haven’t read yet! So will have a look out for them!
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Thanks Anna!
What a fabulous list. We’ll be definitely be adding some of these titles to our reading list. At the moment, Amy loves The Day The Crayons Quit and Stick Man. A book that we’ve been reading this week is My Cat Just Sleeps. It’s adorable and perfect for little cat lovers x
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Stick Man is great isn’t it? We read it lots over Christmas.
Great list, I love books aimed at this age group, such lovely illustrations. I found the Kipper books were great. The library is a brilliant place, it would cost a fortune otherwise.
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Exactly. We love the library. It’s a nice place to go on a rainy day, for an hour or so, too. Ours has bean bags and squashy chairs in the kids’ section – great for reading a few books.
a cracking list – thank you for including my choice.
just reading the list brings so many memories – it’s a special thing reading to your child.
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It’s amazing, isn’t it? I loved reading through all of these parents’ reasons for loving a book. It makes you realise how reading with your child is a special moment in any day. Thanks for your contribution, Gemma.
Brilliant list and may I say we still enjoy reading them all now. Definitely a post to bookmark and return to as there are a few I haven’t read
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Perhaps the post should be called ’40 books to read before you’re 4…and keep coming back to until you’re a grown up’?!
So many great books on here and I am really pleased that ‘we’ have read the bulk of them 🙂
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Well done Kelly! Gold star 🙂
Awesome list, some of these we love already – The Gruffalo, The Highway Rat, Hairy McLairy (which I read to M in a faux-scottish accent that would make you cringe 😉 ) and some of these look like dead certs to amuse us in the future x
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Definitely want to hear your Scottish accent next time I see you!
So many of our favourites there! My little ones absolutely loved The Tiger Who Came To Tea (and still do at 5 and 7!) and it was always my favourite as a little girl too 🙂
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It’s brilliant when you can read your kids stories that you loved as a child, isn’t it? Nostalgia and enjoying their reaction all mixed into one.
Fantastic list, thank you for putting it together and sharing it. I love children’s books and I am enjoying reading old favorites and discovering new ones with my 8 month old daughter.
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You’re welcome Claire. Happy reading!
Love this list, Z loves books and I keep thinking I need to buy some more for him but am never sure which ones to get. This list is definitely going to help! (Thanks for the mention too :))
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Thank you for contributing!
There are some news one there that I will definitely be ordering, thank you- great post.
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Pleasure, natalie. I really enjoyed compiling it.
Gosh what a fabulous resource. I’m proud to say we read almost all of these in our youth. Whilst I love that my children are moving on with their reading, and that my daughter is now reading books that I also read as an adult, there is something magical about children’s picture books that I will always love.
This is a brilliant list – we’ve read lots of these but not all of them – will add these to future wish lists!
Fab list, we adore so many you’ve mentioned from The Tiger Who Came to Tea, The Gruffalo, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt…Oliver loves Julia Donaldson’s Tiddler too (as do I) I think I cried when we read it for the first time, so moving!
…Thanks to the brilliant Nomita of Ebabee Likes’ we bought the beautifully witty I Want my Hat Back by Jon Klassen and his follow up too-a modern kids’ classic, you must hunt them out!
Loved this post!
We have gone through a few of these already, and we are only about two and a half! Hope to read them all before we turn 4 x
We also LOVE I Want My Hat Back – my 15 month old laughs out loud every time we read it (although not sure why, I think the subtle humour is lost on him!). Another brilliant (and not too boring or annoying for grown ups) book is A Bit Lost by Chris Haughton. Sweet, funny and the illustrations are fantastic. We read it so much that “Uh Oh” and “Bump Bump Bump” were the first things my little boy could say! He also gets very excited when they find Little Owl’s Mummy.