[numbsafari]

This year:

- I read the entire “Frog & Toad” collection. Probably about 30 times, some stories more.

- “Little Shrew’s Day”… probably 25 times.

- Many of the “Construction Site” series books, especially the OG “Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site”. The “Garbage Crew” and “Airport” books featured heavily.

- Started to mix in some “Pete the Cat” titles.

- “Detective Dog Nell” got a lot of air play.

Lots of others, but those are definitely the frequent fliers.

[cpfohl]

If Little Blue Truck isn’t on your regular list you should add it. We also loved Pond by Jim LaMarche (older audience, but beautifully illustrated and told), the Boynton books are fun to read aloud especially Barnyard Dance, and The Going to Bed Book. There are more, but these are the highlights from that age range

[wj]

Napping House and Pokey Little Puppy were two of my favorites to read with my kids along with the Little Blue Truck.

[Popeyes]

We went to America to see some family and we were discussing books and we were shocked that they had never heard of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler who are an absolute staple of UK kids book culture (so much so that they adapt one of her books as animations for each Christmas). So if they aren't on your radar, then they come highly recommended.

https://axelscheffler.com/who-is-he https://www.juliadonaldson.co.uk/books/

[gnz11]

The Gruffalo is quite popular in the US. Michelle Obama even read it on PBS Kids during the covid lock down era.

https://www.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/blogs/news/mondays-with-...

[mcswell]

Back in the day, I read the Berenstein Bears more times than I wished (my wish would have been zero times), to my kids who are probably about the same age as you.

It was such a relief when I could start reading them the Narnia Chronicles, and much later Lord of the Rings.

[jimmydddd]

Surely you mean the Berenstain Bears. --Just a shout out from the alternate universe before we split off.

[mkl]

*Berenstain, but you're not alone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berenstain_Bears#Name_discrepa...

[sejje]

I've always thought it seemed early, but in my first grade class we read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe aloud as a group.

I don't really remember us having much trouble. I was hooked, and I read the whole series by third grade. I had trouble finding a couple of them, which held me up.

I got into many other books those years. My Friend Flicka, Black Beauty. The Hobbit. White Fang, Hatchet. The Forest Runners. Where the Red Fern Grows.

Still some of my favorites on that list. They really shaped my life, actually.

[PTOB]

My favorite reading of _Frog and Toad Together_ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmHh29UfAco

[heyitsdaad]

Frog & Toad is a grown up book disguised as children’s book. I very much enjoyed reading it to my boys.

[rkuska]

I would recommend The Children of Noisy Village, my 3 year old loves it (she didn't like Pippi Longstocking) and we've read all chapters from all the books several times already.

[etrautmann]

Are you me? Glad others have this exact experience

[EvanAnderson]

Similar experience w/ my daughter (now 12 y/o) here. We read the heck out of children's books when she was little. There were nights when I really didn't want to slog thru the same Suzy Spafford[6] book again, but I did it anyway. I think it paid off. My daughter is an avid reader now.

She says she still wants me to read to her, so I do. This year was a bit sci-fi heavy, and we've decided to target more fantasy and literature in 2026.

This year's books included:

"Below the Root", "And All Between", and "Until the Celebration" - The "Green Sky Trilogy"[0] by Zilpha Keatly Snyder. We held off on playing the "Below the Root" video game[1] but I'm hoping that as we get into winter weather and outside time becomes more scarce we can get to it. It's arguably the final book in the "trilogy".

"Redshirts"[2] by John Scalzi. We've been slowly making our way through Star Trek TOS in the last couple years so. That gave her enough cultural fluency with the tropes in the book to make it effective.

"To Say Nothing of the Dog"[3] by Connie Willis. My daughter adores Victorian England and comedy. This book also turned her on to Jerome K. Jerome's "Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)"[4] (which I'm still working thru on my own-- I do not particularly love Victorian England but it is a good book).

Besides the books I read to my daughter, I also read Martha Wells' "The Murderbot Diaries"[5] series myself. I'm vaguely interested in the television adaptation. I'd love to hear what somebody who has read the series thinks of the TV version.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Sky_Trilogy

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Sky_Trilogy

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redshirts_(novel)

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Say_Nothing_of_the_Dog

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Men_in_a_Boat

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Murderbot_Diaries

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzy_Spafford

[cevn]

I rly like construction site one. Spotting the lil red bird became a game for us.