My sister-in-law is pregnant with her first child, due sometime in late June. Next month we will be having a baby shower for her, and I’ve got a gift idea that I’d like some advice on.
I’d like to buy her a book series/collection so that she’ll have lots of reading material for her child. Depending on the number of books in the series and cost, I’d get them all, or at least a good dozen or so. My SIL is francophone and her whole family is French, so I’ve decided to be the English aunt and buy the books in English. SIL’s English is certainly good enough to read a children’s book, so there’s no risk offending her or anything! We don’t know the sex of the baby, so I don’t want to get anything too strongly gender-oriented.
My mom suggested the Mr./Mrs. books (which I see are Mr Men and Little Miss in English - I remember the French ones more), which were really popular when I was a kid - she still has them all, along with our Dr. Seuss and Serendipity books, which remain favourites of mine. I know the books are still available, though I’ll have to look around and see how many of a set I can afford.
What other great book series are out there that are likely to be loved by kids for the rest of their lives? I’d like something that’s at least 8-12 books, or more (so I can keep buying new ones for Christmas and birthdays!) I’d like as many suggestions as possible, so I can check them out (and price them out!) before choosing the best one for my SIL and niece/nephew to be!
I’m looking for any age, really. I’d like something that will age with the child - pretty to look at when they are very young, and a good story they can love when they are a bit older. That’s why I keep thinking about Serendipity; my father read those to us when we were little, and I learned to read alongside my older brother while re-living the story of the Wheedle on the Needle or Flutterby. Those books meant so much to me and my siblings!
I’m just sure that in the past 30 years, there have been other great stories written, and I’d like to explore them!
There was a series of “I Spy” books out, I don’t think they’re making them any more, but I’m sure they’re still around. Big glossy hardcovers full of beautiful photos of a myriad of objects, and on each page, something like - “I spy: A pocket, a locket, a little black cat. A blue bird, a mitten, a stripey wool hat.”
“Frog and Toad Are Friends” by Arnold Lobel, that’s a series, for early readers.
The above went over like absolute gangbusters with my kid, and her little friends, too.
This may be a bit more (in age and price) than you are asking for, but Books of Wonder has ridiculously beautiful heirloom quality reprints of all the Wizard of Oz books with the original illustrations.
They are fantastic.
My 15-month-old totally adores the “Mini Masters” board books by Julie Merberg – we have the Monet and Van Gogh ones, but a quick check on Amazon turns up at least 9 so far. Her absolute favorite is the Museum ABC book put out by the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art – there are two more in the series at present (123 and Shapes). The best thing about these books, too, is that they’re fun for the adult as well to look at the pics.
As for series for older children… I read these when I was, hmm, in the lower grades (K through 3 – I was a fairly precocious reader but they would be suitable to be read aloud)
Judy Blume’s Fudge series (Superfudge, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Sheila the Great, I think I’m forgetting a couple)
Beverly Clearly’s Ramona Quimby books
Dr. Doolittle (Hugh Lofting - there are a TON of these)
The Wizard of Oz (there are 11 sequels written by L. Frank Baum – I remember there was another lady writing them for a while but her books sucked)
A Wrinkle in Time (3 sequels, Madeleine L’Engle)
Older than that (I read all of these in 4th grade but may be suitable at a slightly older age)
Dark is Rising sequence (5 books - Susan Cooper - my absolute favorite series for years and years – I read this when I was in 4th grade but the protagonists are 12)
Narnia books (CS Lewis, 7 books)
The So you Want to Be a Wizard books (9 so far, I think – Diane Duane – she’s still writing them)
Suggestion: Have the attendants at the baby shower bring their favorite children’s book. My kid got a solid base of excellent children’s books that way.
As for the OP: Babar? You could actually get the same books in French and English and appease your sister’s francophonia (I made that word up. Also note the clever use of appease).
You absolutely must get Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Also Knuffle Bunny. Also all of the other books in those series. Also the Piggy and Gerald series.
Those are all highly beloved by all of my children, especially Knuffle Bunny and Knuffle Bunny Too.
Also, the 2 Emily Brown books by Cressida Cowell are fantastic for younger kids (That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown is about a beloved stuffed animal who is worth more than a thousand million other toys to its owner) and she has some series for older children.
I also loved the Madeline books as a child. My kids weren’t quite as into them, but there’s your French Connection, so to speak.
That raises an important point. Kids will find their own favorites and you should respect these.
I find Richard Scarry incredibly annoying, especially if a toddler is begging you to read a Busytown book every single night. But if that toddler just loves him, then you just go with the flow.
My boys loved Richard Scarry books. Expect to see a few of them in your life.
I have a policy. My policy is that for bedtime read-aloud stories, I do not do Richard Scarry, and I do not do comic books. If the kids want to read those (and they do), they can read them on their own time. They are just too much of a pain in the ass to read out loud.
Thanks for all these suggestions! I’m going to have to take a closer look at some of these - the drawings on the Mo Willems webpage makes me seriously consider those!
I think it’s a great idea to ask everyone to bring a favourite book, but unfortunately I’m not the one planning the party. Perhaps another time, for another shower!
I liked the Babar and Madeline books too, though I’m really not looking for French-language books or connections; we live in Québec, those aren’t exactly hard to find! English-language books can be easily found online or in book stores in and around Montreal, but it’s a little harder in other cities. And I really am “the anglophone” in the family - my own husband barely spoke English until he met me, and my SIL likes the idea of her child learning both languages, since she regrets her limited English skills, so the plan is basically that I (and my husband) will speak to the kid in English as much as possible. We only see them a few times a year, though, so I thought books would be a good way to maintain that a little!
I’d highly recommend Jeremy Tankard’s books. They aren’t exactly a series, and there are only three of them, but they’re very readable to very young kids, especially Me Hungry! which manages to be a very fun tale in only about 50 words.
