# Recommend Books for a Four Year Old **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 21, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-a-four-year-old/336650 "2005-12-21T17:51:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pashnish\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8797f3/32.png) [@Pashnish\_Ewing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pashnish_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-a-four-year-old/336650/1 "2005-12-21T17:51:49Z")
Please help me pick out a birthday gift for my niece (she’ll be four). I would like to buy her some books. Maybe some of you parental dopers out there could recommend a few that are not so popular that her parents would have already bought it for her (I’m not too worried about it - the next book my brother buys will be his first). Any ideas? Thanks, Pash This post has been [self-plagiarized](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=149185) by the self-plagiarizer! ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-a-four-year-old/336650/2 "2005-12-21T18:02:18Z")
Love You Forever. Wonderful book with repetitive refrain and a sweet sentiment. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-a-four-year-old/336650/3 "2005-12-21T18:06:55Z")
**The Wedding Procession of the Rag Doll and the Broom Handle and Who Was In It** by Carl Sandburg, illustrated by Harriet Pincus. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-a-four-year-old/336650/4 "2005-12-21T18:09:21Z")
Gertie and Gus, by Lisa Weil [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0819309117/qid=1135188521/sr=1-2/ref=sr\_1\_2/103-6576962-9538258?s=books&v=glance&n=283155](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0819309117/qid=1135188521/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/103-6576962-9538258?s=books&v=glance&n=283155) ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-a-four-year-old/336650/5 "2005-12-21T18:14:46Z")
All of Robert Munsch is pretty awesome for kids, unless you’re one of THOSE people 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-a-four-year-old/336650/6 "2005-12-21T18:16:10Z")
[Animalia](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0810918684/qid=1135188657/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-6841446-2129437?n=507846&s=books&v=glance) . I love this book, the illustrations are beautiful. Each page (sometimes double page illustrations) celebrates a letter of the alphabet and is absolutely crammed with items that start with that letter. It’s the kind of book that can grow up with the child. The older they get, the more objects starting with the letter they will recognize! ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-a-four-year-old/336650/7 "2005-12-21T18:18:41Z")
Oh, right Maurice Sendak: In the Night Kitchen and Where the Wild Things Are. I remember [this book](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0734403771/qid=1135188915/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-4284117-1769602?n=507846&s=books&v=glance) being kind of cute too. It’s about a boy who decides to have a new name every day until one day he chooses a girl’s name without realising… until he meets an actual girl with that name. Yeah, so the story wasn’t that exciting but the illustrations were great and I thought it captured 4-year-old behaviour quite well :3 ---
**Author:** ![foxymoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d26b3c/32.png) [@foxymoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foxymoron)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-a-four-year-old/336650/8 "2005-12-21T18:54:17Z")
Some enduring favorites of my 5 1/2-year-old: [No, No, Jack!](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0803726120/qid=1135190442/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-4251921-4903028?s=books&v=glance&n=283155), by Ron Hirsch [Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/078681988X/ref=pd_bxgy_img_b/103-4251921-4903028?%5Fencoding=UTF8) and [The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0786818697/qid=1135190600/sr=2-3/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_3/103-4251921-4903028?s=books&v=glance&n=283155) by Mo Willems [How I Became a Pirate](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0152018484/qid=1135190790/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-4251921-4903028?s=books&v=glance&n=283155) by Melinda Long Also, pretty much anything by Robert Munsch, especially [Murmel, Murmel, Murmel](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0920236316/qid=1135190995/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-4251921-4903028?n=507846&s=books&v=glance). ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-a-four-year-old/336650/9 "2005-12-21T20:43:56Z")
I’ll second _Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus_: it’s hilarious and interactive. _Knuffle Bunny_, by the same author, is also tremendous fun. Both books got Caldecott recognition for their artwork. Also, there’s _Beautiful Warrior_, a children’s kung fu book. It might be better for a very slightly older child, but if the family likes kung fu movies, it’s superb, in my opinion. Do you like to make little children cry? Do you want to make their parents break down in uncontrollable sobbing? The beauitful book _Coming On Home Soon_ is for you: it’s the story of a little girl whose mother has to move to the city during World War II to earn money, and it’s got exquisite illustrations and is heartbreakingly sad (even though it’s got a good ending to it). I’ve never hated such a good book. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![rackensack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@rackensack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rackensack)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-a-four-year-old/336650/10 "2005-12-21T21:13:26Z")
Denys Cazet’s _Minnie and Moo_ books. Pee before reading. To avoid spewage, do not let anyone consume liquids in the presence of these books being read. ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-a-four-year-old/336650/11 "2005-12-22T02:43:17Z")
Another good but sad book I loved at that age is The Velveteen Rabbit. I’ve seen it packaged with a stuffed rabbit as a gift. Last time I was in Barnes & Noble, right at the checkout they had a selection of smaller versions of some of the most popular books for kids about that age. If she’s not getting a lot of books from her parents, that might be an affordable way to get her a good selection. They would also be easy to take along and read on the go. ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-a-four-year-old/336650/12 "2005-12-22T18:38:51Z")
[Walter the Farting Dog](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1583940537/qid=1135276301/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-1702648-7759130?n=507846&s=books&v=glance) along with any of the subsequent titles. Not exactly Caldecott material but my 4-year-old loves them. On less flatulent note, we also love many of the [Mark Teague](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-author-exact=Mark%20Teague&rank=-relevance%2C%2Bavailability%2C-daterank/104-1702648-7759130) books (both as author and/or illustrator). Especially the **LaRue** stories and How I Spent My Summer Vacation. ---
**Author:** ![VernWinterbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c67d28/32.png) [@VernWinterbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VernWinterbottom)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-a-four-year-old/336650/13 "2005-12-24T02:43:06Z")
My daughter has loved most Rosemary Wells books, especially the Max and Ruby ones, “Bunny Money,” “Bunny Party,” “Max’s Dragon Shirt,” “Bunny Cakes.” We also have quite a collection of Clifford and Arthur books. Olivia is good, too. Make Way for Ducklings is, of course, a classic. Four is pretty much still the age for relatively short books with lots of fun pictures. At five and a half, our little miss is reading some books on her own now and she’ll sit through some longer stories like Flat Stanley, but we haven’t had much luck yet with things like Pooh or Wind in the Willows, both of which were bought when she was born. Not sure if it’s still in print, but Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree is great, if seasonal, and it was written and illustrated by my college illustration professor. (Don’t bother watching the Muppet’s version of it, though. . .) ---
**Author:** ![Kiminy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Kiminy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiminy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-a-four-year-old/336650/14 "2005-12-24T04:19:04Z")
This age is _perfect_ for the [I Spy books](http://www.scholastic.ca/ispy/books/bigbooks.htm). We have pretty much every book in the series–great for bedtime reading, great for building observational skills, and great for just plain fun. My kids are 11 and 14 now, but they still pull out these books to look through for fun. My 14yo daughter even had a sleep over last night, and she and her friends went through a couple of the books before they went to bed. ---
**Author:** ![September5Photo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5e9695/32.png) [@September5Photo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/September5Photo)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-a-four-year-old/336650/15 "2005-12-25T22:55:13Z")
My favorite kids picture book of all time is “The Big Orange Splot” by D. Manus Pinkwater. The message promotes individuality and spells out why I dislike deed restricted neighborhoods. Also has some nice repitition. I have purchased this book for many different children. I was recently looking for some other neat, less-popular childrens books for the 2-4 year range. I tend to lean towards books that are recommended for a little older child, like, 4-8, because the parents can read to the kid, then the kid can grow into reading it on their own. Here’s the list that I came up with: “Falling for Rapunzel” by Leah Wilcox “My Many Colored Days” by Dr. Suess (published after his death, I had never seen it before) “How to Make Apple Pie and See the World” by Marjorie Priceman “Princess Penelope” by Todd Mack “Bubba the Cowboy Prince” by Helen Ketteman “Parts” and “More Parts” and on by Tedd Arnold “This is…” series by Miroslav Sasek. I only flipped through a couple at the store, but they appear to be cute books about travel for children (This is London, This is Paris, This is NYC, etc) with some adorable illustrations. I can’t remember too much of the written content though. Hope this helps, Have fun shoppin’! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-a-four-year-old/336650/16 "2005-12-26T03:19:10Z")
Harold and The Purple Crayon by Crocket Johnson 🙂 More modern and also worthy, is the **Toot and Puddle** series by Holly Hobbie and **Who Hops** by Katie Davis, but the latter is best for being read to rather than for an early reader; kids think it’s hysterical (at least the 100 or so we read it to thought so). ---
**Author:** ![YWalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/6f9a4e/32.png) [@YWalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YWalker)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-a-four-year-old/336650/17 "2005-12-26T04:56:42Z")
[Where’s My Teddy?](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1564022803/103-6388915-3932616?v=glance&n=283155) by Jez Alborough is a wonderful book to read to a child that age. It has beautiful, lush illustrations, and the text has an excellent rhythm and rhyme scheme to read aloud. It has a funny, happy ending. ---
**Author:** ![Gorgonzola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e480ec/32.png) [@Gorgonzola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgonzola)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-books-for-a-four-year-old/336650/18 "2005-12-26T05:06:24Z")
If your niece loves dogs, I highly recommend the Carl books by Alexandra Day. They’re quite easy to find, and feature classic illustrations of Carl the Rottweiler comically keeping his young lady friend, Madeleine, out of harm’s way. Because it’s a birthday, I’d suggest _Carl’s Birthday_, though my daughter also found _Carl Goes Shopping_ enchanting at that age.