# Run Out and Get Me a Book for a Four Year Old Child! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 3, 2011, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-out-and-get-me-a-book-for-a-four-year-old-child/580568 "2011-05-03T14:02:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-out-and-get-me-a-book-for-a-four-year-old-child/580568/21 "2011-05-04T02:55:03Z")
It’s time to introduce him to Mo Willems other books. The Knuffle Bunny books (there’s three now) are always a favorite. Don’t Let the Pigeon series is especially fun if you read with lots of expression. The Pigeon is a very dramatic character. If you want timeless, go for Kevin Henkes. Sweet, classic illustrations and lovely stories that children relate to. If Firebug has a favorite blanket, **Owen** would be an excellent choice. Jan Brett is a perfect choice if your son is enchanted by good illustrations. They should also be good attention stretchers for him because the prose is longer and more complex. Good read aloud books. She also likes to do fables and tall tales from other countries around the world so it’s a great way to introduce a child to another country’s oral traditions. The Olivia books are great if your child has an imagination or tends to be a prankster. He’ll relate quite well to her. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-out-and-get-me-a-book-for-a-four-year-old-child/580568/22 "2011-05-04T03:39:08Z")
Get him the entire Beatrix Potter collection of books. You can get all 23 stories, each as a small hardcover book, in a single box with a handle. Your son will enjoy carrying around the box. More cheaply, you can get all 23 in a single large hardback book. You can read him some now and soon he will be reading them all himself. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-out-and-get-me-a-book-for-a-four-year-old-child/580568/23 "2011-05-04T05:20:34Z")
Even if he _is_ a boy, he might enjoy _The Paper Bag Princess_ (by Robert Munch, who also wrote _I’ll Love You Forever_). Have you considered Pratchett’s _Where’s My Cow_? Never too soon to get into Pratchett. P.S. Inspired by **Wendell Wagner** , above, get the original _Winnie the Pooh_. Also _The House at Pooh Corner_, and _Now We are Six_. These _are_ largely for read-along, are they not? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-out-and-get-me-a-book-for-a-four-year-old-child/580568/24 "2011-05-04T05:29:24Z")
Head for the comic shop and stock up on the Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck comics of Carl Barks. With Dr. Seuss, that was how I learned to read at his age. The stories are fun for the parents, too, and they even teach good values like honesty and industry. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-out-and-get-me-a-book-for-a-four-year-old-child/580568/25 "2011-05-04T12:49:08Z")
Doesn’t seem like a very fair trade; you should get _several_ books for a four-year-old child. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-out-and-get-me-a-book-for-a-four-year-old-child/580568/26 "2011-05-04T12:58:28Z")
Lots of good suggestions here. We (my daughter and I) loved the gently subversive [Squids Will be Squids](http://www.amazon.com/Squids-Will-Be-Morals-Beastly/dp/067088135X)at this age. It’s one that’s growing with her, as she “gets” different ones at different ages. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-out-and-get-me-a-book-for-a-four-year-old-child/580568/27 "2011-05-04T14:51:58Z")
Wow, what a plethora of recommendations! I’m going to have fun at the library this weekend - thanks, everyone who’s made suggestions so far! ---
**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:** [May 4, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-out-and-get-me-a-book-for-a-four-year-old-child/580568/28 "2011-05-04T19:41:13Z")
> [@Claire\_Beauchamp](#): > > I’m particularly fond of the picture of Gilgamesh on the G spread. Wow, I totally missed that. There are some in there that I’m still not sure on, and occasionally I’ll be reading it with my girl around another adult and we’ll start geeking out on trying to figure out the more obscure ones. My daughter tends to wander off at this point :). ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-out-and-get-me-a-book-for-a-four-year-old-child/580568/29 "2011-05-04T20:38:04Z")
I’ve put _Animalia_, _Olivia_, _Where’s My Cow?_, and _Squids Will Be Squids_ on hold at the library, just for starters. I’ll be picking them up tomorrow night. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-out-and-get-me-a-book-for-a-four-year-old-child/580568/30 "2011-05-05T02:03:08Z")
Both _Animalia_ and _The Water Hole_ by Graeme Base. A friend got them for our son’s third birthday, and they’re awesome enough that I forgave him for _also_ getting him Sea Monkeys. 😃 The D page has pictures of a Dalek and the fourth Doctor, from _Doctor Who_. Instant hit in our _Who_obsessed household. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-out-and-get-me-a-book-for-a-four-year-old-child/580568/31 "2011-05-05T03:01:05Z")
What about _The Velveteen Rabbit_? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-out-and-get-me-a-book-for-a-four-year-old-child/580568/32 "2011-05-26T03:02:08Z")
Might I modestly suggest one of the [_Who Pooped?_](http://www.robson.org/gary/whopooped.php) series by your favorite\* SDMB moderator? They are scat and track books for children, and my 3-year-old grandson does love them! 😉 - Or, if not your favorite mod, at least one of the top 21? ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-out-and-get-me-a-book-for-a-four-year-old-child/580568/33 "2011-05-26T03:10:29Z")
[Mr. Putter and Tabby](http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_nr_n_0?rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Amr+putter%2Cn%3A%211000%2Cn%3A4&bbn=1000&keywords=mr+putter&ie=UTF8&qid=1306379308&rnid=1000) - an elderly man and his pet cat, and a neighbor lady and her pet dog. A wonderful series that is funny to children and to adults, and stands up well to rereading. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-out-and-get-me-a-book-for-a-four-year-old-child/580568/34 "2011-05-26T03:56:55Z")
I’m looking forward to introducing Lily to [The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales](http://www.amazon.com/Stinky-Cheese-Other-Fairly-Stupid/dp/067084487X). Sure, Goodnight Moon and Guess How Much I Love You are sweet and all, but The Stinky Cheese Man is awesome - and it has legs, so to speak! IIRC, the Boy Child was about four when he first received this book, loved it from the first time I read it to him, and continued to enjoy it enough that he asked me to come read it to his third-grade class. ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-out-and-get-me-a-book-for-a-four-year-old-child/580568/35 "2011-05-26T05:37:36Z")
If you can find it, Lane Smith’s _The Happy Hocky Family_. (My sister ran across it years ago and loved it so much that she bought copies for the entire family. It’s a hoot.) ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-out-and-get-me-a-book-for-a-four-year-old-child/580568/36 "2011-05-26T22:16:23Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > The My Father’s Dragon trilogy by Ruth Stiles Gannett. It’s the best way to get a little kid started on chapter read-alouds that I know of. 🙂 > [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Good points. I actually already reserved dangermom’s suggestion this morning at my library for my 4 year old. While a girl, and very much likes Pinkalicious and Fancy Nancy, I think the adventure tales will entice her. We finished the Dragon trilogy a few days ago. She really enjoyed. She found a bunch of her older brother’s Magic Treehouse books, so we’ve started on those now. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-out-and-get-me-a-book-for-a-four-year-old-child/580568/37 "2011-05-26T23:54:20Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > . . . Have you considered Pratchett’s _Where’s My Cow_? Never too soon to get into Pratchett. . . In a similar vein, [Instructions](http://www.amazon.com/Instructions-Neil-Gaiman/dp/0061960306), by Neil Gaiman just came out as a picture book. I haven’t seen the book, but am familiar with and really like the poem (warning, does not rhyme). The poem can be found [here.](http://www.endicott-studio.com/cofhs/cofinstr.html) ---
**Author:** ![Tess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@Tess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tess)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-out-and-get-me-a-book-for-a-four-year-old-child/580568/38 "2011-05-27T19:45:34Z")
It might take a little searching but the _Morris and Boris_ series is pretty popular with my 4 and 6 year-old nephews. Most the books have about three short stories so a beginning reader can tackle them himself. If your son’s starting school “Morris Goes to School” is good one. My sister read her boys an Amelia Bedilia book a few days before their first Morris and Boris. They got the humor of Morris’ misunderstandings much better than they did Amelia’s (which seemed a bit dated even when I read them in the 80s). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-out-and-get-me-a-book-for-a-four-year-old-child/580568.md?page=1)