Hellobee

Charlie has read many of the same books over and over the past two years. He’s loved all of these books and the reason I lumped books for 2-4 year olds together is because he started reading most of them when he was 2, but he still enjoys them at age 4. He’s always loved reading so he happily sits through longer books, but Olive at the same age couldn’t sit through many of these — every kid is so different! So I’ve organized the books according to what age might be best to introduce them to your little ones, but many of them are great from 2+!

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! – Both Charlie and Olive love this Caldecott winning book and it is one of the few they love equally as a 2 year old and 4 year old. We also own two other books in the Pigeon series including Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late and The Pigeon Needs a Bath! that they love just as much. They are so much fun to read for kids and adults, and we’ve never had a dud when it comes to a Mo Willems book!

A Sick Day for Amos McGee – This Caldecott winning book about a zookeeper and his animal friends is sure to delight animal lovers, children, and adults alike with its sweet story and illustrations. I was shocked to find out that it was only published a couple of years ago because it has such a classic feel to the book.

Llama Llama Red Pajama – The llama series became an instant hit with its rhyming meter, relatable stories and beautiful illustrations. Who knew llamas were so cute!

Bark, George – This tale about a dog who makes various animal sounds because he’s somehow swallowed all those animals is sure to make you and your little one laugh.

Click, Clack, Moo – Cows that type is the premise of this hilarious Caldecott winning book. There is a great meter to this book that makes it so much fun to read, and I must admit that I just like making the animal sounds.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie – The vivid illustrations on each page are jam packed with details in every book of this series. It’s as much fun to read as it is to look at.

The Gruffalo – This book holds a special place in my heart because Charlie was so obsessed with it. We have many other Julia Donaldson books including The Gruffalo’s Child, Room on the Broom, Snail on the Whale, The Spiffiest Giant in Town and a Gold Star for Zog that we have loved over the years.

Corduroy – You may have read this classic when you were a child because it came out in 1976! The tale is still wonderful over 30 years later.

The Pout-Pout Fish – This is a story about a grumpy fish called a pout-pout fish who eventually discovers that he can choose to be a happy kiss-kiss fish. We used to ask Charlie if he was a pout-pout fish when he was acting grumpy, and I think it helped him understand his emotions better. Beautifully illustrated and fun to read!

Harold and the Purple Crayon – This simply illustrated classic published over 60 years ago still resonates with kids’ imaginations today.

I Will Never Not Eat a Tomato – I love books like this that talk about food in a fun way. They really do encourage children to eat better and try new foods.

I Broke My Trunk – This is one of several books we have in Mo Willem’s Elephant and Piggie series. Like the Pigeon series, they are fun to read for adults and kids alike. We call the elephant “Charlie” and the pig “Olive,” and it helps us teach the kids all kinds of lessons like sharing and playing together. Both Charlie and Olive love these books.

Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site – We don’t have the second book in this series, Steam Train, Dream Train, but for a very long time Goodnight Construction was definitely among Charlie’s favorites. It’s a perfect bedtime book, especially for your vehicle lover and I’ve always enjoyed reading it.

The Berenstain Bears – We started reading the Berenstain Bears when Charlie was 2, and at age 4 they are probably his favorite series. The stories can be a little long, but I love reading them because I grew up with them, and they always teach some kind of lesson.

Olivia – The mischievous pig in this Caldecott winning book is a strong, funny, imaginative character and I simply adore the illustrations.

Little Pea – We only recently discovered this book when we checked it out at the library, but both Charlie and Olive absolutely love it. It’s the story of a little pea who has to eat candy every night for dinner, but he hates candy. Luckily when he eats all his candy, he gets to eat his delicious dessert – spinach! Funny and sweet, I can’t imagine a kid not liking this book!

Stuck – This is a hilarious book about a ridiculous amount of things that get thrown into a tree to get a kite down but get stuck. Olive Jeffers wrote and illustrated the beautiful book. My only quibble would be that the text is handwritten which can be a little hard to read, and might be difficult for children to read on their own.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs – This story is a little bit longer so it’s probably best for kids that are 4+. Imagine if breakfast, lunch and dinner came down from the skies every day! I can’t wait to watch the movie with Charlie!

Duck! Rabbit! – Each page in this book debates whether the same illustration on the cover is a duck or a rabbit, with each making convincing arguments. Charlie thinks it is hilarious.

I Want My Hat Back – This is another funny book that Charlie has enjoyed for a very long time. Though it is relatively short, I think it might take a child that’s a little bit older to fully understand the story.

Curious George – Like the Berenstain Bears, Charlie enjoys all the books in the Curious George series, but I vastly prefer reading the Berenstain Bears because George is a little troublemaker!

Green Eggs and Ham – I have to confess that I’m not a huge Dr. Seuss fan, but this is Charlie’s favorite Seuss book, and he also really enjoys The Cat in the Hat.

SkippyJonJones – We received this book as a gift and I wasn’t a big fan at first, but Charlie liked it from the get go and it’s grown on me. It’s the tale of a Siamese cat who thinks he’s a chihuahua, and it’s fun to read the story in a Spanish accent.

Dog Food – This isn’t really a children’s book but we’ve read it so much that I had to include it here. It’s basically dogs made out of different kinds of fruits and vegetables and Charlie finds it so amusing. In fact it got him to eat and like okra — something he never would have done on his own!

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Now that Charlie is getting older and learning how to read, we borrow picture books from the library and tend to purchase nonfiction books on his interests like dinosaurs and space, or chapter books like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon and Galaxy Zack (we’ve read this 4 times in a row!). But I know that we’ll continue to read many of the books on this list for years to come.