Children's Books To Capture The Imagination

Harry Potter lives in your house, so does a hungry caterpillar, Pooh and a host of other book characters. They are as real to your children as the man walking down the street. That is what makes books so magical. A well written book can transport a child into a different world where they can act out a fantasy and often learn about real life. Harry Potter is a lesson in good and evil, the hungry caterpillar teaches the life cycle of a butterfly.

Research has shown that a child's reading ability is enhanced by the number of books in their house, books that are used, not sitting on a shelf for decoration.
Nowadays it is easy to watch the news on the television and not bother with a newspaper, but if you read a newspaper or magazine daily, your children will want to imitate with their own comic. Explain picture stories to them and you will soon hear them telling it to their toys. If children are raised in an atmosphere where reading matter is constantly in use, they will grow up doing the same.

I have made a list of my favorite books for each age group and there are many more I could have added. I have not included any traditional classics, although some in the list have become modern classics. I have included one poetry book, "Where The Sidewalk Ends", if only because the title poem is brilliant. My list changes as good, new books are written, but there is something here for every child.

Top Books For Pre-Schoolers

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Tiger Who Came To Tea by Judith Kerr
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Cordoroy by Don Freeman
The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam Mcbratney & Anita Jeram
Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell
Kiss Goodnight by Amy Hest

Books For 4-8 year olds

The Owl Who Was Afraid Of The Dark by Jill Tomlinson & Paul Howard
Green Eggs And Ham by Dr Seuss
Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
There's No Such Thing As A Dragon by Jack Kent
Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet & Allan Ahlberg
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
The Cat In The Hat by Dr Seuss
If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff & Felicia Bond
The Mitten by Jan Brett
Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish

Books For 8-12 year olds
Harry Potter by J.K.Rowling
Where The Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Goosebumps by R.L.Stine
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Charlotte's Web by E.B.White
Island Of The Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Books For Teens

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
Where The Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Holes by Louis Sachar
A Walk To Remember by Nicholas Sparks
The Cay by Theodore Taylor
Girls in Pants by Ann Brashares
Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls
Chicken Soup For The Teenage Soul by Jack Canfield
The Sign Of The Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time by Mark Haddon.