Anyone who spends time regularly with children, whether you are their parent, teacher, babysitter, or relative, knows that if there is one thing small children like it is reading their favorite stories over and over again. And again. Sometimes, this can drive the grown-ups in their lives to want to secretly donate the book in question to the nearest Goodwill and pretend it is lost. We don’t, of course, do that.
With all of that in mind, here are some authors whose books are fun to read even for grown-ups. These are the ones you might not mind reading over and over, and your kids will love them too.
Mo Willems writes the pigeon books (Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, The Pigeon Gets a Hot Dog, etc) about a fast-talking pigeon who always wants something he probably shouldn’t have, as well as a series of “Elephant and Piggie” books about two best friends. He has a couple of other series as well as a number of stand-alone books. His writing is very funny, easy to read for young readers and easy to read more than once for adults.
Lauren Child writes the Charlie and Lola books and the Clarice Bean books, among others. Her cartoon-like illustrations are bright and friendly. The stories, although aimed at children, appeal to a range of ages. The Charlie and Lola books center on the life of a brother and sister and the day-to-day events and worries of many small children.
Sandra Boynton writes board books that are colorful, sometimes rhyming but not always, and usually very silly. Young kids from babies all the way through preschool enjoy these books, such as The Going to Bed Book, Hey! Wake Up!, Hippos Go Berzerk, and Blue Hat Green Hat. She has a number of books that are also songs, and she has song books with music cds in them. They are fun to read (or listen to), and quickly become household favorites.
Alan Baker has written a number of very visually appealing books featuring bunnies. The books are illustrated beautifully, and have a very clean look to them (white backgrounds, primary colors). They mainly deal with concepts for young children (colors, ABCs, etc).
Todd Parr writes silly books about serious subjects. His books include The OK Book, The Thankful Book, The Earth Book, and many more. His drawings are very cartoony, practically stick figures actually. He uses bright, primary colors for both his drawings and the pages themselves. He is very focused on making kids feel good about themselves, and letting them know that they can do big things no matter how small they are.
This is just a very brief sampling of authors whose children’s books will appeal to the adults who reread them for children, not just the children being read to. Find more here at the library!
