The Grinch and other tales
Children love stories and are always looking forward to the next story. They are always in awe of the Grinch stories: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat and Halloween is Grinch Night and other classics by Theodor Seuss Geisel aka Dr. Seuss. So be sure to keep them on the children’s bookshelf.
There is a story for every occasion and you can read a story that fits the events of the day: cranky kids at breakfast? Tell them about Green Eggs and Ham; after a day at the beach, you can end the day with One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, all from Dr. Seuss.
Start your kids off on the Grinch and seamlessly navigate Harry Potter. As children get older, they will want to read books on their own. Fill the children’s bookshelf with colorful animal books and you can’t go wrong with The Big Red Barn, Your Mama is a Llama?, Jesse Bear What will You Wear?, and much more.
Classics to Futurists
Introduce your toddlers to childhood picture books and alphabet or counting concept books and move on to traditional literature: myths, ballads, fables, fairy tales, and legends. Read them funny poems as you go and as toddlers get older they will switch their interest to fiction and futuristic books, reading Star Wars. It is better to have a well-stocked children’s bookshelf.
Not all kid-friendly classics do well, read on. But you can’t have them clueless about Three Bears, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Cinderella. As you read the books on the children’s shelf, your toddlers will learn which board or picture book they will ask you to read to them.
They will point to the books for the bedtime story, and as they grow to age twelve, they will read Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, Gulliver’s Travels and Lorna Doone, or Little Lord Fauntleroy.
As the years go by, they will be avid fans of superheroes: Aquaman and Zatana. Don’t forget to share your enthusiasm for Batman and Superman and the Star Wars crew with them. Take them to the movies for some adrenaline-pumping action and you’ll be amazed at their sophistication when it comes to comic book and comic book heroes. Thanks to the collection on the children’s shelf and to the cinema.
Should you introduce Shakespeare?
Any child will have to face Shakespeare in school. It would be smart to put them in Shakespeare, the easiest read of course, like Geraldine McCaughrean’s Histories from Shakespeare.
When the time comes, your Shakespearean-savvy child gets a glimpse of Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The paperback edition would be a nice addition to a children’s library, even if your child is already eleven years old.
As the years pass, you’ll marvel at the breadth and variety of your child’s collection and cache of knowledge and vocabulary. So now what’s on the Pop shelf?