Around three years ago, I was holding my son in my mother’s kitchen. I think we were making pretzels. My baby was in one of my favorite onesies for him: it had little stripes and a little sauropod dinosaur sticking its head out of his shirt pocket. It was one of the few items I had bought for him to wear, and I loved it. My mom did, too. “Look! There’s a dragon in your pocket,” she said, referencing the Dr. Seuss book, There’s a Wocket in My Pocket. That afternoon, I wrote the original text for my upcoming book: My Little Pocket Dragon. It took from that time until earlier this year to finish the illustrations and put the whole book together, so I am very excited to be finally sharing this book with you! But we still have two weeks until launch day! So before we get there, I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite children’s books with you. Some are board books, some story or picture books, and some are for older kids who are ready for chapter books. Have you read any of these yourself or with your kids? Let me know what your favorites are as well! And keep an eye out for my upcoming book: My Little Pocket Dragon.

Board books:

◦ Snuggle Time: Fall Blessings – we got this one on our family vacation when my daughter was about a year and a half old. This Fall-themed book is all in verse and illustrated with adorable woodland creatures. It reminds me of that trip every time we read it.

◦ I Spy ABC – Have you ever read those I Spy books? They were my brother’s favorites as a kid. We found this one at a giant thrift sale when we lived in Ohio. There was a woman who sold only books, but it took a bit to find her shop. This book is like those I Spy books but for very young kids. All three of my children have loved it!

◦ Snuggle Puppy – a friend from our church gave this one to my kids, I think for their birthday? But this author is a favorite of theirs. My kids love it because you can’t help but sing the book and do funny voices with it. And of course, they get lots of kisses as we read 🙂

◦ Hungry Caterpillar – This is a longtime favorite book of my family, and my kids have grown to love it as well. I always like to read “Saturday” as fast as I can and make the butterfly “fly” at the end of the story. 

◦ Goodnight, Ark – We have had this book for so long that I cannot remember who gave it to us, but it always makes me kids laugh when we read it. My daughter has read it so many times that she has most of it memorized now. Simple and sweet, this is a good book to read before bed.

Picture and Story Books:

◦ Click Clack Moo – This book might be the silliest book that we own. I have a video of my daughter “reading” it when she was about two years old. The basic story is that the cows find a typewriter and start typing notes to the farmer and hilarity ensues. This is one for both parents and kids to enjoy. 

◦ If you give a mouse a cookie – Hopefully, everyone has read this one. I find it to be quite relatable, but maybe I’m the only one who jumps from thing to thing when I clean! It also reminds me of my kids, and I always find the book to be so much fun.

◦ Whisper, Whisper – This book is new to our family. It was a gift from my kids’ godparents and it is written by Mary Moerbe. Not only is it beautifully illustrated and playfully narrates all that happens in church, but it also has side panels for parents to help teach their children about what goes on in Church and activities for them to do together. 

◦ Somewhere in the Ocean – This count and explore book has a tune that goes along with the text It has been a favorite in my family since I was a kid. The bright drawings of ocean creatures are sure to delight, and the back of the book includes fun facts about all the animals you sing about in the book!

◦ Sometimes it’s Turkey, Sometimes it’s Feathers – Storytime: Way back when my family lived Downriver, we used to ride our bikes to the library, and every Thanksgiving, we would borrow this book to read. It was a classic. But one year, we lost the book. Worse, the copy we lost was an original edition, and they did not print them in that sepia-tone style anymore. The author’s daughter had since republished the book with new color illustrations. Which were beautiful! But the library did not care. So even though my mom bought two new copies for the library to replace the one we lost, we were fined for the lost book. Oh well. We ended up buying another for our home so we wouldn’t lose another copy. To this day, we read it on Thanksgiving, as per tradition. It is a classic, funny, and sweet. It’s a story with a bit of suspense and plenty of fun that is enjoyable for kids and adults to read together.

◦ Biscuit and Bluey – I put these two series together because they are similar and I keep them on the same shelf on my kids’ bookshelf. These are both fun and simple stories that a young reader can read largely on their own. All of my kids love these stories, but my daughter is encouraged to keep reading new books on her own because of them.

Novelettes, Fables, and Family Time books:

◦ James Herriot Stories for Children – These stories are derived from the books by the same author titled with lines the poem “All Things Bright and Beautiful.” This book has retold the stories for a younger audience, as animal stories can be rather dramatic. If you’ve lived on a farm, you know. But, these stories are told alongside beautiful realistic illustrations, and me and my children have loved them for years. The copy I have is the same one that I read as a kid (I think my mom knows I have it… perhaps I should ask).

◦ Book of Virtues – We have two versions of this book. One is the full copy, and the other is an illustrated children’s version. The latter is better for young kids. These books are full of great short stories or poems to tell before bedtime. These books are full of classic fairy tales, fables, and other stories that teach as well as entertain. 

◦ Aesop’s Fables – I have been reading to my children from a version of these tales on and off for a few months. While some of the stories are a little odd, my kids like the brevity and the often silly nature of the tales. These, along with the fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christen Andersen, are wonderful stories that have remained classics for a reason: they are fun and they teach while keeping the tale as the main point (as it should be). 

◦ ABC Bible Verses – This sweet book takes verses from the bible in alphabetical order and tells family stories along with them. These stories teach a lesson and help give kids examples of how to live their faith. They end with a prayer and the encouragement to memorize the verses with your children. It is something between a storybook and a devotional for kids and it is great for young families. I have yet to start having my kids memorize the verses, but I still have many of them memorized from when I was a child.

Chapter books:

◦ Twice Freed – I have written on this book in the past, but I love it because it is a fairly well-researched piece of historical fiction written at a level for children to understand and enjoy. Based on Onesimus from Philemon, Twice Freed tells the story of what this young man’s life might have been like and what eventually led him to St. Paul and then back to his master, free both in his body and his soul. 

◦ Little House and Anne of Green Gables – Both of these series are wonderful works of fiction. They are already something like classics in many circles and are great for girls to read. The Wilder books are a much easier read as beginning chapter books, and the Montgomery books are better in middle school. 

◦ Viking Quest – I believe I first read these books in middle school, but I struggle to remember now, particularly because I reread them several times. They are also historical fiction, perhaps more geared towards girls because the main character is a girl, but the other two main characters are boys (though we hear their perspectives less often). But, they are wonderful stories that explore a fascinating and dangerous time in history and Christianity that a reader is sure to enjoy. 

◦ Kingdom Series and Knights of Arrethtrae – My mom originally bought these books for my brother, but I read them just as many times as he did. The original series is an allegory of the bible with the companion series on the tales of individual knights. They are from a Reformed religious perspective, but with some guidance from a parent, they are books that any reader who loves fantasy, knights, and adventure would enjoy.

I hope you enjoyed my lists and the stories that came with them! Keep an eye out for my book, My Little Pocket Dragon! It’s arrival is just around the corner.

Blessings to you and yours,

~Madelyn Rose Craig