Book Week

This week my children are celebrating Book Week at thier school, so to join in the fun I have compiled a list of books for children that I and my children absolutely adore:

Any Age
Stories of the Prophets (Qisas-al-Anbiyah)
Stories of the Sahabah (Qisas-al-Sahaabah)
Fazail-e-Amaal – The section with stories about child Sahabiat

These are especially great when read by parents and then re-told in simple language.

From Baby
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle – a classic that every child loves
Sad Dog, Happy Dog by Sam Lloyd
Chimp and Zee by Catherine and Lawrence Anholt


From Age 5
Cat in the Hat and others by Dr Suess
A Life Like Mine by Unicef -pricey, but Little Man can look at the pictures forever.
Willy the Wimp and Willy the Champ by William Browne - all beautifully illustrated wonderful stories (my favourite of all I think)
Any of the Charlie and Lola books by Lauren Child – very funny with the loveliest big brother ever in Charlie.
You Choose by Pippa Goodhart - this keeps my kids occupied for ages as they decide what they will do, where they will live and what they will wear. One adults can’t help joining in with.
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Not Now Bernard by David McKee – certainly not the outcome you would expect in a children’s book.
Meg and Mog by Helen Nicholl and Jan Pienkowski - very simple but very memorable.


From Age 8-12
Fantastic Mr Fox, Matilda, George’s Marvellous Medicine and pretty much everything else by the wonderful Roald Dahl – cracking stories which appeal to children because of their irreverence and mischief.
The Happy Families Series by Janet and Allan Ahlberg (Mr Creep the Crook, Mr Constable the Policeman etc).
The Saga of Eric the Viking by Terry Jones - beautifully illustrated. My teacher read this to our enthralled class (beware of one page with Eric’s bottom showing though, the class went nuts)
The Reluctant Vampire by Eric Morecambe - very funny.
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Superfudge by Judy Bloom
The Owl Service and The Wierdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner
Clive King - Stig of the Dump
Five Children and It by E Nesbit. Good old-fashioned style adventure
The Owl and the Pussycat and various limericks and drawings by Edward Lear – very silly and therefore just right for kids
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. As kids, me and my sisters thought the characters’ fit us perfectly; I think they still do.
The Borrowers, The Borrowers Afield, The Borrowers Afloat and The Borrowers Aloft by Mary Norton - I cannot imagine any child (or adult) not falling in love with this books and reading all four one after the other.
Also:
The Spider Anansi Stories
Tales of King Arthur and the myths of the Celts
1001 Arabian Nights (including the Sinbad stories)
Folk stories and mythology from around the world - open up their world.


Teen
The Diary of Ann Frank by Anne Frank
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - takes a bit of patience to get into, but a rewarding read.
Are You There God. It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume.
The Wind on Fire Trilogy (The Wind Singer, Slaves of the Mastery, Firesong by William Nicholson – wonderfully unique tales.
His Dark Materials Trilogy (Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass) by Phillip Pullman – bit more cerebral than the Harry Potter books.
Ruby in the Smoke, Shadow in the North, Tiger in the Well, The Tin Princess by Phillip Pullman - series of books based on Victorian detective Sally Lockhart with great plots and a very plucky heroine.
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell - hilarious and a must for animal-lovers.
Greek, Roman and Norse Myths. Great for giving them some culture


I would love to hear what were your favourites as children, what you love to share with your children and what your children’s favourites are.