My Top 25 Must-Have Books for Wee Ones

Yes, I'm a teacher and yes, teaching is going to weave its way into my child rearing. But reading to your little one isn't necessarily something that only teachers know is good for them. Duh. It's common sense. Read to your kids! Every night. Yes. Ev-er-ry  ni-igh-ht. Lots of research has shown that reading to your kids at very early ages stimulates their minds. Ok, I totally made that up, but I really don't think it's ever too early to start reading to them. I can guarantee that it's never made a kid stupider.

I remember being read to all the time when I was little. And I get such a wonderful nostalgic feeling when I come across some of the books that I may have "forgotten about", but are still buried deep within the depths of my soul. Some of the books that I've put on my top 25 must-have list are such books, and others are newer books that are truly amazing and should definitely be in every kid's library. This list is comprised of picture books and is geared towards children ages 0-5, but most of them can easily be enjoyed by kids as old as me {30+}. Without further aideu:

1. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

2. Happy Birthday, Moon by Frank Asch

3. I Was So Mad by Mercer Mayer

4. Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman

 5. The Three Little Pigs {any author of the original story}

6. Hop on Pop, by Dr. Seuss

7. Put Me in the Zoo, by Robert Lopshire

8. Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak

9. The Poky Little Puppy, a Little Golden Book Classic*

*It should be noted that I am not a fan of the Golden Books...Most of them are silly, outdated, and don't really tell a story. They're just words on pictures, in my opinion. But this one stuck with me and it's the one exception to this rule.

10. Tikki Tikki Tembo, by Arlene Mosel

11. The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams

12. The Tale of Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter

13. Knuffle Bunny, by Mo Willems

14. Diary of a Worm, by Doreen Cronin

15. Don't Let Pigeon Drive the Bus, by Mo Willems

16. Harold and the Purple Crayon, by Crockett Johnson

17. No, David! by David Shannon

18. Pat the Bunny, by Dorothy Kunhardt

19. The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein

20. Alexander and the Terrible, No Good, Horrible, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

21. Go Dog, Go! by P.D. Eastman

22. The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

23. The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audry Wood

24. Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud

25. The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg