I absolutely love books and am so glad that the little Coole Girls have the same affection for reading. I can rarely say no to requests for new books, and we make a weekly trip to the library for more reading materials to supplement our overflowing shelves at home. Even so, I find there are certain books we keep coming back to time and again. As such, here are my top 25 picks that I think every child should have in their library.

Complete Collections: these authors are absolutely timeless; all of their works are classic and worth having if at all possible.

1. Dr. Seuss – over 200 million copies of his books have been sold worldwide, translated into 15 languages. One can hardly think of classic children’s books without including at least one of his masterpieces. I really can’t pick just one favourite, but Green Eggs & Ham will always have a special place in my heart, as that is the one my dad used to recite to us as children all the time. He even made us green eggs & ham for breakfast once.
2. P.D. Eastman – a protegé of Dr. Seuss, Eastman wrote and illustrated a number of beginner books for children, as well as having illustrated many for other authors as well. Are You My Mother? and Go, Dog, Go! are great choices to start your collection with.
3. Hans Christian Andersen – his fairy tales have been translated into well over a hundred languages and continue to be published in throughout the world. My personal favourite is The Snow Queen, my all-time favourite childhood story.
4. Eric Carle – his unique style of collage artwork is captivating; many of his books have an added dimension (die-cut pages, lights, sounds) that make reading the book a completely tactile experience. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a book every child should have the experience of reading.
5. Robert Munsch – This Canadian author makes up his stories in front of audiences and refines them through repeated tellings; he has said “It takes 200 tellings for a story to get good”. Love You Forever is an endearing story that makes an excellent present for new parents.
6. Mercer Mayer – having published over 300 books, with a number of different well-known series, it might be a bit much to get them all for your collection. But I’ve yet to meet a child who can resist the allure of the Little Critter books (finding the ‘hidden’ critters is especially fun).
7. Richard Scarry – I adored his books when I was young; he was so skilled at bringing human qualities to an interminable parade of animals… I’m fairly certain I had a childhood crush on Huckle Cat. Scarry’s Busytown series of books are likely his most well-known works.

Board Books for Babies: these authors also each have a number of wonderful works that you may want to consider, but here are some classics you might want to have in the nursery for when baby comes home (board books preferred for those little hands, of course).

1. Pat The Bunny; Dorothy Kunhardt – this book was an experiment in using hands-on details in a book, which was unusual when it was originally published in 1940. It has been a perpetual best-seller ever since.
2. Goodnight Moon; Margaret Wise Brown & Clement Hurd – a well-known and much-loved rhyming bedtime story, depicting a child’s night-time ritual of saying goodnight to everything and anything.
3. Guess How Much I Love You; Sam McBratney & Anita Jeram – another wonderful bedtime story, this tale is a conversation between a little bunny and his father, each trying to prove how much they love the other.

Perfect Prose for Preschoolers and Parents: outstanding books loved by all ages; great to introduce to toddlers and preschoolers who are ready for more of a story that will entice their imaginations.

1. Where the Wild Things Are; Maurice Sendak – the imaginary adventures of Max, angry at being sent to bed without supper. Lovable monsters grace the pages with run-on sentences that only a master like Sendak could pull off.
2. The Giving Tree; Shel Silverstein – a moral tale portraying the interrelation between a boy and a tree throughout their lives.
3. Velveteen Rabbit; Margery Williams & William Nicholson – chronicles the story of a stuffed rabbit and his determination to become real through the love of his owner. A must-have for any child who has an attachment to a particular ‘lovey”.
4. Harold & The Purple Crayon; Crockett Johnson – a tender tale of a boy and his crayon which shows just how far your imagination can take you (if you let it).
5. Poky Little Puppy; Janette Sebring Lowrey & Gustaf Tenggren – as of 2001, this was the single all-time best-selling hardcover children’s book in English. It is the tale of a puppy who loves his independence, which eventually catches up with him.
6. Saggy Baggy Elephant; Kathryn Jackson, Byron Jackson, and Gustaf Tenggren – somewhat reminiscent of the themes in The Ugly Duckling, Suki is an elephant who is uncomfortable in his own skin until he realizes he does fit in after all.

New Classics: these are all books and series I’ve discovered since having children of my own, and they’ve quickly become preferred picks.

1. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom; Bill Martin Jr., John Archambault & Lois Ehlert – a spirited rhyme which introduces the alphabet to even the youngest of children.
2. Olivia (series); Ian Falconer – Olivia is a precocious piglet whose antics readers both young and old will identify with.
3. Bing (series); Ted Dewan – feisty Bing Bunny and his companion Flop are portrayed in bold illustrations with bright colors; highly addictive… it’s a Bing Thing.
4. Ten Little Ladybugs; Melanie Gerth & Laura Huliska-Beith – another wonderful tactile books for children, this introduces concepts of colors and counting.
5. Fuzzy, Fuzzy, Fuzzy; Sandra Boynton – “a touch, skritch, & tickle book” with delightfully waggish farmyard characters.
6. I Love You Through and Through; Bernadette Rossetti Shustak & Caroline Jayne Church – not quite a board book, it’s stiff pages are still sturdy enough to stand up to babies and toddlers. Delightful read for a pre-nap cuddle.
7. The Gruffalo & The Gruffalo’s Child; Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler – a quick-thinking mouse with a grand imagination meets the ultimate product of his musings. Both books have won several awards.
   
8. Mary Engelbreit (illustrator) – I’m a closet Mary Engelbreit fan: her whimsical drawings are darling, but almost a little too cutesy for my tastes in everyday life. However, in the form of children’s books, I simply can’t get enough. My personal fave is her Mother Goose Book.
9. Harry Potter (series); J.K. Rowling – okay, so my daughters are nowhere near the age of being ready to read these, but I love them and I’m sure the little Coole Girls will feel the same way about ten years from now.