An English Teacher's Favorite Children's Books

Our reading nook

I loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove books! They make my soul feel at home. I relish in the colors, or lack thereof. I admire the endless forms of creativity that emerge with the turn of a page. I find rejuvenation in the escape. It doesn't matter if I'm reading a children's book or a novel, the Bible, or a magazine. The art that unfolds on a page, simply put, makes me happy.  I think it's accurate to say that books are my first love. 

If we all pursued our childhood loves once we reached our professional lives, the world might make a little more sense. I say that because someone recently asked me what I pretended to be when I was five years old. Answer: a teacher. She followed up the question by suggesting that we can often predict what our children will become when they're grown by looking at what they spend their time doing at age five.

That is absolutely accurate in my case. When I entered college I spent time in a few different majors before I finally returned to my love of books. I graduated with a degree in Secondary English Education and spent my professional days immersed in literature. I felt fulfilled in my career because I studied and practiced what truly made me happy. Turns out, I loved teaching and mentoring my students worlds more than I enjoy books, but that's a story for another day.

Now that I'm stay-at-home mama, I continue to spend my days surrounded by books. I take our children to storytime at the library at least once a week, and we always come home with new texts to peruse. Naptime and bedtime are preceded by a few good books and we have a cute reading nook in our playroom that beckons us during the day. 

Here is a list of some of my favorite children's books (some of which you may have never read). Each week I hope we'll come across another gem, but the majority we encounter are rather bland. My husband and I find ourselves wondering how most children's books even get published; the content often isn't worthy. I believe all of the below books are creative, clever, inspiring, and/or informative--key ingredients to a successful read! 

I hope you enjoy these books as much as we do! Please leave me a comment with your favorite children's books. I appreciate your suggestions, and the opportunity to expand our minds, hearts and library. Happy reading!!!