New researchhas shown a decline in the number of parents reading aloud to young children, with only 41% of 0 to four-year-olds now being read to regularly, down from 64% in 2012. The survey, conducted by publisher HarperCollins and book data company Nielsen, also found that less than half of parents find reading to kids fun.
With this in mind, we asked parents to share recommendations of books they enjoy reading aloud. Add your own suggestions to the list in the comments below.
Eve Sutton and Lynley Dodd
My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes is fantastic for children who might not like sitting still for long. We started reading the story to my daughter from when she was about 18 months old. Each cat in the book does something the child can copy, from playing the violin to flying an aeroplane and getting stuck in a doorway. When she was four, my daughter had a pyjama party with some nursery friends for her birthday, and all the children loved joining in when we read it.Rebecca, Birmingham
John Bond
Mini Rabbit: Not Lost by John Bond was such a favourite for my first child when they were two. The character of Mini Rabbit jumps off the page, and makes it so easy to come up with an appropriate voice and rhythm that adds so much energy to the book. The final page sting, where Mini Rabbit has lost interest in the very thing he has been questing for is a perfect way to end the book and gets a laugh every time in its abruptness. Bond has given a real gift to parents who may struggle with comedic timing (often necessary in the funniest kids books) by making it flow so naturally from the writing and matching art style. He has also given my family many giggling fits over the years.Matthew, 39, Liverpool
Benjamin Zephaniah andNila Aye
My daughter Iris, two, loves Nature Trail by Benjamin Zephaniah, illustrated by Nila Aye. It’s about the wonderful world of gardens and green spaces, from creepy-crawlies to snails and owls, animals big and small. It appreciates the beauty of the everyday, and it rhymes. Even on my most tired nights, I can remember it by heart, and read it as the light dims.Miranda, 40, Newcastle upon Tyne
Huw Aaron
I’m a primary school teacher with two children under three at home. As a reception teacher I spend a lot of time reading children’s books out loud. With my own children I like a book that is calm and gives me something as well as them. Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob by Huw Aaron is my new favourite: Lovely, relaxed rhymes with a touch of sci-fi and horror thrown in. Children who can read or appreciate the pictures love the idea of a “scary” bedtime story, and those who can’t, get the rhythm and time with a happy, giggling parent.Patrick Clark, Leeds
Cressida Cowell
The How to Train your Dragon books by Cressida Cowell get better and better for both the child and adult reader, and finish with the most perfect, satisfying ending. The characters are brilliant, especially Hiccup , the unlikely hero, and Toothless. It was my younger daughter who first got into them when she was five and we finished them when she was eight-and-a-half (about 24 hours after the last book was published). These books meant we kept reading together for longer than we might have done as even my older child, aged 11, was captivated.Kathy, East Lothian
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BJ Novak
The Book With No Picturesis a great book to read aloud with kids aged about three to six. I’ve used it while teaching in a classroom and at bedtime with my son and it has always been a hit. The point of the book is that the adult reading is forced to read the words in the book “no matter what”. Therefore, they are “forced” to say silly things such as: “My head is made of blueberry pizza.” The more drama and faux-reluctance the reader can bring the better in my opinion!Helen Black, Hastings
Julia Donaldson andAxel Scheffler
The Gruffalo is by far one of the best books to be read aloud to children. It’s such a dynamic read and as the parent you don’t have to think about how you’re going to get around it. It has been done for you. Just let yourself be carried by the words. I have probably read it more than 200 times and unlike other books, I’m still not tired of it and neither is my son.Clementine, 38, London
Jonny Duddle
I have two small children who are two and five. We found a book called The Pirates Next Door by Jonny Duddle and both of my children have separately fallen in love with it. The premise is that a pirate boy named Jim Lad and his family move next door to Matilda in a charming seaside town. Their strange ways annoy the neighbours – fixing their ship on the driveway, eating horrible food, turning up to school without uniform. They are nice but misunderstood, and Matilda makes friends with Jim. It’s incredibly fun to read for parents as each neighbour has their own voice.Jack, 38,Clonakilty, Ireland
Tao Nyeu
Wonder Bear by Tao Nyeu might be a bit of an odd choice considering that it has no words. But as we found with our children when they were three and five, that is what made it so great. The first time I “read” it, they could see there wasn’t any writing. They stared quizzically back and forth from the book to my face as they realised that I was making up the story. Each time we read it, which was often, I continued to hit on the primary narrative points that I had established from that first reading, but I added just a bit more here and there. There is enough going on in the beautiful illustrations to do so. The author cleverly includes enough connections between pages to carry a plot, but also leaves many possibilities for you to interpret and develop the story yourself.Jed, 49, Seattle, the US
Compiled by Alfie Packham