Shuffle, Duffle, Muzzle, Muff! What’s on the children’s bookshelf?
The Grinch and other tales
Children love stories and are always looking forward to the next story. They are always in awe of the Grinch stories: How the Grinch stole Christmas, The Grinch makes the cat in the hat smile, and Halloween is the night of the Grinch and other classics by Theodor Seuss Geisel AKA Dr. Seuss. So be sure to keep them on the children’s shelf.
There is a story for every occasion and you can read a story to suit the events of the day: Grumpy kids at breakfast? Talk about the green eggs and ham; After a day at the beach, you can top off the day with One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, all from Dr. Seuss.
Get your kids started with the Grinch and seamlessly navigate to Harry Potter. As children grow, they will want to read books on their own. By filling the kids’ bookshelf with colorful animal books and you can’t go wrong with The Big Red Barn, Your Mama is a Llama ?, Jesse Bear What Will You Wear ?, and much more.
Classic to Futuristic
Start your toddlers with picture books of childhood and alphabet concept books or with counting and move on to traditional literature: myths, ballads, fables, fairy tales and legends. Read them funny poems as you go along and when little kids grow into bigger kids they will switch their interest to futuristic fiction and books, they will read Star Wars. Better have a well-stocked children’s bookshelf.
Not all child-friendly classics work well, read. But you can’t let them have a clue about the Three Bears, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Cinderella. As you read the books on the children’s bookshelf, your toddlers will learn which board book or picture book they would ask you to read to.
They will point to bedtime story books and as they grow to age twelve they will read Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, Gulliver’s Travels, and Lorna Doone or Little Lord Fauntleroy.
As the years go by, they will be avid fans of the superheroes: Aquaman and Zatana. Don’t forget to share your enthusiasm for Batman and Superman and the Star Wars team with them. Take them to the movies for some adrenaline-pumping action and you’ll be amazed at their sophistication when it comes to book and comic book heroes. Thanks to the collection on the children’s shelf and to the cinema.
Should you introduce Shakespeare?
Any child will have to face Shakespeare in school. It would be smart to put them in Shakespeare, the easiest to read, of course, like Geraldine McCaughrean’s Shakespearean Stories.
When the time comes, your clever Shakespearean child will have a glimpse of Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The paperback would be a nice addition to the children’s bookshelf, even if your child is already eleven years old.
As the years go by, you will marvel at the breadth and variety of your child’s collection and their arsenal of knowledge and vocabulary. So what’s on the Pop shelf?