AS: My 8-year-old daughter isn't reading at a third grade level, quite yet. She is still overcoming three years of horrific schooling experiences in Uganda, where she was hit with a stick almost every day. I've been lucky to find several titles that have managed to convert her to books: She loves Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog. I can't count the number of times we've read these two books together. She also likes the I'll Read to You, You Read to Me books.

GA: As a librarian for a small Christian school, I can recommend a bunch of books. The most checked out book among our younger students (PK-3rd) is Feet in the Gym. Our newest readers enjoy the Frog and Toad books as well as the Amelia Bedelia books. I can also recommend Cynthia Rylant's books. Older students (3rd-6th) enjoy the Eyewitness Non-Fiction books on a plethra of subjects as well as The Chronicles of Narnia set. The older students (6th-8th) are pleasantly surprised to learn that the "classics" are actually good reading and NOT boring. The Secret Garden, Huckleberry Finn, Treasure Island, Aesop's Fables, Black Beauty, and Peter Pan have made the rounds of many of the older students. Personally, all of my children learn to read using Go, Dog, Go.

The two books my kids loved best when they were little are the same two books their kids love best: "Sylvester and the Magic Pebble" by William Steig and "Pierre" by Maurice Sendak.
jwkp

Mo: I read Milly-Molly-Mandy as a child, my daughter read it and now my grandchildren have all become acquainted. That kind of free-spirited life does not exist now for children. The most exciting book I read as a child was Treasure Island. My grandsons love Harry Potter. For the little ones , We're going on a Bear Hunt is lovely. Mo

SOK says: Almost anything by Tim Egan ... Friday Night at Hodge's Cafe, Burnt Toast on Davenport Street, etc.

Beringia: There are a number of children's graphic novels that are superb. I highly recommend the Babymouse Series by Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm and Amelia Rules! by Jimmy Gownley. I consider these all ages because both children and adults enjoy them.

Anonymous: I think that Louis Sachar's "Wayside Stories" series is still one of my all-time favorite reading experiences from childhood. They are probably the best for about 3rd to 5th grade kids, and they are absolutely hilarious! Anyone who creates a story about a school that has 31 stories with one classroom on each floor because the architect "read the blueprints wrong but said he was very sorry" is bound to have good stories to tell!

Anonymous: My two year old loves Llama Llama Red Pajama and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?

Julia says: One of my favorite childhood books is called Will It Be Okay?, by Crescent Dragonwagon.

Anonymous: Wombat Stew

Anonoymous: Skippyjohn Jones

Lauriet says: My son's favorite book of all time is The Three Little Rigs by David Gordon.

Lauriet says: I just discovered Flotsam, by David Wiesner. I'm a writer, NOT an artist, but I still love that a book with no words can say so much.

Winnie says: My children are all in there 20s now but, when the two eldest happened to be leaving home at the same time about 5 years ago, there was a pitched battle over who The Stinky Cheese Man belonged to. Solution: it lives at our house. My youngest loved Ralph S Mouse by Beverly Cleary; the eldest had a thing for the Bungalow Boys books by Edward Bianchi. At least one of his friends was confused by the tree ranching. And my daughter - Anne of Green Gables was a favourite until she started reading Agathe Christie. Leslie's Favorite Children's Book: Winnie the Pooh (followed closely by The House at Pooh Corner)

Anonymous: Emily Elizabeth LOVES "Fancy Nancy" and "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!" I love reading "Piggy in the Puddle" and "Princess Smartypants"!

LucyLibrarian says: My storytime toddlers and I love Please, Puppy, Please by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee. Kadir Nelson's illustrations of the puppy and his children are priceless. Big, wet eyes...fur that makes you want to pet the page... I can see my own dog in image of the hopeful puppy with a big red ball in his mouth. It's a story of love and patience. We yell out "Please, puppy, please!" every time hoping that puppy will listen to us and behave, but knowing that he's probably going to just ignore us and get into more trouble.


MisterK: My fourth grade students will have to count as my children for this entry, but I simply have to recommend the Regarding The... series by Kate and Sarah Klise. These sisters have created a hilarious series of upper elementary novels in which the story is told through a variety of letters, memos, postcards, notices, signs, and much more. It's hard to describe without the word CREATIVE, and of course, enjoyable. Begin with Regarding the Fountain, and keep going. These are best for 9+ year olds who are avid readers.