Personal request -

By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics and access other forums reserved for members. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today by clicking here.

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 2:26 pm

As some of you know, I'm writing my dissertation proposal. It would be extremely helpful if you guys could answer this question:

If you have children (or had children - or have a niece or nephew, etc) between the ages of 2 and 4, can you tell me what the child's favorite book is/was? What do you think the child liked about the book?

This won't be what my dissertation is on - but it can really help me formulate a response to a question I am anticipating from a professor this next week.

Thanks!!!!

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Apr 2007 Posts: 3123

Three Little Pigs.

Reason - They enjoyed the adventure sense, i.e house gets built,blown down, moves on... Also, I think the suspense of 'huff,puff' building up to the moment of destruction made it gripping and tense.

I think...

Baiting Guru Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 3551

^^^^ Agreed. 100%

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 2:50 pm

the hungry caterpillar is one but will post later when
my little ones get back

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 2:51 pm

My son is now 12 - his favourite book at 4 y.o. was Thomas the Tank Engine.
There were 10 stories and I'd read one a night for him - I was so glad when he started reading them for himself; there's only so much excitement I can place into "James Crashes into a Field" on its 50th reading..
We used to go and watch the trains rumble through my local station with him waving at the drivers - sometimes they'd toot the engines air whistle which really made his day Very Happy

I also had a large HO/OO gauge layout in the one bedroom and he's sit for hours and watch me ...ummmm... test yes, that's the word.. test the trains out. Wink

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 3:10 pm

Well, basically anything with repetition in it. Kids love predicting what will happen next and getting it right is always a blast. Rhyme works very well too. Dunno if titles of children books would help here - they would be in Dutch Laughing

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 3:13 pm

You are such lucky people, my grandkids (7), by marriage, don't read at all! They hang in front of the television, watching cartoons or play play-station games on it. As the new guy, after 11 years and I don't think it will change, I'm not supposed to bother about the (grand) kid�s education, punish them or even use the dreaded word "no" Rolling Eyes

Once they�re in my house I do it anyway, had a few run ins, but now they really make me feel their gramps and I can�t go anywhere without them on the farm. Smile

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 3:30 pm

When my daughter was that age, her fav was a book with H-U-G-E pictures of Mary Poppins. Another one with pictures of Snow White was also her fav.

She liked the large pictures, brightly coloured and (I think) she sort of read off the story from the pictures

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 4:27 pm

Thomas The Tank Engine here for both my children. And HERE'S an interesting article about why autistic children love the stories so much.

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 5:06 pm

My nephew is 5, and he has always loved Thomas the Tank Engine. He likes The Cat in The Hat & other Dr Seuss, too. I am in the doghouse on the reading front, though, because I bought him some Horrid Henry, and apparently, he's too young for some of the themes but cannot be prised away from them. Bad aunt. Sad

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 5:20 pm

I have to say Thomas the train also. Both loved it at that age and they said that they wanted to be a train conductor when they grew up. We purchased lots of Thomas toys. They are 3 yrs. apart and that was one of the things that they had in common (maybe the only.) Confused

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 May 2007 Posts: 18313

Eliza: I have so much info, I'm sure I won't get it all here for you: I own a preschool center and have been teaching preschool for 14 years. I also have two kids (although one is a baby).

Favorite books from my own son, and children I've known over the years:

The Giving Tree, by Maurice Sendak reason: story comes full circle?
Where the Wild Things are: Maurice Sendak: reason: fun to pretend!
Dr. Seuss: LOTS of them: Yertle the Turtle is loved because the underdog BURPS to de-throne the evil king. So much sillyness and rhyming.
Go Away Big Green Monster and Bye Bye Big Bad Bully Bug: The pages all have cutouts so the monster/bug appear and disappear slowly.

In general the reasons I see for young children loving certain books is:
predictability/repetition. You can get a child to love a book by reading it a few times.
rhyming/sing song reading voice
silliness: Doctor Seuss, Robert Munsch and Maurice Sendak do a GREAT job at being silly in a way that children LOVE.
Favorite subject matter: Thomas is popular because kids love trains. The same goes for a kid who's really into dinosaurs, princesses, etc. If they love the subject matter, a book about it will enthrall them.

PM me if you want more info. I don't want to completely open the flood gates. Laughing

PS> What's you dissertation on? Sounds like something I'd love!

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 6:49 pm

the story of chicken licken and the sky falling in

jolly tall

pumpkin soup

snore

muncha muncha muncha

elmer

all the above books had big colourfull pictures and the stories were simple and had some humour.
with jolly tall, the children related to the animal characters to their toy animals.

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 7:55 pm

The Velvetine Rabbit. I think it was because of the happy ending (though the middle has some sadness when all of the toys are burned for health reasons). They just recently found the book and reiterated that they liked it best. They also wore out at least one audio cassette of the story too.

Ditto that kids listen/watch over and over because they like the predictability.

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 9:09 pm

Mother Goose Rymes .... Laughing

Been around forever, kids like them

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007 8:25 am

My 3 year old son likes Bob the Builder and Hopla (about a rabbit and his friends - created by a Belgian guy and hence popular in Belgium, but I read a while ago that he's sold the concept abroad, so soon you'll be inundated with Hopla merchandising...)

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007 8:35 am

I was a child (some debate whether 'was' is appropriate)... I liked "Moo Baa La La La" and "Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy".

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007 8:37 am

My nephew and niece liked the Mr Men books at that age. My niece is now reading them to her little boy.

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 2628

But Not The Hippopotamus by Sandra Boynton, can recite it off by heart even now. We went through 2 copies and had to buy one for a 21st present ( Boynton also did moo baa lalala and going to bed book 2 other well liked books)

Peepo by Janet and Allan Alberg

The very hungry caterpillar

Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole

Mog the forgetful cat by Judith Kerr and others in the series

Katie Morag stories by Mairi Hedderwick

I forgot Venus Peter saves the whale, by Christopher Rush, they really liked it as the illustrations are of the village their gran stayed in at the time

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007 10:09 am

The Billy Goats Gruff (made my boys laugh!)

Teeny-Tiny and the Witch Woman (scared the sh** out of my neices!)

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007 12:21 pm

My older kid - now 3 yrs old - likes almost all kinds of books that have pictures in them. Go figure.

The favourites are Richard Scarry's books as they have lots of different little things in them which are easy to spot for a child at that age.

** ACCOUNT CLOSED ** Joined: 15 Apr 2007 Posts: 766

Oh the TEMPTATION to respond with:

A Child's Mein Kampf
"Let's Explore Under the Sink!"--A Child's First Cookbook
Exploring Electricity
The Protocols of the Youth of Zion
Malleus Maleficarum Activity Book
"Let's Play Doctor!"
Mommy Drinks because You Cry
Charles Manson Speaks to Children
The Karma Sutra for Chil

Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooey*

since it may depend on the country, for the U.S. old Theodore Giesel--"Dr. Seuss"--will always be a favorite.

Some of the others . . . Richard Scarry, The Hungry Caterpillar . . . all making me nostalgic!

Do tell us what this has to do with your proposal when you can.

--J.D.

*For all that need that one explained, you fail at life.

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007 1:38 pm

"If you give a mouse a cookie" - she liked the sequence of events.

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007 1:43 pm

My 6 year old daughter loves "Alice the Fairy". It's a great book for little girls. One of my favorites to read to her.

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007 3:25 pm

"The Enormous Turnip" - both my daughters (1 & 3), love it. God knows why, I've never seen a turnip that big.