Reading is very important for children’ language development, even more so for bilingual children. Below we review and recommend some of our favourite children books in English. You can also buy them at Bilingual For Fun’s Bookstore, which is powered by Amazon so you don’t need to worry about security reliability or anything, in fact you are buying directly from Amazon and we have nothing to do with the transcation.
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Two more details:
Formats: Boardbook = the whole book is in hard and thick paper; Hardcover= Only the cover is thick and hard, Paperback= the whole book is made of “normal” paper (easy to rip, so to speak…)
Shipping costs, you’ll find all the details on Amazon’s website, however, just to give an example ( take this as a disclaimer) if you buy books and have them shipped to - say -Italy, you should add about £ 4 for shipment + £ 1 per book. However Amazon prices are often discounted, so I personally find this solution to be economically sound, on top of being the quickest way to have access to great books that I just couldn’t find in shops…
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, an English mother told me if had to buy just one book that’s what you should buy! I never thought I would buy just one book, yet I sure bought this one. We loved it! Only to then discover that this is THE book for children. 40 years old and still a huge bestseller, I never heard of a child who doesn’t like it… It’s a beautiful an funny story of a hungry caterpillar who turns into a butterfly, it’s a great opportunity for learning to use many words, the days of the week, numbers, words for trees, fruit and leafs as well as words for food. It has funny little holes, and babys can’t help putting their fingers through them. The drawings are beautiful and extremelly modern. No wonder this is a classic! You can also watch the video.
Where is baby’s Mommy? by Katz Katz has written many books and young children really love them, they have beautiful, simple and quite rounded illustration and short “educational” stories. This one specifically is the favorite at my house.
Say Hello to Snowy Animals and Say Hello to Baby Animals by Whybrow e Eaves. These books are very very beautiful, the story is simple and repetitive, built around the animals sounds, and the drawings are cute yet very realistic, presenting to the child many unusual animals. I love them!
Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers All of Jeffers’ books are very charming, the drawings are simple and yet very “emotional”, the colors are sharp and bright yet create a magical atmosphere. This specific book has been love at first sight! A boy and a penguin travel through the ocean just to realisethat everything that they reaslly want is staying together. So cute! Also the cartoons version has had a great success.
The Snail and the Whale, by Donaldson and Scheffler This is one of my favorites. For my boy it’s may be a bit early, the illustrations are a bit complex and the text is definitely not short, so I think it’s more suitable for children from 3 years old onwards. That said, I really love it, particularly for the text, which is in rhyme and has a wonderful rythm and musicality. There are also other books of the same authors, the most famous are The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom
Rainbow Rob This book is not very well know but is wonderful both for the story and the format. It’s the story of a penguin who does not like himself very much and would be of different colors, he tries them all and then realize that white and black are truly a beautiful combination of colors and “being yourself is the way to be”. Each page is dominated by one color and has bright and attractive images. Texts and rhymes are simple but very nice and easy to remember. Finally the touch and feel parts are irresistible to children. In short, this’ a book that brings joy, never bores, teaches something very important and is aesthetically beautiful. What else you can ask from a book? Ah, and it’s also a Boardbook, so it’s not easy to rip off
The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew it Was None of His Business by Holzwarth A very unusual and lovely book! Children’s curiosity starts from the simplest and most obvious facts of life: eating, sleeping, running, drinking, and also poo… Yes, poo! What is it? Do animals do it too? How? The little mole will find answers to this questions, with many surprises. The topic can seem strange, but it’s handled really well, illustrations and texts are fun and children are fascinated. You can also watch the video.
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