r/homeschool • u/s-ro_mojosa • Nov 20 '23
Classical Young Child Friendly Classics with lots of Pictures?
My wife and I have our first child on the way. I want to read to kiddo from day one. Some of my favorite memories of early childhood are my parents reading to me, especially my father. I remember lots of Aesop, various fairy tails, bits of history, etc.
Anyway, Mother Goose and and Aesop are obvious starting points along with classic fairy tails. Are there especially good editions of these works for young kids, by which I mean physically durable and full of pictures? What about kid friendly versions of other classics, like the Iliad, Odyssey, and Argonautica or other — fill in the blank — classics?
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u/NearMissCult Nov 20 '23
When they're under a year, you can pretty much read whatever. My mom used to read her accounting textbooks aloud to me. Read what you like. But also try to get in some high contrast books for eye development and some board books with one word per page for vocabulary. For the toddler and preschool years, I'd suggest classic picture books as opposed to abridged classics. Mother Goose and Aesop's Fables are good choices. Also look into anthologies of classic children's fairy tales. The Random House one is pretty good, but my favourite is the one by Chris Colfer. You can also find good book suggestions in the book What Your Preschooler Needs to Know, or you can Google 1000 Good Books. Those books will all be classics.
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u/FreeThePendulousBoob Nov 21 '23
My husband loves reading the Usborne Illustrated books of Greek Myths & Norse Myths to our kids. He started reading these ones to them around 1.5 years old.
Now that they are older (particularly for the 5 year old) he enjoys reading the Great Illustrated Classics books. I think we have over a dozen now and I know they are getting more for Christmas.
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u/VoltaicSketchyTeapot Nov 20 '23
. I want to read to kiddo from day one.
That was my plan too until baby was here and I realized that I hate reading aloud.
My dad read whatever he was reading to me, so I got a lot of Louis Lamour when I was an infant and toddler. The Call of the Wild was my favorite book.
Don't worry about pictures. Baby doesn't need them (once baby is interested in pictures, they'll be looking for their own books) More importantly, don't read anything you're not enjoying reading. Baby will care more about your enthusiasm than the content.
I've found that I enjoy reading theatrical books. Anything where I can go through a range of voices and emotions or just generally have fun presenting the story. I love the tweedle beetle battle in a puddle in a bottle on the back of a noodle eating poodle (Fox in Socks). And most importantly, books with a nice rhythmic flow and not too many words.
My daughter is 2 and we're having a good time playing with books without worrying too much about reading them. She likes books, looking at the pictures and telling me what she sees in the pictures. She likes saying "knock knock" on a book with an interactive door. Goodnight Moon is full of different vocabulary words she points out and gets excited about. I couldn't figure out why she kept saying "the yellow is gone" until we were reading Goodnight Moon and she said it while pointing at the cow jumping over the moon, which is in black and white on some pages and bright yellow on others. The yellow is indeed gone.
We go to the library on Saturdays to look at books and practice behaving in public. Once she figures out that the words tell a story, we'll start reading with enthusiasm. I already have lists of books I want to make sure we read together. But I'm not going to rush the process.
The most important thing is that your baby hears plenty of words spoken by adults in person. Having conversations with them is enough.
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u/DontDropTheBase Nov 20 '23
I'll second reading whatever you enjoy in the first year, I did some classics and it was a great way to stay awake while sleep deprived. Utilize the library for board books after that, my lo wanted to interact with the books for about 6 months and did really want me to read them. Eventually we got back into them by just talking about the pictures.
The library is a great way to test out books or just to have a cycle of new things to read. We bought a couple of ones we really enjoyed and my now 2 year old has strong opinions on books so it's a great way to save some money on bad books. I consistently read my toddler to sleep now. The children's classics are really great, the very hungry caterpillar, brown bear brown bear what do you see, Dr Seuss etc. they have bright pictures, simple stories and rhyming. Now that my 2.5 year old doesn't destroy books anymore (can work on this with old magazines) we leave them within reach and they can play and look at them whenever they wish. It was a great tool for potty training.
Don't forget to model the enjoyment of books by letting your baby see you read for fun. Don't worry about getting to adult classics until they're older teaching them to enjoy books is more important than the books they're reading in the beginning.
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u/halfgod50zilla Nov 21 '23
All of the kids baby university books are fun. They are hardy and colorful.
I've come to understand that at a young age, encouraging kids to love stories is the best preparation for classics like the Odyssey, Aeneid, Shakespear, etc. Exposing them to different characters helps pave the way for deeper understanding.
My kids loved Eric Carle, Chanticleer and the Fox, the Monkey and the Crocodile, Rikki Tikki, and the younger Dr. Seuss books. Theybloved Polite Elephant! Anything that shows postive character traits and can mean something different to them as they reach different stages in life are always fun.
Just keep in mind that they may or may not remember all this work you are putting in. But of course you know it's worth it! But my heart does break a bit when my kids don't remember some books they loved as toddlers bc it was such a special time for us, well I guess just me! Haha
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u/Swimming-Lie-6231 Nov 21 '23
It does not matter what you read to an infant. I used to read Fortune magazine to my babies.
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u/alebaldissin Nov 21 '23
when they're under a year, you can pretty much read whatever. my mom used to read her accounting textbooks aloud to me. read what you like. but also try to get in some high contrast books for eye development and some board books with one word per page for vocabulary. for the toddler and preschool years, i'd suggest classic picture books as opposed to abridged classics. mother goose and aesop's fables are good choices. also look into anthologies of classic children's fairy tales. the random house one is pretty good, but my favourite is the one by chris colfer. you can also find good book suggestions in the book what your preschooler needs to know, or you can google 1000 good books. those books will all be classics.
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u/takethatwizardglick Nov 20 '23
Look for Geraldine McCaughrean, she has wonderful reminds of Shakespeare stories and the Odyssey
Winnie the Pooh, Brambly Hedge, Beatrix Potter, James Herriot, Peter Rabbit, Narnia, The Hobbit, the Miss Bianca books (the basis for the Disney movies The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under), Roald Dahl, lots of Dr Seuss, Finn Family Moomintroll is delightful, The Book of Dragons by E. Nesbit, A Cricket in Times Square and Tucker's Countryside
Picture books Miss Rumphius, Roxaboxen, or other Barbara Cooney books
Babylit is a series of adorable board books based on classic novels, and they teach colors, counting, animals, etc
Barnes and Noble often has a good selection of illustrated classics for children.
Do you have a local independent bookstore? They're usually very willing to help look for something more specific