This post is part of a series on 100 Best Children's Books that Kids Love to Read Again and Again. Read the first post containing books 1-10 here.
11. One Ted Falls Out of Bed by Julia Donaldson, Anna Currey
Age: 2-4 years
Buy From: Amazon India | Flipkart
I chanced upon this in a bookstore and was immediately charmed by the bedtime story which incorporates counting from one to ten, and back from ten to one. It helped that it was from one of our favourite children's authors, Julia Donaldson! Combined with Anna Currey's delightful illustrations of a young child's room, this sure was a winner.
This bedtime book is for the kids who have just been introduced to numbers. The setting is that of a child's bedroom at nighttime. While the child is sleeping, his teddy bear falls out of the bed.
(excerpted from the book)
One Ted falls out of Bed,
He tugs and pulls the bedclothes BUT
Two eyes are tight shut.
He jumps and shouts and makes a fuss,
Till three mice say, "Play with us!"
There are four toy cars, five stars, six dolls, seven trolls, eight balloons, nine musician frogs and ten red bricks. The teddy bear tries to get back into the bed by building a stair with everyone's help but he fails to climb up and everything falls down. A commotion ensues. This leads to the countdown from ten to one, and at the end, the teddy gets back into the bed.
It is a wonderful bedtime story that ends on a calm note. We have enjoyed it a lot.
12. Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle, Jill McElmurry
Age: 2-5 years
Buy From: Amazon India | Flipkart
All kids go through a phase when they are enamoured by big trucks and vehicles. So, I was hunting for a good book on the same theme. This book showed up on a few websites and I never regretted getting it.
There's a little Blue truck, which is the friendliest truck around. It always makes time to say hello to all the animals that it meets along the way. The setting is that of an idyllic countryside. There's a big dump truck that is full of pride and self-importance. It feels that it has big important things to do and hasn't got time for anybody. Now this big truck gets stuck in mud puddle. The more it tries to get out, the more it gets stuck. Then comes the ever friendly little Blue truck that tries to help the dump truck, but it could not do much on its own. Its call for help is immediately noticed by all its friends, and with their help, both the trucks get out of the puddle. The big dump truck finally admits that no matter who you are, everyone needs the helping hands of friends in life.
This book deftly combines a whole lot of farm animals, trucks and an important life lesson. With rhythmic text and beautiful illustrations, children love to look at this book again and again.
(excerpted from the book)
"Thanks, little brother,"
said the Dump to Blue.
"You helped me
and they helped you.
Now I see
a lot depends
on a helping hand
from a few good friends!"
13. Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
Age: 2-5 years
Buy From: Amazon India | Flipkart
Young kids love books on animals, and 'Big Red Barn' is another delightful book on the farm life. With rhyming text, the book takes you through the routine on a farm; introduces all the animals which stay on the farm in harmony, make noises, play together and at the end of the day settle down for sleep.
Kids love to look at the vibrant illustrations and all the different kinds of animals. They like to figure out how the barn is laid out, where each animal stays, as different pages show animals in different settings around the barn.
(excerpted from the book)
The sheep and the donkey,
The geese and the goats,
Were making funny noises
Down in their throats.
An old scarecrow
Was leaning on his hoe.
And a field mouse was born ...
In a field of corn.
14. Watch Out / Saavdhaan by Ajanta Guhathakurta, Shamim Padamsee
Age: 2-4 years
Buy From: Amazon India
Kids are attracted to other kids, and animal baby stories. It's instinctive. When I got this book, my son must have been 2. With minimum text, it looked like a good one for him. It tells the story of a lioness and her cubs. When the lioness goes to look for food, she warns her cubs to take care of themselves because the forest is full of dangers for baby animals. But cubs do what kids do, they throw caution to the wind and start enjoying themselves - they play, they pounce on small animals, they roll, they run, and generally, have a good time; but there's danger at every step. Finally, as the day ends, Mamma lioness comes back to protect them, and they eat and go back to sleep.
This is a bilingual book with simple text like...
Let's play.
Let's pounce.
Let's roll.
Let's drink.
This is also useful when the child starts reading another language (like it was hindi for us), since this is a bilingual book. This was read several times in our household. I used to talk some more about the forest, the animals, the dangers, how mothers protect their babies, etc.
15. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff, Felicia Bond
Age: 3-6 years
Buy From: Amazon India | Flipkart
I have 6 books from this series and each one of them is creative and entertaining. This book starts with a boy offering a cookie to a mouse, and how that triggers a chain of events which eventually leads back to the cookie.
(excerpted from the book)
If you give a Mouse a cookie,
he's going to ask you for a glass of milk.
When you give him the milk,
he'll probably ask you for a straw.
When he's finished he'll ask for a napkin.
The illustrations are super cute, and the story is humorous. We had fun following the mouse. Each book in this series follows the story in a similar format. You can also make your child imagine some alternative scenarios.
16. The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
What I personally love about this book is how it conveys a strong message in the most simple way (which is a characteristic of all Eric Carle books). It tells in the most subtle way how hard work, single-minded dedication and perseverance pays off.
Note: Pay attention to the size of the book you are ordering.
17. Marvin Gets Mad by Joseph Theobald
I had bought this book quite by chance and both of us loved it so much that we bought the other book in the series called Marvin Wanted More, as well.
The story is about Marvin, the sheep, and his friend Molly. While they are grazing, they find a tree full of juicy apples. Now Marvin really wants to eat one particular apple on the tree but no matter what he does to get that apple, he isn't able to reach it. After trying for a really long time, he dozes off. When he wakes up, he finds that the apple is gone; and when he looks around, he finds Molly eating that apple. That makes him really, really mad.
When he gets mad, his whole body changes - he grows mad teeth, mad horns, mad feet and mad tail; and also starts doing mad things, hurting everything around. He shouts at his friend, hits her with his horns and starts stamping on the ground, which makes the ground crack and he falls deep inside. He is alone in the dark, empty pit, from where no matter how much he cries for help, nobody is able to help him. Now that he is alone and stranded, he starts thinking about all the things he did in his madness and feels sorry for it. Meanwhile, Molly finds him and also gets a juicy apple for her friend.
It is an excellent story with a powerful message. It is not only relevant for kids but also for grownups. When we all go mad, we do a lot of things which hurt others and which also get us into trouble. Moreover, we always end up with lots of regrets for our behaviour during the madness. It is a good book to discuss behaviour.
18. Let's Go! by Anthara Mohan, Rajiv Eipe
Age: 2-4 years
Buy From: Amazon India
I came across this book while looking to buy a bunch of books on vehicles. I was thrilled to get my hands on this book which had most of the vehicles found on Indian roads like autos, cycles, rickshas, scooters, cars, bus, etc. At the same time, it also introduced young kids to numbers from '10 to 1'.
Every page spread contains a number and that many children with a different mode of transportation. The text is minimum. So, the book starts with '10 children come walking', and goes on to ...
7 zoom in on motorbikes
6 get down from rickshas
5 climb out of autos
I love Rajiv Eipe's illustrations. I had noticed it in 'the Big Little Man' as well and was looking to get another book by him. The pages are teeming with the bustling energy of Indian roads. It's a fabulous book for young kids. Even as a grown up, I felt drawn towards the way this book has been laid out.
19. Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh
Age: 2-3 years
Buy From: Amazon India
It is a cute story about colour mixing. When your child starts learning about colours, this is a good one to have. My son used to love looking at it over and over again, and he learned how different colours mixed to form a third color.
We have a small board book. The story is about three white mice who find three jars of paint and discover the joys of colour mixing by chance!
(excerpted from the book)
Once there were three white mice on a white piece of paper.
The cat couldn't find them.
One day while the cat was asleep, the mice saw three jars of paint -
one red, one yellow, and one blue.
They thought it was Mouse Paint. They climbed right in.
Then one was red, one was yellow, and one was blue.
They dripped puddles of paint onto the paper.
The puddles looked like fun.
20.Karadi Rhymes (Book 1) by Karadi Tales
Age: 2-5 years
Buy From: Amazon India
The best thing about this collection of poems is that it is centered around India. It
celebrates different facets of India. The first poem, an absolute
favourite with me as well as my 6 year old is ‘Just Like You’. Essentially, it
talks about Unity in Diversity; how people from different parts of India look
different, speak a different language, and yet are like us. There’s
a poem about Saree, about crows, about cricket, about Indian festivals, Indian
rivers, even Mangoes!
This book is accompanied with an audio CD in Usha Uthup's voice. You can find most of these poems on YouTube. It will help you get to know the book better. Here are some of the links:
Just Like You
Mangoes
Ganga Yamuna Krishna
There's a Cricket Match in Town Today
To the Beach I like to Go
I salute my Flag (a song about Indian flag)
'Sa' sing the Sunflowers
Eid is Here (song about Indian festivals)
Yards and Yards of Silk I see (a rhyme about sarees)
Also Read: 100 Best Children's Books that Kids Love to Read Again and Again [Part 1]
11. One Ted Falls Out of Bed by Julia Donaldson, Anna Currey
Age: 2-4 years
Buy From: Amazon India | Flipkart
I chanced upon this in a bookstore and was immediately charmed by the bedtime story which incorporates counting from one to ten, and back from ten to one. It helped that it was from one of our favourite children's authors, Julia Donaldson! Combined with Anna Currey's delightful illustrations of a young child's room, this sure was a winner.
This bedtime book is for the kids who have just been introduced to numbers. The setting is that of a child's bedroom at nighttime. While the child is sleeping, his teddy bear falls out of the bed.
(excerpted from the book)
One Ted falls out of Bed,
He tugs and pulls the bedclothes BUT
Two eyes are tight shut.
He jumps and shouts and makes a fuss,
Till three mice say, "Play with us!"
There are four toy cars, five stars, six dolls, seven trolls, eight balloons, nine musician frogs and ten red bricks. The teddy bear tries to get back into the bed by building a stair with everyone's help but he fails to climb up and everything falls down. A commotion ensues. This leads to the countdown from ten to one, and at the end, the teddy gets back into the bed.
It is a wonderful bedtime story that ends on a calm note. We have enjoyed it a lot.
12. Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle, Jill McElmurry
Age: 2-5 years
Buy From: Amazon India | Flipkart
All kids go through a phase when they are enamoured by big trucks and vehicles. So, I was hunting for a good book on the same theme. This book showed up on a few websites and I never regretted getting it.
There's a little Blue truck, which is the friendliest truck around. It always makes time to say hello to all the animals that it meets along the way. The setting is that of an idyllic countryside. There's a big dump truck that is full of pride and self-importance. It feels that it has big important things to do and hasn't got time for anybody. Now this big truck gets stuck in mud puddle. The more it tries to get out, the more it gets stuck. Then comes the ever friendly little Blue truck that tries to help the dump truck, but it could not do much on its own. Its call for help is immediately noticed by all its friends, and with their help, both the trucks get out of the puddle. The big dump truck finally admits that no matter who you are, everyone needs the helping hands of friends in life.
This book deftly combines a whole lot of farm animals, trucks and an important life lesson. With rhythmic text and beautiful illustrations, children love to look at this book again and again.
(excerpted from the book)
"Thanks, little brother,"
said the Dump to Blue.
"You helped me
and they helped you.
Now I see
a lot depends
on a helping hand
from a few good friends!"
13. Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
Age: 2-5 years
Buy From: Amazon India | Flipkart
Young kids love books on animals, and 'Big Red Barn' is another delightful book on the farm life. With rhyming text, the book takes you through the routine on a farm; introduces all the animals which stay on the farm in harmony, make noises, play together and at the end of the day settle down for sleep.
Kids love to look at the vibrant illustrations and all the different kinds of animals. They like to figure out how the barn is laid out, where each animal stays, as different pages show animals in different settings around the barn.
(excerpted from the book)
The sheep and the donkey,
The geese and the goats,
Were making funny noises
Down in their throats.
An old scarecrow
Was leaning on his hoe.
And a field mouse was born ...
In a field of corn.
14. Watch Out / Saavdhaan by Ajanta Guhathakurta, Shamim Padamsee
Age: 2-4 yearsBuy From: Amazon India
Kids are attracted to other kids, and animal baby stories. It's instinctive. When I got this book, my son must have been 2. With minimum text, it looked like a good one for him. It tells the story of a lioness and her cubs. When the lioness goes to look for food, she warns her cubs to take care of themselves because the forest is full of dangers for baby animals. But cubs do what kids do, they throw caution to the wind and start enjoying themselves - they play, they pounce on small animals, they roll, they run, and generally, have a good time; but there's danger at every step. Finally, as the day ends, Mamma lioness comes back to protect them, and they eat and go back to sleep.
This is a bilingual book with simple text like...
Let's play.
Let's pounce.
Let's roll.
Let's drink.
This is also useful when the child starts reading another language (like it was hindi for us), since this is a bilingual book. This was read several times in our household. I used to talk some more about the forest, the animals, the dangers, how mothers protect their babies, etc.
15. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff, Felicia Bond
Age: 3-6 years
I have 6 books from this series and each one of them is creative and entertaining. This book starts with a boy offering a cookie to a mouse, and how that triggers a chain of events which eventually leads back to the cookie.
(excerpted from the book)
If you give a Mouse a cookie,
he's going to ask you for a glass of milk.
When you give him the milk,
he'll probably ask you for a straw.
When he's finished he'll ask for a napkin.
The illustrations are super cute, and the story is humorous. We had fun following the mouse. Each book in this series follows the story in a similar format. You can also make your child imagine some alternative scenarios.
16. The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
Age: 2-5 years
Buy From: Amazon India| Flipkart
I love Eric Carle's books. They are simple and attractive, and
packed with a lot of information and learnings. No wonder our first book was by Eric Carle; and we have several of his other books, all equally worthy.
This book starts when a spider is blown across the field by
the wind. A silky thread trails from her body. She lands on a fence post near a
farm and starts weaving her web. Now, as she weaves her web, animals from the
farm approach her one by one and offer an alternative, fun thing to do; but the
spider is so engrossed in her work that she doesn't stop to chat with any of
them.
So, from a horse offering to go for a ride to a cow
suggesting to eat some grass, from a goat proposing to jump on the rocks to a
pig asking to roll in the mud; there are several farm animals that kids can
learn about. At the end, when the spider completes her web, a fly gets caught
into it just like that. So, she doesn't have to bother about catching one to
feed herself.
What I personally love about this book is how it conveys a strong message in the most simple way (which is a characteristic of all Eric Carle books). It tells in the most subtle way how hard work, single-minded dedication and perseverance pays off.
Note: Pay attention to the size of the book you are ordering.
17. Marvin Gets Mad by Joseph Theobald
Age: 2-5 years
Buy From: Amazon India 
I had bought this book quite by chance and both of us loved it so much that we bought the other book in the series called Marvin Wanted More, as well.
The story is about Marvin, the sheep, and his friend Molly. While they are grazing, they find a tree full of juicy apples. Now Marvin really wants to eat one particular apple on the tree but no matter what he does to get that apple, he isn't able to reach it. After trying for a really long time, he dozes off. When he wakes up, he finds that the apple is gone; and when he looks around, he finds Molly eating that apple. That makes him really, really mad.
When he gets mad, his whole body changes - he grows mad teeth, mad horns, mad feet and mad tail; and also starts doing mad things, hurting everything around. He shouts at his friend, hits her with his horns and starts stamping on the ground, which makes the ground crack and he falls deep inside. He is alone in the dark, empty pit, from where no matter how much he cries for help, nobody is able to help him. Now that he is alone and stranded, he starts thinking about all the things he did in his madness and feels sorry for it. Meanwhile, Molly finds him and also gets a juicy apple for her friend.
It is an excellent story with a powerful message. It is not only relevant for kids but also for grownups. When we all go mad, we do a lot of things which hurt others and which also get us into trouble. Moreover, we always end up with lots of regrets for our behaviour during the madness. It is a good book to discuss behaviour.
18. Let's Go! by Anthara Mohan, Rajiv Eipe
Age: 2-4 years
Buy From: Amazon India
I came across this book while looking to buy a bunch of books on vehicles. I was thrilled to get my hands on this book which had most of the vehicles found on Indian roads like autos, cycles, rickshas, scooters, cars, bus, etc. At the same time, it also introduced young kids to numbers from '10 to 1'.
Every page spread contains a number and that many children with a different mode of transportation. The text is minimum. So, the book starts with '10 children come walking', and goes on to ...
7 zoom in on motorbikes
6 get down from rickshas
5 climb out of autos
I love Rajiv Eipe's illustrations. I had noticed it in 'the Big Little Man' as well and was looking to get another book by him. The pages are teeming with the bustling energy of Indian roads. It's a fabulous book for young kids. Even as a grown up, I felt drawn towards the way this book has been laid out.
19. Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh
Age: 2-3 years
It is a cute story about colour mixing. When your child starts learning about colours, this is a good one to have. My son used to love looking at it over and over again, and he learned how different colours mixed to form a third color.
We have a small board book. The story is about three white mice who find three jars of paint and discover the joys of colour mixing by chance!
(excerpted from the book)
Once there were three white mice on a white piece of paper.
The cat couldn't find them.
One day while the cat was asleep, the mice saw three jars of paint -
one red, one yellow, and one blue.
They thought it was Mouse Paint. They climbed right in.
Then one was red, one was yellow, and one was blue.
They dripped puddles of paint onto the paper.
The puddles looked like fun.
20.Karadi Rhymes (Book 1) by Karadi Tales
Age: 2-5 years
Buy From: Amazon India
The best thing about this collection of poems is that it is centered around India. It
This book is accompanied with an audio CD in Usha Uthup's voice. You can find most of these poems on YouTube. It will help you get to know the book better. Here are some of the links:
Just Like You
Mangoes
Ganga Yamuna Krishna
There's a Cricket Match in Town Today
To the Beach I like to Go
I salute my Flag (a song about Indian flag)
'Sa' sing the Sunflowers
Eid is Here (song about Indian festivals)
Yards and Yards of Silk I see (a rhyme about sarees)
Also Read: 100 Best Children's Books that Kids Love to Read Again and Again [Part 1]
