How to find really great children’s books
I’m a lifelong reader and am determined to pass the obsession that has served me so well over the years onto my children.
I have four year old twins and we have a plethora of children’s books in our home library. But if you’re a bit of a book snob like me, you might soon discover that not all children’s books are created equally.
We’ve got most of the classics (Dear Zoo, The Hungry Caterpillar, Dr. Seuss, etc.), some impulse purchases from the Costco section (the Sesame Street board book set my children spotted at age 2 and refused to leave without, the giant PJ Masks seek-and-find book my son obsessed over for months at age 3, etc.), the required holiday and seasonal books, and plenty of others given to us years ago as baby shower gifts.
But every once in a while, we come across a TREASURE.
I’m talking about those books with gorgeous artwork, thoughtful phrasing, beautiful storytelling, and a cadence that is as soothing as a lullaby.
Books like Dream Animals by Emily Winfield Martin, Pearl by Molly Idle, or Bunny Roo, I Love You by Melissa Marr & Teagan White.
How to find good children’s books
Sometimes you get lucky and come across one of these treasures by chance in a bookstore, other times they are passed onto you as a gift or a recommendation from a fellow book-loving parent (I try to be that person at the baby shower!).
But the best way I have found to consistently get unique, high-quality children’s books into my kids’ hands is my subscription to Bookroo.
Every month they send curated boxes of individually wrapped books for kids ages 0-10.
When my kids were toddlers who still chewed on book corners and ripped pages, we had the board book subscription. Now that they’re 4, we have the picture book subscription.
The books they send are always delightful. They are truly hidden gems — books I hadn’t heard of before but always end up adoring.
I love that I’m building a library of beautiful, high-quality children’s books — and that I don’t have to be the one doing endless research and ordering. It always feels like a really good deal since I’m saving at least 50% off what I’d pay at my local bookstore.
My kids recognize the Bookroo boxes when they arrive and they each choose one of the wrapped books inside, gambling on which one they will like best based on the wrapping paper. And sometimes they trade once it’s opened. :)
Some of our favorite books in our home library have come from Bookroo — books I would probably never have heard of or come across on my own.
Pro tip: If getting books delivered every single month feels like a bit too much, you can email them to change the subscription to every other month. Mine actually comes every three months, which is perfect for us.
(Bookroo is doing a big sale right now on their 3-month subscription: use code KEEPCALM to get 20% off.)
5 of our favorite children’s books
Here are five of our favorite children’s books (all but one have come from Bookroo!).
1. Crunch The Shy Dinosaur by Cirocco Dunlap & Greg Pizzoli
2. Tiny T-Rex and the Impossible Hug by Jonathan Stutzman & Jay Fleck
3. Pirate’s Lullaby by Marcie Wessels & Tim Bowers
4. Norton and Alpha by Kristyna Litten
5. Fox in the Dark by Alison Green & Deborah Allwright
These are affiliate links because I use and adore and wholeheartedly recommend Bookroo. It doesn’t cost you anything extra to purchase using the Bookroo and Amazon links but I receive a commission when you do!