Our Favorite Children’s Books (That Actually Stuck with Us)
For International Children’s Book Day… or Any Day!
There are a lot of children’s books out there. Some are cute for a season, some get read once and forgotten… and then there are the ones that just stay.
When I saw that April 2nd is International Children’s Book Day, it made me think about the books my kids and I have actually loved over the years, the ones we reached for again, the ones that made us laugh, or pause, or think a little longer than expected.
This isn’t a perfect list, it’s just ours, books that stayed, long after others came and went.
You will also see a couple book reviews below that the kids did. We had watched some old Reading Rainbow shows and for a while… all the kids were into doing book reviews!
❤️ My Favorites as a Child (that I read to my kids)
▪️Each Peach Pear Plum
Each Peach Pear Plum was released in 1979 and was a favorite of mine as a child. I loved the way it mixed I-Spy with fairytale characters, and it had a great rhythm. I am 47, and I can still probably recite this book by heart. The illustrations are soothing and this book won the Carnegie Medal for Illustration. I obviously had to read this one to my kiddos!
▪️The Pokey Little Puppy
The Pokey Little Puppy is a Golden Book published in 1942. This was one of my favorite books as a young child, even though I had many of the original Golden Books. I can’t say why this one captivated me so much, but I loved the little puppy and his adventures. This was another classic I read to my kids!
❤️ My Kids’ Favorites
▪️Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type
Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type was published in 2000 and became a favorite of our oldest daughter, who is 22 now. We found this at a bookstore and she loved it. This book introduced us to Farmer Brown and a cast of farm characters. There are now 12 books in this series, with the latest being released in 2020. We have most of them, including another favorite, Duck for President. All of my kids have enjoyed these books, but Click, Clack, Moo… is a treasure!
▪️Ivan the Terrier
Ivan the Terrier was released in 2007 and was a favorite of my oldest son. In this, the narrator is trying to read classics, but Ivan (a terrier dog) keeps stirring up trouble. My son and I read this 1000 times if we read it once. I remember him laughing at Ivan’s antics and it really became a nightly read for a long time.
▪️Three Hens and a Peacock
Three Hens and a Peacock was published in 2011 and became another favorite of my oldest son. This book really is funny with the hens becoming flustered by the attention the peacock is getting. It ends alluding to another book and for years my son and I would randomly check to see if a sequel was published. Then in 2022… there was a sequel, Three Hens, a Peacock, and the Enormous Egg. For Christmas that year, I bought it as a small, nostalgic gift. We both liked the sequel, which also ends alluding to another sequel, but Three Hens and a Peacock became a classic in our home.
Here’s Elijah’s book review from 2016, he was 7!
▪️Pinkalicious
Pinkalicious was published in 2006 and was a favorite among both of our daughters. It is a fun story about a girl being herself and learning some lessons. There are other colors in this series such as Purplelicious. One of our daughters grew to love pink and the other purple… so these books left a mark. For a long time, we heard about things in terms with how Pinkalicious would do something.
In total this series has…
- Pinkalicious
- Purplelicious
- Goldilicious
- Silverlicious
- Aqualicious
- Emeraldlicious
- Rubylicious
There are also holiday book associated with this series. See them all here!
▪️Interrupting Chicken
Interrupting Chicken was published in 2010 and is one of my youngest son’s favorite books. This book is cute and he just loved Little Red Chicken, whose excitement causes her to interrupt during story time. There are 5 other books in this series, the latest, Interrupting Chicken Saves the Nutcracker, was released in 2025. I bought it for my youngest son as a nostalgic Christmas present and he was excited to see it.
In writing this, I see there is a new one coming out in October of 2026, called Interrupting Chicken Raises Her Wing. I am sure I will get that one for him too.
▪️The Empty Pot
The Empty Pot was published in 2007 and is a story based in Chinese culture. I used this to teach about honesty and my children, especially my daughter, really enjoyed it. The story is fantastic and teaches a valuable lesson. I have actually referenced this book while parenting. This book is a must have in any children’s library.
▪️The Night Gardener
The Night Gardener was published in 2016 and became an instant favorite of my youngest son. The story is sweet and inspiring. The illustrations are simply adorable. It has a great undertone message of doing nice things without recognition. We still talk about this book and it is one of those books that you feel when you read it.
▪️Five Nice Mice
Five Nice Mice Build a House was published in 2015 and was loved by my youngest son. The illustrations are adorable and the story about 5 mice and their compassion… is sweet. My son loved the part where they worked through their issues with a cat. This book is one of three in a series and they are all wonderful. We also own Five Nice Mice and the Great Car Race and Five Nice Mice (which was the first one). I recommend all three books but we both loved this one the best. Below is a review my son did in 2018, he was 7 at the time.
▪️Cold Paws, Warm Heart
Cold Paws, Warm Heart was published in 2007 and is loved by my youngest son. It is a story about compassion, and my son really liked the illustrations. This book seems to be out of print, though you can buy copies on Amazon. It is a great story for winter bedtime and when my son sees polar bears, he usually calls them Cold Paws.
▪️Plump and Perky Turkey
A Plump and Perky Turkey was published in 2013 and quickly became a hit with all of the kids! We read it around Thanksgiving, and they couldn’t get enough of it, so we bought it. This book got a lot of attention around Thanksgiving every year and became a bit of a tradition. I still sit it on the coffee table in November, and it still gets thumbed through.
Why These Matter (At Least to Us)
We’ve read a lot of children’s books over the years. These are just the ones that didn’t disappear after one season. Some were funny, some were quiet, some led to conversations I didn’t expect, but all of them became part of our lives.
Not all my kids loved each of the above children’s books, but they were all special to at least one of them. These are books that my now teens (one about to be 18) refused to donate and we still mention from time to time.
And some of these books didn’t just stay on the shelf… they showed up in our real life.
We saw a puppy at the shelter that looked just like Ivan from Ivan the Terrier… and my son really wanted to get her. So, we have a dog because of a book. Her name is Belle… and she lives up to name of the book, BUT… she brought something to our family too, all thanks to Ivan.
This is Belle with my son, about 10 years ago!
I recently purchased a faux bunny topiary for Easter, and my son mentioned that it looked like it came out of the Night Gardener, and he’s 15 now.
My 16 year old daughter recently did a paper for her English class about the Empty Pot.
I am not saying that these are the best or only children’s book out there, but these have impacted our lives and I love that. This is the beginner stack of books I will buy for all my grandkids some day!
Final Thoughts
Getting kids to read doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s just about finding the books that pull them in… the ones they ask for again or sit a little longer with. Those are the ones that build imagination, curiosity, and a love of learning over time.
If you’re rebuilding your home library or just looking for a few good ones to start with, click the link below so you can browse through them easily.
👉 I’ve gathered them all in one place here
If you have favorite children’s books that your kids never got tired of, I’d honestly love to hear it, and I am sure there are other moms that would too. Comment below or tag @bemandfam on Instagram or Facebook with pics of your favorites!.
BEM and Fam 🙂
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