Best new experience books for children according to redditors
We found 235 Reddit comments discussing the best new experience books for children. We ranked the 108 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 235 Reddit comments discussing the best new experience books for children. We ranked the 108 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
I’ll never forget that Tyra Banks also tried to collect...
In case it's not a troll:
https://www.amazon.com/How-Fried-Worms-Thomas-Rockwell/dp/0440445450
The Kid Who Only Hit Homers
definitely fiction, and definitely elementary school reading level
was a great read in 4th grade for me lol
it's 1.38 times the current US hourly minimum wage, and I'm in my thirties. Yeah, it was a decent enough amount for a kid with no job.
Would you like to know more?
I read "Oh Crap! Potty Training". The author's recommendation is to not start until they are at least 20months and can sing their ABCs. My kid was speech delayed at that age and definitely couldn't sing her ABCs (and still can't, at 2.5yrs), but we dove in right at 20m and she trained super easily compared to most of my friends' kids, even training for naps and nights. It took us like 2w to get to where I felt like I could leave the house without accidents. And she learned to say "pee pee" when she had to use the bathroom, so that was a plus.
My second born will be 20m in 1 week and I can't decide if I want to dive in and go through 2 weeks of potty training accidents to get the sweetness of never needing diapers again. It's a tough call to make!
Anyways, we used the little separate training potty at first, so that she could put herself on her potty and go pee, and then eventually moved up to setting her on the toilet with an insert which was necessary for using the restroom during outings. By the time I potty trained her, she was also sleeping in a big kid bed already which was super helpful.. I would sit her little potty on a waterproof mat on her floor and if she woke up from her nap, she could quickly sit herself on her potty before I could even get in there. She rarely had accidents in bed.
We read a lot of books about toilets... "Everybody Poops", "Potty Time", and "Once Upon a Potty". Some other books I liked were "Diapers are Not Forever", "Potty", and "Let's Go Potty, Elmo!".
Might want to ask /r/YAwriters and/or /r/YAlit also.
While The Fault in Our Stars would be a good example of healthy relationships, I don't think Divergent is a meaningful pick if you want the main topic to be relationships and/or sex.
Some books that focus on context for relationships and sex instead of having it as a minor plot point:
/u/caseyoc's suggestion of Fangirl is another good one. Eleanor & Park, by the same author, is even more relationship-focused and building a relationship and consent is a huge part of the storyline.
If you want to go off on tangents, Eve (terrible book) and The Jewel (better) are YA dystopias that deal heavily with consent and forced pregnancy. The Handmaid's Tale is a much better examination of the topic and accessible for high-schoolers.
The Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy by Rae Carson and the Trickster books by Tamora Pierce also win kudos for the protagonists choosing to have sex in a healthy relationship, seeking out birth control, and waiting for it to take effect. Both are in a fantasy setting where this problem is commonly brushed off.
Visually, The Arrival by Shaun Tan. Never in my experience has so much been communicated without words. Simply amazing.
I also became deeply embedded in The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell (famous for Cloud Atlas).
Could it be The Arrival, by Shaun Tan? Never read but had it recommended to me many times!
https://www.amazon.com/Arrival-Shaun-Tan/dp/0439895294
Alas Babylon by Pat Frank
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer (YA)
the dead and the gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer (YA)
(links above go to Amazon.com and are non-referral links)
The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh
This is definitely The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh. I read it in school also!
The Teacher from the Black Lagoon is a hit with my little cousins. It's a pretty funny read. It's about a kid who is convinced his teacher will be evil and has his imagination go crazy while he pictures her as a monster, only for her to turn out to be an ordinary human.
That's a broad topic. Let's see:
Mine is 2.5 and we are potty training as well thou our situation is slightly different.
Mine started pooping on the potty before he was 2 about 90% of the time and now almost always will poop on the potty unless we slack and leave him too long when he wakes in his crib. That said peeing on the potty was a battle, he would fight me and argue and scream when i tried and i would get so frustrated. I finally stopped forcing him and followed his lead but we continued to talk about potty and watch mommy go potty and read tons of potty books.
He loved the potty books. Will link below the ones we have. Then i also got a star chart and man does he love watching it get filled with stars. We are now doing great with training.
I still let him wear pullups in the morning because i am pregnant and it has me pretty tired and sick in the morning plus we are on the couch or carpeted area. Once he wakes from nap we switch to underwear and he stays dry with me setting timers every 40 mins, once timer goes off we say time for potty and he says "siri says go potty" lol so we run and both go potty. Then we high five and run and do our stars more high fives, huge yays etc. he stays in underwear until bed.
Also many people in our 2-3 class we do just go bottomless so maybe if she won't wear underwear let her go without and see if that works. They all recommend that oh crap method.
Kenson Kids “I Can Do It!” Potty Chart Updated Toilet Training System! Includes Colorful Magnetic Chart, 30 Positive-Reinforcement Stars, Potty Training Book, Achievement Certificate, and Training Tips for Parents https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FFF9T1Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_CtLmzb7GG9BC4
Potty (Leslie Patricelli board books) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0763644765/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_huLmzbBFJ36KP
These books i have used to break a lot of unwanted habits like hitting, kicking and his paci... just ordered yelling since he started that
Diapers Are Not Forever (Board Book) (Best Behavior Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1575422964/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_UuLmzbS6Q6KAN
Also if you do screen time the daniel tiger potty episode is awesome, he watched that for everyday for awhile and now he sings it
Lawn Boy is that you?
https://www.amazon.com/Lawn-Boy-Gary-Paulsen/dp/0553494651
Just my opinion but I didn't like Blankets all that much...Fun Home is awesome though!!
But, in addition to the others mentioned:
Understanding Comics -McCloud
Stitches -Small
Yummy-Last Days of a Southside Shorty-Neri
Tyranny
Pitch Black -Landowne(sp?)
The Arrival -Tan
Palestine
American Born Chinese
Drinking at the Movies
Unlovable
Modelland by Tyra Banks
From amazon:
No one gets in without being asked. And with her untamable hair, large forehead, and gawky body, Tookie De La Crème isn’t expecting an invitation. Modelland—the exclusive, mysterious place on top of the mountain—never dares to make an appearance in her dreams.
But someone has plans for Tookie. Before she can blink her mismatched eyes, Tookie finds herself in the very place every girl in the world obsesses about. And three unlikely girls have joined her.
Only seven extraordinary young women become Intoxibellas each year. Famous. Worshipped. Magical. What happens to those who don’t make it? Well, no one really speaks of that. Some things are better left unsaid.
Thrown into a world where she doesn’t seem to belong, Tookie glimpses a future that could be hers—if she survives the beastly Catwalk Corridor and terrifying Thigh-High Boot Camp. Along the way, she learns all about friendship, courage, laughter and what it feels like to start to believe in yourself.
When you enter the fantastical world of Modelland, you'll see that Tookie was inspired by Tyra’s life as a supermodel. All those crazy and wild adventures Tookie has with her friends? Some of them were ripped straight from the headlines of Tyra’s life! Tyra knows all about beauty and fashion and fierceness, and she shares everything here in MODELLAND. It’s fun, zany, and 100 bazillion-percent Tyra.
The Teacher From the Black Lagoon?
Reminds me of this. One of my favs.
Here's what we got, and my son really liked them:
Big Bed for Giraffe
Big Enough for a Bed
Your Own Big Bed
You guys hear they already have Bellinger's biography out?
https://www.amazon.com/Only-Homers-Christopher-Sports-Classics/dp/0316139874
It went reasonably well for us, here's how it worked: we gated her room, so she came to the gate a few times and made noise, and we said, go back to bed, sweetie, it's bedtime, and then she was out. After a month, she kept looking out the door, so we just started locking the door when we put her down so she couldn't keep peeking out. I lock it right when I put her down, and when I haven't heard any noise for a half hour or so, I go unlock it. She knows it'll be unlocked when she wakes up.
The gating helps, talking about how it's a big kid thing helps, too. We had a book: http://www.amazon.com/Big-Enough-Bed-Sesame-Street/dp/0375822704 and that helped.
I had to do CIO the first time with the door locking, but it only lasted 10 minutes, and I knew she was really tired and ready to sleep. Good luck and don't give up!
A Taste of Blackberries sounds like it.
https://www.amazon.com/Lawn-Boy-Gary-Paulsen/dp/0553494651
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer?
This Potty book would be great, as we are starting to potty train! Thanks for the contest!
This game reminds me of my favorite book as a kid: http://www.amazon.com/Only-Homers-Christopher-Sports-Classics/dp/0316139874
The part about going out for food, nearly passing out, and being rescued sounds like Life As We Knew It: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Knew-Susan-Beth-Pfeffer/dp/0152061541
You may like “Life as we Knew It” (book )
The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh?
Review that mentions jellyfish lamps.
God, that book was depressing. Between that and A Taste of Blackberries... I swear, my elementary school teachers were trying to make me kill myself.
Possibly Gordon Korman's Island series?
https://www.amazon.com/Shipwreck-Island-Book-Gordon-Korman/dp/0439164567
Titles of the individual books are Shipwreck, Survival, and Escape
Shipwreck: Being on a sailboat in the warm waters of the Pacific with a bunch of kids the same age could sound like a vacation dream come true. However, when this month-long trip is part of a strict program called Charting a New Course, and each participant--or inmate--is there for disciplinary problems, things don't look quite as rosy. And then, of course, when a big storm strikes, and the captain and first mate disappear, and the boat seems to be sinking... the whole idea becomes less and less appealing. Still, for Luke, Will, Lyssa, J.J., Ian, and Charla, this is the way the cards have been dealt, and whatever problems they may have with each other, however much they don't want to be there, it's time to start working together to save their own lives.
Survival: Six kids are stuck on a desert island. They have no food. No shelter. Nobody knows they are lost. They must take from the island in order to survive. But what if they're not alone?
Escape: Having survived for so long on the deserted island, Luke, Charla, Will, Lysa, J.J., and Ian realize that their enemies are closer than they had expected and soon discover that they will have only one chance at an escape.
The Schernoff Discoveries by Gary Paulsen perhaps?
And you may be indeed thinking of two different books!
Lawn Boy (also by Gary Paulsen) is about a kid mowing lawns and investing in the stock market.
The Teacher from the Black Lagoon series?
I'd keep doing what you're doing - talking up how great the new room is, making it sound like such an obviously better choice, DUH how would ANYONE choose the old nursery over this AWESOME big kids room! I like the idea of letting him be involved in decorating it (pick out some decals, posters, whatever). Maybe look at some options and then the deal is that if he starts sleeping in the new room, you'll buy whatever item you've chosen together.
I'd say go for it tonight, give it your best shot ("we're going to have an extra special story tonight to celebrate sleeping in our special new bedroom!"), and if he's really not up for it just say okay, we'll try again tomorrow, maybe you'll feel more ready then. Remind him that when he starts sleeping there he'll get X, but that there's no hurry, his room is waiting for him whenever he's ready. It sounds like you're doing everything right; I think pushing too hard could definitely backfire and make the process harder than it needs to be.
Edited to add -- not sure if you're also transitioning from a crib to a bed as part of the new room, but if you are, you could try reading him some books on that theme - for example this one or this one.
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is another good one to use with high school. I use it to discuss the power of storytelling.
We just did this last January! Toddler loves this book and I've heard of other kids liking it too. There are barely any words or character development or any story at all, but its like potty training crack for kids.
This was my diaper bag potty seat and this lives in my car for emergencies where there are not toilets around. I've only used it twice, but I was SO HAPPY it was there.
We didn't do pull-ups during the day at all once we'd committed to underwear. I always make sure she goes pee before we leave and I ask her multiple times while we're out if she has to go. If we're out for an extended time, we have an obligatory bathroom trip somewhere in the middle. We do pull-ups at night still, though she is dry about 90% of the time. I'm not sure what we'll do the next time we go on an airplane. I'm going to make that a game time decision.
The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0385733577)
The Uglies series (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0689865384)
The Green Book?
Would also second The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
Some other titles I haven't personally read but have heard recommended include Tangerine (blindness), How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets (epilepsy), Prizefighter en Mi Casa (epilepsy & paralysis), Breath (cystic fibrosis), The Door in the Wall (polio & paralysis).
There is a book about this happening. Its not very good.
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffe. It's the first book in a 4 book series. The moon gets hit by a meteor moving it closer to the earth. This leads to crazy tidal forces wreaking havoc on the Earth. The first 2 books are about 2 families and how they survive. In the 3rd book, the family stories join up and the fourth deals more with the dystopic society that came about in the aftermath. The series is considered a young adult series so there is that.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003K15IIK/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
How to Eat Friend Worms:
http://www.amazon.com/How-Fried-Worms-Thomas-Rockwell/dp/0440445450
If he doesn't like this then you might as well give up.
The Wonderful Things You Will Be - one of our favorites.
Are you thinking of Life As We Knew It? https://www.amazon.com/Life-Knew-Susan-Beth-Pfeffer/dp/0152061541
Self Improvement:
Stuff for your daughter:
I read a young adult fiction book years ago about this where the moon was knocked out of orbit by a meteor and it fucked Earth up big time. Volcanoes simultaneously erupted because of the atmospheric pressure, blocking out the sun and basically making life shit for everyone. It had a big teenage-angst vibe throughout but was worth the read
There's a PDF scan of The Arrival on Scribd.com or you can buy it on Amazon.
Super cool: The Spare Parts Puppet Theater in Australia adapted it as a stage show.
That’s hilarious! Get the book Potty. Shows cats using litter box, doggies going outside, people using potties...
Potty (Leslie Patricelli board books) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0763644765/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_4VxUBbEQ19TMS
This book worked wonders for our son. He loves using the potty and has moved up the regular toilet. We started training in February and he would go pee but was afraid of pooping. We kept at it and after we kept reading this book to him he now loves going on the potty and will go in public restrooms too. Worth a try.
Wanting not to read books that glorify rape is not a simple matter of my taste. It's not about me, it's about those members of our community who have had the experience and being empathetic to them. Most the time, misogyny in a book we read is something to be understood and discussed, just as we would feminist works, pro- or anti-gay sentiments, etc.. But the glorification of rape is where I draw the line of being in bad taste and bad for the community, and I have absolutely no problem doing so. Anyone who doesn't agree is probably best off in another book club.
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To answer your question, I try to actively mitigate the influence of my taste through the selection process and by having other active mods. But let's be realistic—I started the subreddit, selected by fiat the first few books to get it up and running, am one of the more active members, recruited the mod team, helped design the CSS, am part of the final book selection process most months, and deal with the modqueue and enforcing our few rules. Some of my taste is going to come through.
It's the nature of a political system that there will be some personal influence on what we read—but there's nothing stopping you or anyone else campaigning for a book, or even starting your own SF book club. (Hell, if you do I'll even help advertise it here.) There are plenty of books that I have wanted to read but have never been selected. I've nominated a book almost every month this year, yet only three of them were selected.
I don't think we mods have ever by fiat decided that we wouldn't read a book that was clearly the front-runner except in one case, when the top-voted submission was Modelland by Tyra Banks. There have been times where, due to reddit's vote fuzzing, it's not clear which book got the top votes, in which case we have to make a decision ourselves. We do that based on what we think would make for the best discussion, and we do it through consensus.
If you'd like a thorough discussion on our selection process, I'd recommend reading the wiki page about it and this comment. I'd rather not re-hash what I've already written, but I'm happy to answer questions that those links bring up.
I'm not a regular contributor, but I felt like making a top-10 list of my favorite books so far. (My son will be turning 3 soon.)
The rules mention links to facebook or blogs; I'm hoping non-referral links to Amazon are okay. I'll link board books where possible, because pages get ripped and torn until at least two-and-a-half years of age.
Daily 5 is interesting, but it's a lot to take on as a 1st year elementary school teacher. My suggestion would be to start with two of those (Read to Self and Word work) and then add the others in if they're being successful. Read to self is easy to get going and word work is going to just happen.
As a male teacher, you're possibly the first male teacher some of these kids have had. There will be a "cool" factor. Be sure to be yourself but also be firm. That said, at 3rd grade, there's a lot of "babyish emotions" that he may see and he may have to get in touch with his emotional side.
I think that male teachers have it a bit easier to make connections with kids in elementary school because there just aren't very many of them. I play out at recess and at times sit with them at lunch and it's "cool". When the female teachers do it, it doesn't seem to have the same effect. Though, I'm a tad younger than most of them.
I wouldn't worry too much about handwriting. Just slow down (he'll ahve to do that anyway since he's teaching 3rd grade).
My best advice, Go Slow to Go Fast. I used this book religiously my first few years (http://www.amazon.com/First-Weeks-School-Strategies-Teachers/dp/1892989042). Other books to check out would be http://www.amazon.com/First-Days-School-Effective-Teacher/dp/0976423316/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377217374&sr=1-1&keywords=first+weeks+of+school+harry+wong and http://www.amazon.com/First-Day-Jitters-Julie-Danneberg/dp/158089061X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377217409&sr=1-1&keywords=first+day+jitters
Sounds like she needs it to be her idea. Tell her it's ok if she doesn't want panties. Give her diapers, take the potty away an stuff it in the basement somewhere. Don't mention the potty again for 3 months.
After 3 months try again.
Get a book about going on the potty. I recommend http://www.amazon.com/Potty-Leslie-Patricelli-board-books/dp/0763644765. It's simple and funny and you can easily modify the words to suit your family.
The other thing that will be helpful is identifying her currency. If she goes bananas for stickers, than reward potty success with stickers. For my dd it was candy.
The method is the tricky part. You know your kid best. We put out kid on the potty every hour or so until she got the control down. Now we ask periodically if she needs to go, but generally she tells us. Forget pull-ups, they're just diapers. Go panties in the house, clean up lots of messes, it doesn't take long. Try not to shame her for having accidents, but don't tell her it's ok. Remind her that big girls go on the potty, clean up and carry on.
Good luck
Bridge to Tarabithia comes to mind - not exactly promotion of reason, but does present an atheist family in a positive light. Death of a child may be age sensitive.
Scooby Doo does wonders for my eldest.
I'd love for a film of The Green Book to be made - pure sci fi w/ emphasis on reason and empowered kids.
Life as We Knew It?
https://www.amazon.com/Life-Knew-Susan-Beth-Pfeffer/dp/0152061541
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is quite possibly the most heartwarming book that I've ever read. In fact, I cried reading it to my little four year old daughter. It's about a writer, Mr. Morris Lessmore, whose home (and, more importantly, book library) is blown away by a tornado. Dejected, Mr. Morris wanders about until he is gifted a magical book that leads him to a wonderful library of anthropomorphic books. In that library he finds solace, friendship, and happiness... he grows old and has to move on... but not before finishing up his own book for other people to read and enjoy. Because, of course, reading is awesome! My words don't do justice to it. If you can, watch the Academy award winning animated short that was based on the book.
The Island series by Gordon Korman? It's three books (Shipreck, Survival, and Escape) that are fairly short that are geared towards middle school kids. There is a girl who is amazing at gymnastics. One of the kids is really smart and makes this thing that catches steam from boiled sea water so they can have fresh, salt-less water. Only thing is that it's only about 11 years old.
I got my son Potty by Leslie Patricelli and we read it together before we went potty and then I would give it him while he went potty. When we got to the "tinkle tinkle toot" part as he sat on the potty, he giggled and it made him pee and that was the start of the journey xD Good luck :)
I figured it out:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374428026/ref=cm_rdp_product
We loooooove Potty by Leslie Patricelli: http://www.amazon.com/Potty-Leslie-Patricelli-board-books/dp/0763644765/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1396148260&sr=8-2&keywords=potty
Lorde, "Team"
Mumford & Sons, "Little Lion Man"
Taylor Swift, "All Too Well"
Christina Perri, "A Thousand Years"
Other suggestions are also great!
Kindle book!
nsfw
nsfw2
Poop
welcome back hunny!
notice me senpai
There is a manga version of this, which is on my Books wishlist; here is the manga version for you.
Thank you for the contest!
I space out my books with other things like graphic novels. They're perfect when you're feeling a bit burnt out as they seem to work a different part of the brain (at least for me). Have you read The Arrival? It's a fantastic graphic novel and it has no words.
Don't get discouraged if it doesn't happen right away. Kids train at their own pace. At first we went all out for three or four weeks and got nowhere, he wouldn't stay on the potty, he couldn't wait, he would get up and pee on the floor, etc. So eventually we called it quits.
Then we pulled the potty out again three or four months later and it was almost instant. Within two weeks he was fully trained, just wearing pull-ups at night. Then two weeks after that he was night trained, too, and using the toilet.
It's all about when they're ready.
But I will tell you that in my experience pull-ups were only really useful for night training. In the day he treated it like a diaper, wouldn't use the potty if he was wearing them. So we went with underwear pretty quickly, and that helped move things along.
Also this book which is aimed at toddlers. He's always been big on books, and he'd sit on the potty reading that book until he went. He loved it. Give them something to focus on while they're sitting.
Don't get any potty training routine books for adults. Every kid is very different, and it's all about figuring out what works for them. Eventually it'll click.
It will be messy, though, so be prepared for that.
Have you ever heard of/read the Susan Beth Pfeffer trilogy? Yea, that. And anything like it. So. Much. i'm almost obsessed by it. And will probably now spend the rest of the day obsessing over it. Ugh.
I read a ton of YA novels, (i write, and when I reach a place and lose steam, I'll pick up an easy to read book, mostly YA.) And I'd have to say that Life As We Knew It was a good read....there are others in the series, but I've had some major projects in the works and haven't gotten around to reading the rest.
an Amazon link, in case of curiousity
On paper achieving multiculturalism is a good thing, but in reality it is very difficult thing to do. For one thing, people have very different ideas of what 'multiculturalism' should look like. For some, the ideal is a melting-pot where incoming immigrants shed their past and integrate fully into their new society. For others, the idea scenario is more like a mosaic where immigrants retain their unique cultures and traditions but work to contribute in a positive way to the functioning of their new society. Amid all of this there are still others who do not hold with multiculturalism at all, and would rather not change or integrate others into their society.
As an immigrant navigating your new country it can be very difficult to understand to which model you should adhere or strive for...all the while you have people who tell you to "get out" and "go back home"...its enough to make anyone isolate themselves into immigrant communities that are familiar and safe to them. Why bother exploring or integrating yourself into a scary, possibly hostile culture to which you are trying to make a new home? In some cases facilitation of integration simply isn't there. Immigrant may want to break out of their isolated communities but the programs that might facilitate this transition simply don't exist in the capacity that is required.
I suggest reading the book The Arrival...For me it put the immigrants journey into perspective. People have also made it into a few different youtube videos, but to get the real feel of the book you need to sit and 'read' it yourself (there are no words).
Now we only need Modellandmore.com!
http://www.amazon.com/Modelland-Tyra-Banks/dp/038574059X
also found this... tumblr
Life as We Knew It by Susan Pfeiffer.
So an asteroid crashes into the moon, shoving it closer and doing shit to our electricity, and there is snow everywhere.
It's in the form of journal entries of a 16-year-old girl (one of which I was when I read it). Holy shit, nothing happens. Nothing. They're hungry. There is snow. The book ends.
576 pages and aimed at the Young Adult demo... good luck with that, Tyra. amazon link
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. Its YA but still a very good, accurate account of what happens when an asteroid hits the moon and knocks it closer to earth. Scary shit.
I read this every year and most of them love it. The rest can suffer through it.
Edit: On my computer I can't see it, but click on the word "this" above!!
Sweet illustration! This reminds me somewhat of a book I read to my 2-year-old daughter, The Wonderful Things You Will Be.
My teacher read this to us in our elementary school class, and I absolutely loved it. To me it sounds like exactly what you're looking for.
A great book! Yay, you! This one too!
When you think positive, good things happen!
You are thinking of "The Green Book"
This existed for a reason, you know.
I was reading far above my grade level so I'm just using the internet age ranges for these books.
The Island series
39 Clues
Warriors Series
This is a fun one.
Potty (Leslie Patricelli board books) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0763644765/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_otQSub04E7VWY
Also:
Everyone Poops (My Body Science Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/192913214X/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_duQSub12X94F5
The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh. This book sparked my love of science fiction. I can't wait until my nephews and niece are old enough to read it.
Also the [Wayside School Books] (http://www.amazon.com/Wayside-School-Boxed-Set-Stranger/dp/0380791714/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382359948&sr=1-3&keywords=sideways+stories+from+wayside+school)
I remember reading a book about that.
The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh.
It says 8 and up on Amazon, but my 1st grade teacher read it to my class when I was about 6 and I credit it with sparking a lifelong interest in sci-fi and amateur astronomy. The theme of escaping a dying Earth sounds a bit heavy, but the story is told from a child’s perspective that really helped me connect with the story in a relatable way. Mild spoiler—one of the items the refugees are starving for are books, which was a great thing to demonstrate the importance of for a young reader. I made sure to read it to my younger sister when she was around the same age.
http://www.amazon.com/Green-Book-Sunburst/dp/0374428026
The Green Book? Was it young adult sci-fi?
While it's a nice gesture, your selection of books might have the opposite effect and turn her off sci-fi forever. If someone is "curios" about getting into something, you probably shouldn't start with the classics. It should probably start with lighter fare and more pop modern sci-fi. Especially seeing (from your other comments) that she is 12 years old and likes Harry Potter and Erragon. Some might argue that Hitchhikers might fit this bill - but a lot of the humor is spoof. Ever watch a "spoof" movie and have no idea what the movie scene reference is? Yeah it's kinda like that.
Perhaps something like Uglies by Scott Westerfield which from it's synopsis sounds like a far left dystopia (twist on eugenics) series written for a teenage audience. It seems to have a ton of great reviews and is in the top 100 bestselling young adult fiction.
I don't have much to offer on what might happen longterm, but I believe you're referring to Life as We Knew It by Susan Pfeffer if anyone is curious. Good book.
Oh my goodness... This is my kind of contest! Even before I ever had kids of my own, reading has always been the number one priority with any children I worked with (I was a nanny).
As soon as I found out I was having a baby, I was all about the books. My baby shower was a book baby shower, asking for books instead of cards so I could start his library.
His birth announcement pictures were all about the books. His nursery is book themed (with a touch of woodland animals). Since day one, we have been reading to him and letting him read to himself. Charlie LOVES BOOKS!
Of course, all of those pictures are from when he was not able to go grab a book by himself. Now he is 16.5 months and will gladly sit and read by himself at any time of day. Even when he's supposed to get in the bath...
As you might expect, his wishlist is full of books I want to read him.
Here is a video of him last week. I was spying on him with his baby cam, and just loved his little reading process. He did this for about twenty minutes, getting books off the shelf, reading them on his chair, then putting them back. :)
I guess what I'm trying to convey is that if we won this contest, the books would be well used and well loved.
As for the other part of the contest- what books would I recommend? That is a very loaded question...
I guess, on the 3 year old end, I would recommend The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. It was actually adapted from an Oscar winning short film. It's a book about books, and the journey they can take you on throughout you life. The art is captivating, and the story is magnificent.
Moving on to the older child, I would have to recommend My Side of the Mountain. It's a classic book about coming of age and independence. I find this is a good book to gift a 8-9-10 year old reader, as it is one that will really immerse them in an adventure they want to relate to.
Since my final book would also have been "Le Petit Prince" (LOVE the French version too!), I will defer to The Giver. It seems like such a gimme, but it really is a book that every child should read.
I know books are available for free at the library, but, like you said, there is something different about owning your own. I understand if I am precluded from this contest on the grounds that we already have "enough books", but in my world, there are never enough books. Also I really wanted an excuse to share all his cute baby book wall pictures!
Thank you for this fabulous contest!
TL/DR: I'd love to enter my son Charlie in this contest. We love books! :)
Edit: format
The Arrival
http://www.amazon.com/Arrival-Shaun-Tan/dp/0439895294
Are you open to picture books for adults? The Arrival is a beautiful (in both art and story!) book about life as an immigrant. I think this would suit her well as an artist and someone who is interested in graphic novels or experimental works. It has a happy ending and there's nothing I can think of that would be offensive to her religion :)
This is originally older than 5ish years, (I read it 20ish years ago) but it's still actively in print, so it might have been included in an anthology, and I remember a scene like you described:
The Green Book
http://www.amazon.com/Green-Book-Jill-Paton-Walsh/dp/0312641222/ref=tmm_pap_title_0
Of course, that's not the anthology, just the name of the story I remember.
A Taste of Blackberries
Apropos of nothing, it should be fundamentally obvious to all that the Warner Archive Collection has been doing a fair amount of influencing. -------->
In exchange for this campaign, Warner Brothers has made the CW a wholly-owned subsidiary of /r/movies, inc. Expect an America's Next Top Model theme, complete with cafe press and Amazon Affiliate links to Tyra Banks' Modelland early next week.
We tried to get parking spots on the lot but not even we wield that kind of power yet. We're working on our Smizes, though, so wish us luck.