Do you dread the bedtime routine? Have you read a book SO many times you can recite it in your sleep? Here are some "mom" recommended books that you might just enjoy too.
 
Ages 0-3

Blue Hat, Green Hat (Sandra Boynton): the first time you read this book to your toddler you'll see the magic. Every single time we ever read this book to our kids, our friend's kids or ANY kid, they would giggle. This is PURE magic! (Check out her whole collection!)

Good Night Moon (Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd): This is an American classic.  Every one we know was raised on this book and they in turn read it to their children.  Our favorite line???? "Goodnight MUSH!"

The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle): Lovely illustrations, simple story.. follows the wonderful transformation of a Caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly. Who doesn't love a transformation story?

Where is Baby's Belly Button? (Karen Katz and Marion Dane Bauer): There are a few books by this dynamic duo. These come as board books (more able to endure Baby's drool). Each page has a flap to pull up. In each photo the goal is to try to find the baby's belly button.

And If the Moon Could Talk (Kate Banks and Georg Hallensleben): Colorful, poetic and just an all time favorite bedtime story.  When you have a restless toddler fighting sleep this is just the sleep aide that you need on your side. It will send your little critter into a magical dreamland.
 
Ages 4-8

The Gruffalo (Julia Donaldson):"THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A GRUFFALO" almost every mother out there knows this linebackwards and forwards. Just to spice things up we read it with a foreign accent or sometimes do our monster voice. This is a true CLASSIC!

Toot and Puddle: (Holly Hobbie) For some reason just knowing a person named Holly Hobby wrote these books could be enough for me to recommend them.
These are two of THE cutest and adventurous pigs around. While one stays on the homestead ice skating on Pocket pond and sapping maple syrup the other becomes a matador and rides elephants in India. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


Adele and Simon (Barbara McClintock): Not only is this a superbly illustrated book but it takes you all over Paris and backfrom the Patisserie to the Musee du Louvre.  As you are reading, your little tykes can try to find Simon's lost items.

The Little Lit books: These are a collection of stories and illustrations by some of the world's most zany and interesting minds in literature. Art Spiegelman with the aid of his wife Francoise Mouly have edited this compilation and we can assure you that this compilation will NEVER bore you..(It was a dark and Silly night, Strange Stories for Strange kids, Little Lit compilation)

A Bargain for Frances (Russell Hoban and Lillian Hoban): We were unfamiliar with this book until a friend recently recommended it. She said it was lovely and ALWAYS made her chuckle. We checked out the review on Amazon and was amazed at just how many moms HIGHLY recommended this book and even mentioned the word, hilarious!

That Pesky Rat (Lauren Child): Oh the injustice of it all! Sure everyone would love to have a chinchilla, a fluffy dog, or an elegant Siamese cat as a pet, but who is longing for a beady-eyed rat?  That is the problem facing this little brown rat, who wants nothing more than to live in a home. This is a hysterical book with great dialogue and pictures.

Giraffes Can't Dance (Giles Andreae): Who says giraffes are long and gawky, with knobby knees, so they surely can't dance? All it takes is some belief in yourself and some great tunes. Kids will love to see this giraffe "get-down" and boogie by the end of this read.

The Dangerous Book for Boys (Conn and Hal Iggulden): A nostalgic and funny guide book for boys and their dads, to all those oh-so-male need-to-know things like how to tie a sailing knot, how to tan a skin, and recounting great adventure stories of old.

 
The Fancy Nancy books (Jane O'Connor): Imagine Mr. T in the form of a little girl..that's Fancy Nancy. She likes to jazz up the world around her and turn a dull day into a FANCY one.
 
 
 
Ages 9-12

Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (Jeff Kinney): Boys and Girls alike will enjoy these books. It reads as the comic book life of Greg Heffley, an UBER obnoxious, funny, normal kid.
 
 

The Mysterious Benedict Society (Trenton Lee Stewart and Carson Ellis): This is now a series. We all really enjoy the adventures of this VERY eccentric group of kids. Sticky, Kate, Constance and Reynie have many adventures and come together to solve mysteries and capture the villains.

The Spiderwick Chronicles (Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi):If you love anything to do with Fairies and Hobgoblins then this is your book. The three kids of the Grace family move into their long lost relative's run down house and that's when things start to happen. Full of lots o'adventure!


The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy (William Boniface and Stephen Gilpin): If you LOVE all things Super heroey, super powers and adventure this is the book for you. Ordinary boy was born into a world where EVERYONE has a super power but him.(poor little guy).  He has a fun group of pals who help him solve mysteries and stop the bad guys from destroying EVERYTHING!

The Adventures of Tin Tin (Herge): We've read this complete collection.  The illustrations are magical and the travels take you all over the world -- one minute on a rocket, the next with gangsters in New York. The characters are all unique. Just be forewarned that the Captain takes a liking to his whiskey..

The Graveyard Book (Neil Gaiman and Dave Mckean): This is a SPECIAL book.
Nobody Owens is a kid that loses everything he has in the first few pages and is then taken in by a "new" family.  Let's just say his new family resides in a graveyardI We don't want to spoil the plot but this book is WELL written and interesting.


Little House on the Prairie series (Laura Ingalls Wilder): We were raised on these books and were even lucky enough to watch the TV show each week.  These books are all about the days before television, computers and radio. When kids would play in the fields, help their mom sew and cook and tell each other stories at nighttime. This is the perfect series to read aloud to your kiddies.