We are very happy to share Ethan’s favourite book collection with you this summer. This is our first time entering the #kbcbookbingo2023. Ethan has been a book lover since he was 3 months old and since then has never looked back. In these past 21 months, his best friends – books, have helped him develop his language, math, cognitive skills and vocabulary. He was made aware of the world through books, a world that he is ready to explore as a toddler now! Hope you enjoy his book listicle!
- A yellow coloured book – What the Ladybird Heard by Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks
Julia Donaldson is one of our favourite authors and we love all her books. This one is special because Ethan began to say all the animal sounds instantly when we started reading it. He was so excited to find the glitter ladybird on each page and was fascinated by the storyline. This book also has a beautiful depiction of life in a farm. - Leaf or flower on the cover – The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
The Tiny Seed teaches a very important lesson on how a small seed is mighty and braves all the problems along the way and grows into a beautiful flowering plant. Ethan got so inspired by the book that we planted snap peas that very same day in our little garden and we watched it grow into a plant by watering it every day. Ethan learnt to care and grow plants from this book. - A book with siblings – There is an Ouch in my Pouch by Jeanne Willis
This entertaining book will get your toddler bouncing ‘boing’ ‘boing’ into the blue billabong! This is an adorable story about a Wallaby called Willaby who gets an uncomfortable ouch one day when he sits in his mama’s pouch. He doesn’t realize that he has a baby sibling occupying the same pouch. He jumps out leaving his mama and goes around bouncing looking around for alternate pouches. Will Willaby return back to his mama? What happens when he finally sees his sibling? Ethan thoroughly enjoyed bouncing along and reading this fun rhyming book. A great way to learn about marsupials and introduce kids to their new baby siblings. - A book that features mom – The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
An absolutely heartwarming book about the bond between a mom and a child that also addresses separation anxiety. A worried little Raccoon named Chester is afraid to go to school as he doesn’t want to leave his mommy and all his play things behind. The loving mama raccoon reassures him that everything will be alright by taking his hand and planting a kiss on it. This story made my heart melt! Since Ethan has read this story we give each other kissing hands every day and this has just made our bond so much more stronger. - A book that features dad – Rory the Dinosaur Me and my Dad by Liz Climo
Ethan was overjoyed to read about Rory, the dinosaur and his loving dad. This is a story of a cute little dinosaur Rory, who goes on an adventure on his own when his daddy needs a quiet break. Little did he know that his loving daddy was always watching over him and was by his side helping him get through all the obstacles along the way. Ethan enjoys reading this book on a repeat mode with his dad. - A bedtime book – Goodnight Harry by Kim Lewis
Ethan is obsessed with elephants and sleeps with his elephant Happy everyday. When he saw Harry, the elephant on the cover of this adorable book, he took an instant liking to it. Harry is fluffy, looks real and is so adorable. Harry is having trouble falling asleep and tries many different ways to sleep. When nothing helps, his loving friends teddy and sheep help him out. This is such a sweet book about friendship and I highly recommend it for all the young readers. - Lift the flap book – Usborne Flip Flap Airport by Rob Lloyd Jones
Ethan took his first flight recently and all thanks to this book he was super excited for it. He ended up meeting the pilot in the cockpit which amazed me. This book covers everything about an airport. Ethan loved lifting the flaps and learning about how airports function and also how planes take off and land. He could relate to it when he boarded the airplane. This book has it all and is an extremely interesting read. - A cat book – Oi Frog by Kes Gray
This entertaining book features a confused frog who asks a cat where/what him and all other animals should sit on. It is a funny rhyming book that introduces children to different objects and things around us. There are so many animals in the book that keep the children entertained. The illustrations are superb, catchy and Ethan had lots of fun sitting wherever the cat tells him. What happens to the frog at the end? Ethan loves the cat in the book so much and calls him Kitty.
Kes Gray has an entire Oi series which are bestsellers! - A book by Debi Gliori – All the way home
We love all books by Debi Gliori. But Ethan’s favourite one is a beautiful story daddy penguin narrates to his baby about an adventure they had together when baby was still inside his egg. It was a secret adventure that even mama doesn’t know about. Daddy and his baby egg get lost when they are blown away from the penguin huddle by the wind. What happens next and whom do they meet on this adventure? Will they eventually find their way home back to their mama? Read this fabulous story to find out. The penguins are so cute and adorable as is this story. - A book on first experiences – Lulu loves Nursery by Camilla Reid
When Ethan had to go to daycare for the very first time when he was one year old, we had a very difficult time making him adapt to the new setting, teachers and routine. He had severe separation anxiety. Thanks to this wonderful book, we could get through it eventually. This story is about Lulu who has to go to the nursery for the very first time but is not ready to let her mommy go. But then she becomes brave and decides to have a first try and starts loving the experience. This was such a great book that gave Ethan confidence that he could attend daycare too. He loves it so much now that he wants to meet his teachers, learn something new and play with his friends every morning. - A book that makes you giggle – Elephant and Piggie by Mo Willems
Ethan doesn’t stop giggling whenever we take out this book. His favourite Elephant Gerald and Piggie go on exciting adventures together. They are best friends and always look out for each other. The illustrations are superb and so attractive to kids. We have the 1, 2 and 3 Biggie series with us. Ethan’s favourites are There is a bird on your head, I broke my trunk, We are in a book and Should I share my ice cream. All these stories are hilarious and entertaining and also teach valuable lessons. - A book on big emotions – Grumpycorn by Sarah McIntyre
There couldn’t be any more emotions in this book! This is a tale about a Unicorn who wants to write a fabulous story. He tries many ways to get inspiration for the story but nothing helps him. His friends Narwhal, Mermaid and Jellyfish try to help him but he turns them down due to which jellyfish call him Grumpycorn. Does Unicorn finish writing his story and make up with his friends? This book portrays a rollercoaster of emotions ranging from anger, frustration, disappointment, excitement, remorse, love, sorrow and joy. Ethan began understanding different emotions as we read this book. He started relating the emotions to his daily life and took an instant liking to the adorable Unicorn.
This book can be ordered from Scholastic India via our kbc storefront as well. Scholastic India always has special offers on.
- A book that was helpful in addressing an issue – Where is baby’s belly button by Karen Katz
This was the first ever book Ethan read when he was 3 months old and it is really close to our hearts. This is a super adorable lift-the-flap book with cute illustrations of a baby doing many things. When we enrolled Ethan in daycare, he kept getting sick for the first 6 months and we had a tough time. Due to being sick, he refused to drink water which was a huge problem as he had to stay hydrated. This book was especially helpful as it has a page – Where is baby’s mouth? Behind the cup! – where the baby drinks water/milk. I showed the page to Ethan and he started drinking water immediately seeing the baby. The lift-the-flap peekaboo helped as well. It was a win-win and we could get through his sickness with this adorable book. - A book you love for the illustrations – Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
We love Anna Dewdney books as we have so many llama books at home. This was our first llama book which makes it special. The illustrations are so lovable and keep Ethan entertained. They portray so many emotions in llama which is fabulous. This is a story about baby llama who is trying to sleep but misses his mama who is busy downstairs. He gets restless and throws all kinds of tantrums to call mama up. Will mama finally cave and come upstairs? This book portrays the love between mama and a child and teaches an important lesson about patience and understanding. - A book by an Indian author – Gajapati Kulapati by Ashok Rajagopalan
We love Gajapati Kulapati in our house. We have the book in three languages – English, Hindi and Tamil. It is a story about Gajapati, the elephant who gets the sniffles in his big big trunk and wouldn’t stop sneezing Aaaachoooooo! He scares the whole village in the process. Ethan started saying aachoo aachoo on a repeat mode when we read the book. He also brings Gajapati banana, rice and water from the kitchen to eat and drink to help him with the sniffles. He also offered to bring him home to take care of him. A heartwarming book that every childoo will love.
- A book that has food in the title – Alphabet Ice Cream by Nick Sharratt and Sue Heap
Who doesn’t love a book by Nick Sharratt? This book is a unique and fun way to learn your alphabets through its colourful and attractive illustrations. The alphabets are written in both capital and small letters which makes kids learn them both at the same time. Moreover, the book has hidden objects / animals on each page whose name also starts with the same alphabet. Ethan has so much fun finding all the hidden animals and things in the book which is very entertaining. The authors themselves are characters in the book which is fantastic. Lastly, there is so much mention of delicious food in the book that makes your mouth water! A win-win for Ethan. - A book with a stuffed animal – Little Teddy Left Behind by Anne Mangan
This is a story about a sweet little teddy bear who is left alone in his old house when his owners move to a new home. The The book describes how Teddy faces many problems along the way till he finally finds his new home. It teaches how there is always light at the end of the tunnel and how one should never lose hope. This story is filled with so many emotions. Ethan learnt how he should always care and show love towards his toys and books and assured me that he would never leave them alone. - A book about day out with the family – Hiku by Nicole Snitselaar and Coralie Saudo
Hiku is an adorable penguin with a heart-shaped tummy. One day, his mama wakes him up early to tell him that his family was visiting and he must get ready to greet them. Hiku doesn’t like the idea of being with his family and finds a place to hide. Soon, he is lonely and starts recalling all the wonderful times he had when his family was around. Does Hiku change his mind at the end? This book is filled with cute penguins and Ethan loves finding Hiku on each page (heart-shaped tummy). This was a great STEM exercise for him. The story is also so sweet that Ethan always remembers the time he spent with his grandparents and understands its importance since we live far away from India. He also says mummy, daddy and his puppy are his family here every time we read it.
This book can be ordered from Scholastic India via our kbc storefront as well. Scholastic India always has special offers on. - A book that teaches an important lesson – Sharing a Shell by Julia Donaldson
Ethan loves the beach and has a small shell collection. He was thrilled to read more about shells in this fabulous book. This book is about a crab who is trying to find a shell to protect himself from being eaten up. He eventually finds a shell and proceeds to share it with two other friends – sea anemone and bristle worm. As they grow bigger, the shell becomes too small to accommodate all three of them which leads to a fall out between the crab and the anemone. Will the friends re-unite and share a shell again? This book teaches a valuable lesson of sharing. Ethan learnt how he should share his toys with his puppy dog at home as well as his friends at school. He also shares his food with mummy, daddy and his puppy when we tell him; thanks to this amazing book. - Grown up’s favourite book in the house – National Geographic Little Kids First book of Space by Catherine D Hughes
Ethan’s daddy loves anything related to space and Ethan’s room is space-themed as well. We got this book early on to fit his room theme but to our surprise, he took an instant liking to it. It has huge pictures of the galaxy, comets, asteroids, planets and their moons that he finds so fascinating. Although he is more interested only in the big pictures at this age, it has very useful information on all the space elements that he can read later when he grows up. In a few days of reading, Ethan started naming all the planets in the solar system and the different shapes of the moon. This was the first book from which he learnt all about space. We read it on a repeat mode ever since. - A hand-me down book you are attracted to – Tip Tip Dig Dig by Emma Garcia
This book is all about truck sounds. This wonderful book has all Ethan’s favourite trucks that build a beautiful playground from a big mess. The sounds made by each truck is what made Ethan love it – Digger, Mixer, Tipper, Bulldozer, Crane, Roller – we have them all out of the toy basket when we read the book. He begins saying the sounds on a repeat mode and has a lot of fun. The book is very colourful too and helped him learn colours at the same time too. - A book you tore – Mix it up by Herve’ Tullet
I can’t credit this book enough for teaching Ethan all about colours! He has read it so many times that he ended up ripping it apart. This is a fun activity book for the children to learn colours. This book starts with introducing the kids to the three primary colours and has an engaging way to make them tap, shake, mix, stand and turn the book to make the colours appear, turn the lights on and off and much more. Ethan has so much fun following all the instructions. He learnt all about primary colours and how to mix them to get secondary colours. Also, he started painting and drawing much more since we started reading this amazing book. - A book you have carried to bed and slept with – The Bumblebear by Nadia Shireen
Buzz! Buzz! This book is amazing! This is an adorable story about Norman the bear who loves honey so much that he finds his way into a bee colony to eat more honey by dressing up as bee. He disguises so well that the bees think that he is just their giant version and accept him into bee school. He has so much fun in school with the bees till one of them grows suspicious of him. Will the bees find out who he really is? Ethan loves bugs, especially bees. The cherry on top was a bear who was also dressed like a bee. He loved following along Norman’s adventures so much that after a bedtime read, he fell asleep with the book in his arms. - A book written in rhyme (not nursery rhymes) – Dinosaur Dance by Sandra Boynton
Get ready to dance with dinosaurs! A super fun way to introduce very young readers to the dinosaur world. One of our favourite Boynton books that Ethan learnt all the dinosaur names from. We sing this book as a song as it rhymes so well. All the dinosaurs shake, bounce, quiver, tap and stomp to the music and it keeps Ethan so entertained as he dances to the tunes. When he was 8 months old, this was the book that made him so excited that he started standing with support. - A book your grandparent read to you – Mr Brown can Moo Can you by Dr Seuss
When Ethan’s grandparents visited him at 6 months old, their beloved book to read to him was this one. He used to respond and giggle to all the sounds in this book and babble a lot while they read it to him. He loved to see Mr. Brown and his hat on each page and kept pointing to him. It has all different kinds of sounds in it made by different animals, bugs and things around us. The illustrations are bright and entertaining too as it is in all Seuss books. At the end of the book, there is a refresher of all the sounds again which is amazing. - A book that has food stains on it – Snowflake in my pocket by Rachel Bright
A sweet story about a bear and a squirrel who are best friends and live together in a tree. The squirrel has only seen three seasons in his life and patiently waits to see winter and snow. But the bear is older and more experienced. When bear predicts that it might snow the next day, the squirrel is very happy and excited. Unfortunately, when the snow arrives, bear gets the sniffles and squirrel has to explore snow on his own. Does squirrel have fun in the snow? What does he bring home for his friend? This is a wonderful story about friendship and teaches a lesson about caring and loving our friends and being there for them no matter what. Ethan learnt all about seasons especially winter, from this book and was overjoyed to see snow for the first time just like the squirrel. - A book given to you so mom/dad could have tea in peace! – Best Word Book Ever by Richard Scarry
We can’t thank this book enough to keep Ethan glued to it. This book has everything interesting for children inside right from alphabets, numbers, animals, cars, trucks, ships, airplanes, fruits, vegetables, sea animals, bugs and the list goes on and on. Its amazing illustrations is what the children love the most. Each page has a different setting such as daily chores, daily routines, day at the farm, zoo, beach, supermarket, airport, shipyard, fire station etc which is highly informative. Kids learn to correlate the different things/animals/objects in the book to the respective places they belong to. Ethan self reads this book and is occupied with the pictures. He learns so much from this book and we can have tea in peace at the same time. - A book by Wonder House – Shlokas and Mantras for kids
Since Ethan was a little baby, I have introduced shlokas to him and chant them daily during pooja. When I came across this book by Wonder House, I was really happy. It has shlokas about each God with their cute illustration on each page which keeps the kids engaged. This book also helps to teach them about different Gods in the Hindu culture. I find it very useful especially because we live so far from India. It is a great way to introduce Indian culture to the kids. Ethan loves his Ganpati bappa and wants to keep chanting his shloka over and over again. - A book you gift often – How to catch a star by Oliver Jeffers
Another one of our favourite authors. We love all his books, especially this one and love to gift it to kids. This story is about a boy who loves stars and wants to catch one of his own. He tries different ways to catch it including climbing a tree, using his spaceship, asking a gull etc but nothing works. He is disappointed but never gives up. Does the boy catch his star eventually? Ethan absolutely adores this book and is always interested to know what happens next in the story. This book also got him very excited to learn more about space and the cosmic world. - A book you got from kbc recommendations – Peppa’s Busy Day by Mark Baker and Neville Astley When we had trouble making Ethan follow a daily routine, we bought this book recommended by Asha ji on KBC. This lovely book is about Peppa and George’s daily routine. What makes it even more interesting is a clock at the top with two hands that can be turned and adjusted. Peppa and George go about their day waking up, brushing their teeth, going to school and bed at a specific time. Ethan learnt about the importance of having a daily routine just like Peppa and George did and also loves playing with the clock. We hope that he will learn all about telling the time as he grows with this wonderful book too.
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