All News & StoriesCalling all book lovers! We’re taking a trip down memory lane and sharing our favorite childhood reads.
Lauren, Family Engagement Specialist
My favorite kids’ book, hands down, is Go, Dog. Go! by P.D. Eastman. What makes it truly special is remembering watching my husband read it with our daughter when she was a toddler. She loved it so much, she memorized the whole thing and would “read” it back to us with her own dramatic flair. We’re still randomly asking each other, “Do you like my hat?” like it’s a perfectly normal thing to say. Go, Dog. Go! gets a solid 10/10 from the George crew—would absolutely crash that dog party again.
Allie, Program Resource Navigator
A favorite book of mine growing up was Are You My Mother?, also by P.D. Eastman. There was a literacy building video I watched that had a short film of the bird going up to each animal. I loved seeing the animals from the book talking “in real life!” On this same literacy building set, there was Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs! I still have distinct memories of the books and the illustrations “coming to life” in front of me! It was so cool, but I have no idea what it was called!
Sarah, Community Engagement Specialist
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst is a funny and relatable book about a young boy named Alexander who seems to have everything go wrong from the moment he wakes up. From gum in his hair to getting in trouble at school, nothing seems to go his way. His humorous and dramatic reactions make the story entertaining, while also showing that bad days happen to everyone—even in Australia! It’s a favorite because it captures how frustrating a bad day can feel but also reminds us that things eventually get better.
Mollie, Executive Director
One of my favorite books as a teacher and parent is The Napping House by Audrey Wood. This book was great to use for reading inflection and visualization, adjective and descriptions, and so many skills when learning to read and write; but it just overall a fun book to read. When I read it with my children, we loved coming up with funny substitutes for the characters. For example, instead of the snoring granny, we’d have a snoring dad wearing a fire hat. Instead of a snoozing cat, we’d imagine a snoozing fish. These playful twists added so much fun to the experience and always had us giggling.
Rosy, Multicultural Family Engagement Specialist
This brings back fun memories. Have you heard of Dr. Seuss’ Wocket In My Pocket but with the Walk It Talk It beat? When it first came out (roughly 2018), my two boys would walk around singing/rapping “Wocket In My Pocket” and at the end saying “Momma, read me a book!” just like in the video. It got them to rhyme and develop a love for reading and hip hop. I might try to get them to do this again and record them.
Julie, Program Resource Manager
One of my favorite children’s books growing up was The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. When I was little, my mom created a puppet caterpillar and all of the foods found in the book. .As we would read, our puppet caterpillar would eat the foods represented on each page of the story. I always enjoyed the interactive reading experience and all of the bright colors found in any of Eric Carle’s books. When I became a preschool teacher, I made sure to read this with my kiddos in class and brought the puppet and props with me. It was a crowd favorite!
Kristin, Communications Manager
My boys had a variation of Bill Martin Jr.’s Brown Bear series called Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? that was a favorite in our house. The repetition made it so fun as my kids were learning to talk, and they came up with some of the cutest phrases out it. One on page it says, “Bald eagle, bald eagle, what do you see?” My toddler loved to say “Ball Geagle, Ball Geagle, What YOU do see?” Sixteen years later, and we still randomly say that whenever we see an eagle. Reading this book, it was a bonus that it was also illustrated by the great Eric Carle.
Lane, HR Manager
I love the books from Robert Munsch. I read them for my kids and to the children I took care of when I taught preschool. We can all remember I Love You Forever, but most of his other books were more on the silly side and were so fun to read aloud! Some favorites are The Paper Bag Princess, Good Families Don’t, and Thomas’s Snowsuit. Another fun one is Mmm Cookies, which makes a great follow-up to a playdough activity where kids make their own cookie creations. I was able to meet Mr. Munsch and get a couple books signed many years ago when he was a keynote speaker at conference for early childhood educators.
Jamie, Family Engagement Specialist
My daughter loves to watch a read-a-loud. Right now, our favorite is Who Pooped on Me? by David Cunliffe. The book is interactive and we share many giggles together! I will remember our time together with this book for years to come!
