Sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin. Irish News journalists have chosen their favourite book to read to children, whether you’re babysitting or putting your own to bed.
Roisin Bonner - Little People, Big Dreams series (by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara)
This beautifully illustrated series of biographies by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara explores the lives of more than 100 inspirational figures from throughout history, around the world and across genres – from Albert Einstein to Taylor Swift – so there should be a book to pique the interest of even the most reluctant reader.
Each story purposely begins with that figure as a small child to make the biography more relatable to younger minds. However, beyond just being nice stories about inspirational people, the real beauty of these books is how they allow children to learn about different cultures and experiences, and how it introduces them to social issues such as discrimination in an age-appropriate, sensitive way.
As an aunt to a few young budding explorers, I’d have to choose the Amelia Earhart edition as a personal favourite, but any of the series will have little minds drifting off to sleep dreaming of all the ways they can change the world for the better.
Neil Loughran - Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
This author has held a special place in my heart since burrowing beneath blankets to read his Napper series, charting the exploits of a budding young footballer and his exploits with school team, Red Row Rovers. But arguably Martin Waddell’s greatest gift to children’s literature is the magnificent Owl Babies, beautifully illustrated by Patrick Benson and later brought to life in pop-up form.
The genius of Owl Babies is its simplicity. I remember interviewing Martin Waddell many moons ago, and he explained how finding exactly the right words for a children’s book was infinitely more difficult than penning a blockbuster novel for an adult audience.
Telling the story of three owlets who wake up one night to find their mother gone, my kids were instantly captivated by the owlets’ concern for their mother, and relief upon her return. No matter how many times Owl Babies was read, it was always requested the following night. And, a long time after lapping up the Napper series, it was a joy to introduce my own children to Martin Waddell all those years on.
Neil Crossey - The Night Dad Went to Jail by Melissa Higgins
The primary school our children attend has always been very good at encouraging reading and letting kids pick a book from their library to bring home. Imagine our bemusement when, as a five-year-old primary one student, our eldest pulled The Night Dad Went to Jail from his schoolbag.
It’s a simple plot featuring a rabbit whose dad gets sentenced to six years in prison for an undisclosed crime and the resulting fallout. The protagonist goes through a medley of family liaison officers, social workers and mentors until he arrives at a place where he is “working to forgive” his father for disappearing for such a long time.
As well as teaching young children how to deal with complex emotions, this book also led to long debates in our house about how Dad went to jail, yet Mum got off scot-free with barely a mention or any questions from attending police officers (a cat and, bizarrely, a rat) about what she knew as an accomplice or even a victim of Dad’s criminal activities.
Recommended for you:
- 15 of the best indoor attractions to try when it’s raining in Northern Ireland
- 10 of the best places for a Sunday roast in Northern Ireland
Jenny Lee - War Horse picture book (Written by Michael Morpurgo and illustrated by Tom Clohosy Cole)
Adapted by Michael Morpurgo from his bestselling novel, this shortened, illustrated version is full of emotion and drama for younger readers – and their parents to enjoy.
The abridged edition tells the enduring story of a friendship between a boy and his horse amid the turmoil of the First World War.
Told through the voice of the horse, Joey, it doesn’t shy away from the brutality of war, yet also highlights the futility of war. As the world still strives for peace, the book can help young readers understand conflict and learn about our past.
The illustrations add to the emotional depth of the story, making it perfect for sharing together, and accessible to older children and teens with dyslexia, like my son, who loves listening to Morpurgo stories.
As with all good children’s books there is a happy ending, but a word of warning to parents - keep a tissue close by.
Chris Sherrard - Harry Potter, by JK Rowling
Not a particularly left-field or original suggestion but if, like me, you hadn’t delved into the world of Hogwarts and Quidditch, you really should give it a whirl.
I confess to thinking it would be ludicrously-constructed fantasy stuff, the type of which I wouldn’t have my children near.
But the series' worldwide smash-hit reputation is certainly well earned – and I’m only on the third book. I’m reading it to my eight-year-old daughter but still get unnerved when she knows what happens at the pregnant-pause moments.
Like her, many children will have watched the films and if that’s the entry point to the books then great because any route to getting a book in the hand of a child is to be embraced. I’d always rather she read the books first, though, because the character development and storylines owe everything to JK Rowling’s genius.
A favourite character? Well, Hagrid is my choice because he’s someone you naturally root for and because he allows me to pretend I’m a gruff geezer from the English West Country.
The Harry Potter books aren’t quick, frolicking night-time reads like, say, the Gruffalo or The Tiger Who Came To Tea is and there are undoubtedly heavy moments but I have no hesitation in recommending them, if only to encourage your child to ‘be like Hermoine and get your homework done’.
William Scholes - Just William, by Richmal Crompton
There’s a magic to sharing the joy of reading with a child. Even better, though, is laughing together as you turn the pages.
William Brown is the perfect partner-in-crime for a book at bedtime. Or any time, in fact. William is one of the great comic creations, up there in the literary pantheon with Bertie Wooster, and the world he inhabits and the characters he rubs up against are even more richly drawn than The Simpsons' Springfield universe.
William is a scruffy 11-year-old, and his anarchic adventures unfold across a series of 38 books written by Richmal Crompton and published between 1922 and 1970. Each book is a collection of short stories, meaning you can get through one standalone tale in one sitting.
This is proper writing, with clever language, word play and sometimes challenging vocabulary. The stories play out like sitcoms; Crompton sets multiple plots in motion which more often than not collide in a denouement as satisfying, as laugh-out-loud funny and as expertly executed as your favourite episode of Fawlty Towers, Father Ted, Dad’s Army, Yes Minister, or whatever you prefer.
Crompton’s writing is laced with satire and sharp observation: “William was frankly bored. School always bored him. He disliked facts, and he disliked being tied down to detail, and he disliked answering questions. As a politician a great future would have lain before him.”
The books and their stories can be read in any order, and the audiobooks narrated by Martin Jarvis are brilliant too. Introduce a child to William Brown, and they’ll have a friend for the rest of their life.
Ryan McAleer - A Squash and a Squeeze, by Julia Donaldson
When it comes to reading a bedtime story for a young child, I could easily reach for almost anything from the Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler collection.
From The Gruffalo and Stickman, to Room on the Broom and Zog, the collaboration between the English playwright and German illustrator has produced an astounding number of modern children’s classics that have been turned into a dozen (and counting) animated BBC Christmas TV specials.
But for nostalgia’s sake, I will choose the book that started it all for Donaldson and Scheffler.
If there was a Spotify all-time most played (or in the case most read) list in our house, A Squash and a Squeeze would almost certainly come top – possibly just ahead of The Smartest Giant in Town (by the same author).
Originally conceived as a song, A Squash… tells the tale of a little old lady’s chagrin over the size of her humble home.
Involving an increasing number of animals (including a cow table tapping out a jig), its lively rhyming couplets, trademark beautiful illustrations, chaotic humour and its moral lesson of appreciating what you have, it’s a brilliant choice for young children.
Plus, if time is at a premium (or if an exhausted adult is reaching the end of their tether), those rhyming couplets lend themselves to a fast tempo that would do Eminem proud.
