Tis the Season for Reading!

At ReadBoston, we promote the importance of books and reading throughout the year, but around the holidays, we get many requests from people asking for book recommendations for gift giving. While it’s hard for us to choose our favorites among the thousands of books out there, here are our Top 10 Must Reads for kids. 

1. Big, Bigger, Biggest! – With bright pictures of animals in all shapes and sizes, this read-aloud introduces young children to the language of comparisons, synonyms and antonyms. 
2. Duck! Rabbit! By Amy Krouse Rosenthal – Two unseen characters argue about whether the creature they are looking at is a rabbit or a duck.
3. Flying! By Kevin Luthhardt – A boy’s simple questions about why he cannot fly lead to an imaginative journey with his father. 
4. Hey Little Ant! By Phillip and Hannah Hoose – A song in which an ant pleads with the kid who is tempted to squish it. 
5. I Know the River Loves Me/Yo sé que el río me ama by Maya Christina Gonzalez- A girl expresses her love of the river that she visits, plays in, and cares for  throughout the year. 
6. I Stink by Kate and Jim McMullan – A big city garbage truck makes its rounds, consuming everything from apple cores and banana peels to leftover ziti with zucchini. 
7. Is There Really a Human Race? By Jamie Lee Curtis – While thinking about life as a race, a child wonders whether it is most important to finish first or to have fun along the way. 
8. The Lorax by Dr. Seuss – A fanciful tale with a serious theme: clean up the environment before it’s too late. 
9. Sergio Saves the Game! By Edel Rodriguez – Although Sergio the penguin loves to play soccer, he is very clumsy and uncoordinated and he practices day and night, hoping he can help his team win the big game against the Seagulls. 
10. Those Darn Squirrels by Adam Rubin – When grumpy Old Man Fookwire builds feeders to try to keep birds–the only creatures he likes–from leaving for the winter, he finds himself in a battle with clever, crafty squirrels who want a share of the abundant food.

Be sure to check these out at your local library or bookstore today. Happy reading!