Top 10 books I love sharing with my class.

First off I have to confess that I am a reader, always have been, hope I always will be. So it is no surprise that I love to introduce a whole new class each year to the joy of books. Some years are easier than others, the class who have just left nursery were the biggest bookworms I'd ever come across, I hope they maintain this love of books. They read everywhere!

I love hearing parents say that their child has suddenly become interested in books since starting nursery, I like to think that it's because of our daily shared 20-30 minute story time. I hope during this time they begin to see the magic of getting lost in a story & how to make books come alive. I am always sad when you get a child of 3 or 4 who doesn't want to look at a book because they feel they can't as they can't 'read' it. This is why picture books are so important. I feel sorry for older children & adults who are denied the chance to enjoy picture books - I love that because of my job I can spend an hour in the children's section of a book shop exploring new books & enjoying old favourites.
I do not stick 100% to the words written in most books, adding my own parts to either enhance or lengthen the story.
So here are my top 10 I shared with my class, some old ones, some new ones. But there are actually 11 books because I had such trouble whittling it down to 10 & could go on for days listing my favourite books & have stuck in an extra one to start off with

I read this as an 8/9 year old & it had a deep impact on me & actually awakened a life long love of history in me. I read a lot of books & often forget who writes them so was so surprised that this one was written by an author that I admire so much & find timeless - Judith Kerr, so that leads me onto my first one I read every year with my class, it is so old-fashioned looking now but I have yet to meet a class who don't love it.

What child wouldn't love a big furry tiger to ring the doorbell some evening?

A classic tale & I love this version for the illustrations, I give the kids names - the days of the week! And we sing a song at the end 'Ding dong the wolf is gone'

An old favourite - we do this as part of our graduation ceremony every year.

A new book for me & the class this year - a lovely tale & beautifully illustrated - and of course I'm not biased just because it is written by an Irish man.

One of the most gorgeous books ever, we had such fun looking for Bog Babies in the forest!

One that children 'get' immediately.

What can I say - I love this one, never mind the children!

Another old classic - a different twist on the tradtional story.

A great one at the start of the school year to get children involved in story time - they can join in this one so easily - we also do this as part of our Graduation ceremony.

This one is up here to introduce the brilliant Nick Sharratt to readers, he has re-written all the classic tales in a brilliant rhyming style. I love all his books - the sillier he better!

I have so many others that I could I believe do a top 100 & maybe that is another post for a later date.