I was asked this week if I could recommend a book for a two and a half year old Canadian boy with a Dutch mum and Afrikaans dad.

I decided to ask my little friend, Quinn, who is about the right age, which are his favourite books. With the help of his mum, Quinn listed his top four.

1 Where is the green sheep, Judy Horacek and Mem Fox. (These authors have a new book out too that looks appealing– This and That. )

2 The Tiger who came to tea, Judith Kerr.

3 We are going on a bear hunt, Michael Rosen.

4 Dig Dig digging, Margaret Mayo and Alex Ayliffe.

I think the children in my Kindy group, where I read as a volunteer, would agree with Quinn’s choices. They also like:

5 The Terrible Plop, Ursula Dubosarsky and illos by Andrew Joyner

6 The very hungry caterpillar, Eric Carle

7 The Grufallo, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, and

8 Guess how much I love you, Sam McBratney

9 The cat in the hat Dr Seuss, and

10 The Hairy Mclary books, Lynley Dodd?

Do you have any suggestions?

A few observations

The books children most enjoy are not necessarily the books adults would choose for them. For example, I disliked Where is the green sheep when I first read it. Yet, like Quinn, children just love this book. It is probably better to choose books that are popular with children rather than to follow our own tastes (well, sometimes anyway).

• The books children most enjoy are not necessarily the books adults would choose for them. For example, I disliked Where is the green sheep when I first read it. Yet, like Quinn, children just love this book. It is probably better to choose books that are popular with children rather than to follow our own tastes (well, sometimes anyway).
• Repetition, rhyme, refrains and a catchy rhythm (evident in most of these choices) are a sure fire success. This age group loves to join in a refrain, anticipate words, make noises and generally be rowdy and involved. Books with these elements have strong links with the nursery rhymes that many children know and love from a very young age.
• An element of fear (along as the danger is overcome) is another favourite ingredient. Children love a story that reveals increasing danger –you see it in their body language and the expressions on their faces!
• No single illustration style is a winner. Big and brightly coloured works well but so do many other styles. It is more to do with how the illustration works with the story.

I noticed that there are YouTube and other electronic readings of most of these books available online such as Michael Rosen’s telling of his We are going on a bear hunt (See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gyI6ykDwds). But, generally speaking, the online versions offer an inferior experience to that of reading the book. Have you come across any worth knowing about? Or do you avoid them?

So – I haven’t really answered the question I was asked. But I have tried to suggest what to look out for when you are in a library or a bookshop trying to choose a book for a two and a half year old. And that’s half the fun, of course!