My daughter is a fan of reading.

I say “reading”, what I mean is making up stories and listening to me reading to her. Frog is approaching three and a half and is starting to remember which letters make which sounds. If she’s anything like her mum, then I have no doubt she will be an avid reader once she grasps what the squiggly lines on the page mean.

Before we relocated to South Devon at the beginning of the school holidays, we had a major sort through the books on Frog’s shelves. She still had lots of baby cardboard books which she no longer looked at. Some of her books were just a bit naff, while others were so worn they needed mending.

One of the first places we discovered in our current home town was the library. We make a fortnightly trip there to swap books and Frog loves that she has her very own library card.

The books she is currently loving are:

My mum bought The Day The Crayons Quit (by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers) as a present for Frog, to celebrate her first day at pre-school. She’d read a review in The Guardian and instantly knew her granddaughter would love it. My mum wasn’t wrong. It’s funny, creative, beautifully illustrated and couldn’t be further removed from your boring old princess stories.

Second up is the stunning The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name. I was sent this book to review and when I opened the parcel I literally gasped. The whole book has been personalised with Frog’s name and it’s really helped her to learn the letters that spell her name. Created by a three dads and an uncle, you can tell the book has been designed by a team who know about kids. You can buy a book featuring any child’s name and, if you’re looking for a quirky and special present this Christmas, I urge you to think about investing in one of these books!

We discovered Barney Saltzberg about a year ago with his book Arlo’s Glasses. Back then, Frog was obsessed with reading the book and taking out the removable glasses, that it got terribly battered. A Little Bit of Oomph is based on a similar pop-out design, with bright colours and bold patterns. In fact, if you like design you will LOVE this book. The story is based around the idea that you can make anything shine that bit brighter if you work at it, which I think is a pretty lovely lesson. And for a three year old who likes funny words, funny faces and vivid colours, it has gone down a treat.

Last on our list of current reading favourites are The Black and White Club (by Alice Hemming) and Miss Dorothy Jane Was Ever So Vain (by Julie Fulton), which we were sent for review. Both these books are funny and carry a sweet message. They’re really easy to read and I think Frog loves them so much because they’re like the book version of comfort food. She often requests one or the other at bedtime, which is rather sweet really.

What are your children reading at the moment? Any good books we should add to our reading list? 

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