{"id":8770,"date":"2018-04-02T10:00:44","date_gmt":"2018-04-02T09:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/?p=8770"},"modified":"2018-03-29T10:47:33","modified_gmt":"2018-03-29T09:47:33","slug":"10-essential-childrens-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/2018\/04\/02\/10-essential-childrens-books\/","title":{"rendered":"10 essential children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s books"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s hard to find the perfect story for bedtime. Now, you don\u2019t have to! We\u2019ve put together a list of some of the best children\u2019s books so you don\u2019t have to scramble to find a story for your little ones!<\/p>\n

\"the-little-prince\"<\/p>\n

The Little Prince<\/h3>\n

Originally published as Le Petit Prince<\/em>, Antoine de Saint-Exup\u00c3\u00a9ry\u2019s novella is one of the best-loved works for children of the 20th<\/sup> century and is one of the most-translated books in the world. \u00a0The narrator crash lands in a desert, meeting a small boy who asks him to draw a sheep. From there, they strike up a number of conversations, with the Little Prince explaining his travels from asteroid to asteroid. The Prince has a precious rose on his planet that he returns to care for.<\/p>\n

\n

\"charlottes-web\"<\/p>\n

Charlotte\u2019s Web<\/h3>\n

E.B. White\u2019s heart-warming tale has featured on a number of best book lists over the years. We meet Wilbur, a piglet that has been saved from slaughter as he\u2019s the runt and is nurtured by a little girl named Fern. Wilbur is later sold to Fern\u2019s uncle but struggles to make friends in the barnyard; except a spider named Charlotte. Charlotte devises a plan to save Wilbur\u2019s life, which is successful, but unfortunately Charlotte doesn\u2019t survive.<\/p>\n

\n

\"roald-dahl\"<\/p>\n

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory<\/h3>\n

Roald Dahl has an immense body of work to be enjoyed, but a particular favourite is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory<\/em>. In it, we meet Charlie Bucket, who is living in poverty with his parents and grandparents in a tiny house. Charlie learns of Willy Wonka through his grandfather, as Wonka\u2019s factory has been closed due to recipes being stolen. Willy Wonka opens his factory up to five children who win golden tickets hidden in Wonka Bars. Charlie is one \u201d\u201c and by the end of the tour, is the only one who hasn\u2019t been ejected. Charlie inherits the factory, moving in with his family.<\/p>\n

\n

\"elmer\"<\/p>\n

Elmer the Patchwork Elephant<\/h3>\n

Elmer the Patchwork Elephant<\/em> is a brilliant story for a number of reasons. Mainly, the protagonist is an elephant, which is probably the best animal there is, and because it teaches us that being different is what makes us who we are. Elmer has a colourful patchwork body and he loves to make jokes. He paints his body grey in order to fit in but his friends don\u2019t recognise or accept him. When his true colours are revealed, Elmer is assured his friends love him because of his differences.<\/p>\n

\n

\"curious-george\"<\/p>\n

Curious George<\/h3>\n

A story so well-known it became a TV series and a Hollywood film, Margret and H.A Rey\u2019s story of a mischievous little monkey is a must-read. George is taken by a man in a yellow hat, as his curiosity leads him to the hat that\u2019s been left as a trap. They travel to America where it\u2019s intended George will be put into a zoo \u201d\u201c his curiosity lands him in trouble and he even ends up getting arrested. You can\u2019t help but fall in love with this cheeky little monkey!<\/p>\n

\n

\"gruffalo\"<\/p>\n

The Gruffalo<\/h3>\n

The beloved tale of The Gruffalo<\/em> has sold more than 13 million copies and has been translated into Chinese, Dutch and Maori versions. In Julia Donaldson\u2019s story, a mouse walking through a forest fends off a snake, fox and an owl; all of which have intentions of eating him, by explaining he\u2019s on his way to meet a Gruffalo. A Gruffalo is half grizzly bear, half buffalo whose favourite food just happens to be whichever animal is bothering the mouse. Little does the mouse know, he\u2019s about to meet the animal he invented.<\/p>\n

\n

\"tiger\"<\/p>\n

The Tiger Who Came to Tea<\/h3>\n

The title is kind of a giveaway. The story begins with a little girl named Sophie and her mummy having afternoon tea, when there\u2019s a knock at the door. A tiger has arrived and asks if he can join them, to which they agree. Being a tiger, he\u2019s pretty hungry \u201d\u201c he\u2019s polite, but when offered food, he eats literally everything in their house. Sophie and her mum buy more food and ensure they have a tin of tiger food, but the tiger does not return. It\u2019s been a firm favourite for 50 years and is essential reading for little ones!<\/p>\n

\n

\"velveteen-rabbit\"<\/p>\n

The Velveteen Rabbit<\/h3>\n

The sweet tale of The Velveteen Rabbit<\/em> was first published in 1922 and has been a firm children\u2019s favourite since. It was the first children\u2019s book by Margery Williams; it tells the tale of a stuffed rabbit who is given as a Christmas present to a young boy. As the boy has plenty of other toys, the rabbit is forgotten about until the boy\u2019s nana gives him the rabbit to sleep with. The rabbit soon becomes the favourite toy but the boy sees him as real. When the boy becomes ill with scarlet fever, the rabbit is by his side as he recovers but the doctor orders that all the boy\u2019s toys be burnt \u201d\u201c he is saved and becomes a real rabbit.<\/p>\n

\n

\"just-so-stories\"<\/p>\n

Just So Stories<\/h3>\n

Dating back to the early 20th<\/sup> century, Rudyard Kipling\u2019s Just So Stories were originally bedtime stories for his eldest child, Josephine. She was particular about the kinds of stories she liked to hear; they had to be \u201cjust so\u201d\u009d or she would complain. This meant they had to be told using her own vocabulary. The stories would explain how animals came to be distinctive, such as \u201d\u02dcHow the Camel Got His Hump\u2019 and \u201d\u02dcHow the Leopard Got His Spots\u2019.<\/p>\n

\n

\"wind-in-the-willows-cover\"<\/p>\n

The Wind in the Willows<\/h3>\n

Kenneth Grahame\u2019s novel introduces us to the adventures of Mole, Rat, Badger, Toad and their friends. It opens with Mole, who is spring cleaning but becomes bored, so he sets off and meets Rat. They become friends immediately, but their relationship with Toad creates problems. Toad is jailed when he steals a car and is at risk of losing his house. The animals rally together and Toad turns over a new leaf.<\/p>\n

We hope this gives you some inspiration for your next story time with your little one! Don\u2019t have these on your shelf? Get them from musicMagpie Store, with FREE delivery!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s hard to find the perfect story for bedtime. Now, you don\u2019t have to! We\u2019ve put together a list of some of the best children\u2019s books so you don\u2019t have to scramble to find a story for your little ones! The Little Prince Originally published as Le Petit Prince, Antoine …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":8783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1796],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8770"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8770"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8781,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8770\/revisions\/8781"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicmagpie.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}