9 Best Kids Books 2018 – My Personal Top Picks!

Books are very much loved in our household and part of every bedtime routine is reading a story.  I very much believe that children should be read to every single day. That is how my mother brought me and my sisters up and that is how I am bringing up my kids. It pleases me that it appears my kids will have as much love for reading as I do.

My daughter is now in Grade 1 and is starting to read her favorite books herself which I find so exciting.

Here is a list of the best kids books 2018 in our household:

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Curly The Chameleon

I love this book and so do my kids. My mother bought it for my daughter for Christmas 3 years ago and it has been a firm favorite ever since. It was written by Charles de Villiers and illustrated by Claire Norden and they make a wonderful team.

The book is so beautifully written in a way that flows and rhymes perfectly. It is cute and you can clearly picture this chameleon and his adventures in your mind as you read it.

Curly’s chameleon features are described in great detail. Curly has a meal, almost gets caught by a cat but manages to hide himself and then gets lifted into the skies by a hawk but manages to escape to tell his grandchildren about it.

It is always a treat when I love to read a story as much as my kids love to listen to it.

A huge added bonus with this book is that it comes with stickers in the back page and we all know how much kids love stickers!

Say Boo To The Animals

Say Boo To The Animals by Ian Whybrow and Tim Warnes is a delightful book about a bunny that plays hide and seek with the scarier animals. He starts off scared and later realizes there is nothing to be afraid of.

The illustrations are bright and colorful and the animals are furry to the touch making story telling even more fun and exciting. The kids now scream BOO along with the book each time I read it. The story has a lovely rhythm that makes it fun to read.

Dinosaur Roar

Dinosaur Roar by Paul Stikland and Henrietta Stickland is endorsed by the Natural History Museum. It is a very simple book with one sentence on each page that rhymes beautifully. It is a pleasure to read and due to its simplicity it is so easy for my kids to join in with me since they remember all the words easily.

It also came with a pull out poster of all the dinosaurs which is one of my son’s prized possessions.

The Gruffalo

The Gruffalo written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler is a beautiful book about a mouse that everyone wants to eat so he makes up a scary creature called the Gruffalo that he is about to meet up with. The story takes a turn when the mouse runs into the Gruffalo and the clever little mouse manages to wiggle out of trouble again with his wit.

We love this book so much that we got The Gruffalo dvd too and it is also a much loved dvd in our household.

There is a sequel called The Gruffalo’s Child which I am planning to get soon.

Where The Wild Things Are

Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak is over fifty years old and one of the best loved children’s books of all time. Max is sent to bed by his mother without any food for being cheeky and he goes into a fantasy world of wild things where he becomes king of all the wild things. There is a wild rumpus before Max travels back to reality and his room.

My 4 year old son cannot get enough of this book and he is very much into imaginative play at the moment so clearly this book appeals to this side of him.

Now You See Me

Now You See Me is a Cat In The Hat Dr Seuss Book about Nick and Sally playing hide and seek by Nick always finds Sally immediately. The Cat In The Hat takes them to visit Gecko in the jungle to teach them how to hide and Thing One and Thing Two help Nick and Sally with their disguise to hide.

My kids love this story and take turns to spot Gecko, Nick and Sally on each page. It is written in such an engaging and rhyming way that your kids are sure to love it too.

Hagedash The Hadeda

Hagedash The Hadeda written by Charles de Villiers and Claire Norden is another lovely book. I bought it because my kids and I loved Curly The Chameleon so much by the same author and illustrator. It did not fail to entertain us and has also become a firm favorite in our home.

Hagedash the Hadeda loves to sing. She is lonely and longs for a mate that can sing too. She meets Hagar who is handsome and finer than all the other birds plus he can sing too. Soon enough they have made a nest and have some chicks.

The Hadeda is an ibis found in sub-saharan Africa. It has a distinctive and loud call,  of ha-ha-ha-de-da. The book makes use of this call and my kids join in screeching the Hadeda call with glee.

The book has a lovely flow and rhythm just like Curly The Chameleon and it won’t fail to please your kids.

I Wish That I Had Duck Feet

I Wish That I Had Duck Feet is a Dr Seuss book about a boy that would love all sorts of animal appendages from duck feet to an elephants trunk and a tail.

It is a fun book that weighs up all the pros and cons, including what his mother and father would do. It rhymes and flows with fun illustrations that your kids and you will enjoy for sure.

Revolting Rhymes

Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes is not for everyone’s taste that’s for sure. Roald Dahl takes six of the most well known and loved fairy tales and retells them with gory and twisted endings.

Personally I find it hysterical and my kids absolutely love it. The first time I read them stories from this book their mouths dropped open in surprise and shock but they were soon laughing their heads off.

Although I love it I can see that some parents may find this book offensive and not suitable for their kids so you have been warned!

What are some of your favorite books that you read to your kids?