While adults don’t always love to take the time to sit down and read, many children tend to beg for books before bed every night.
Reading to children is so important to help them learn and grow. Their vocabulary will expand and they can learn important lessons from the right books.
Children’s books are fun to read with their heartwarming messages and captivating illustrations. Even middle-grade short novels feature entertaining stories for children as they grow.
Making sure your child is learning as much as they can from the books that they read comes down to exposing them to the best authors.
This list contains five of the best children’s authors that use their words to help children explore the world and grow.
Dr. Seuss
No child’s bookshelf would be complete without at least one book by Dr. Seuss. He might be one of the most well-known children’s authors, with his birthday being celebrated in schools across America.
Dr. Seuss has a huge resume filled with screenwriting, children’s book publishing, political illustrating, and poetry along with so many other writing experiences.
He tends to be associated most frequently with his children’s books that use poetic language and rhyme to keep young readers engaged in learning.
Many of his stories also contain positive messages that children can learn without even realizing it because they are worked into his whimsical plots.
He also illustrates every page with bright images of the fantastical locations and characters to really hold every child’s attention.
All of Dr. Seuss’s children’s books are great for readers of all ages to listen to and learn from. If you are looking for his best books, Cool Things Chicago’s thorough list of Dr. Seuss books is useful for building your child’s library.
Beverly Cleary
Diversifying a child’s library is important to make sure they can keep their love for reading alive as they grow.
Filling it with picture books and some that are more advanced will get your young reader curious about reading, helping them advance. Beverly Cleary is a great author to read to children because she writes at so many reading levels.
Cleary is known as one of the most successful authors alive because she has sold more than 90 million copies of her books!
She has shared her works of children and young adult fiction since her first publication in 1950. She has since been awarded the prestigious Newbery Medal in addition to other notable achievements.
Cleary’s success makes her one of the most influential children’s writers mostly due to her focus on realism. Her characters are easy for young readers to relate to and connect with deeply.
Children love books that they can apply to their own lives, making Cleary a great addition to your child’s reading list.
Shel Silverstein
Short picture books are a great way to get children interested in reading along with you because of the bright illustrations, but other genres are also important to expose them to at a young age.
Shel Silverstein was a diverse writer that published both children’s books and poetry collections for young readers. He also wrote for adults, which is actually where his career started!
Silverstein’s poetry collections are some of his greatest children’s works. He never had formal training in poetry writing, so he developed his own unique style.
Children tend to love Silverstein’s silly words and unusual characters, but his messages are oftentimes heartfelt. He writes about growing up, which is a topic that many children are concerned with.
Silverstein also published a few shorter stories, like The Giving Tree, which always seems to bring a tear to readers’ eyes. It has a beautiful message about giving and growing for children to understand.
Reading a work by Shel Silverstein to your child will help them learn and grow by offering them a glimpse of new genres of writing.
Eric Carle
Books with bright pictures tend to capture the attention of young readers the most effective, especially when they are still learning how to read themselves.
Eric Carle’s children’s books are definitely attractive to new readers who can’t seem to look away from his whimsical characters and stunning illustrations.
Carle has multiple popular children’s books, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
These books focus on spreading positive messages to children about their own lives, though also work on other elements of learning.
It is true that reading promotes learning in many ways, and his books tend to focus on colors and shapes for young children. He has also written a few short stories about numbers, animals, sounds, and so many other important topics for children.
He uses simple sentences that are easy for newer readers to understand so they can begin to learn reading without help.
Carle has won many awards for his illustrations and his writing, which have been on the bookshelves of many children since the 1960s.
Reading books by Eric Carle to your children can help them learn before they even head off to school.
Judy Blume
As children grow, they should continue to read books that they love at a more advanced level. Longer novels instead of picture books can keep older children engaged in middle grades.
Judy Blume has written many short novels for children and young adults that focus on more mature topics than the standard shapes and colors.
While her focus audience tends to be young women coming of age, she has inspired readers of all genders and ages through her realistic stories.
Her characters and plots are important for all children to read and understand because they focus on true to life situations.
Some of her published works do include illustrations so even younger readers will feel connected to them.
Blume is one of the most well-known young adult authors and to this day enjoys speaking about her work as a writer.
Reading is such a vital piece of childhood because of everything books can teach avid readers. Providing your child with the right books by the most influential authors can help them grow as learners.
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