Suggestions for children's books

[Sophia]

I am going to go against the grain a little.  I would go for quantity.  The kids old enough to read will probably want to read a lot.  I would go in with a budget in mind, and then try to maximize the words that money would buy within the limit of the books not being too mature.  I would also throw in some interesting looking history and other nonfiction books. 

[mechtilde]

The Horrible Histories books are good, but gruesome! Micheal Morpurgo does some good stories, but a lot of them aren't exactly cheerful. The same applies to Jacqueline Wilson.

[rose red]

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein.

[georgedillo]

If the age limit is 9 and under, then anything with a Caldecott medal or Caldecott Honor medal on it would be great (http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecotthonors/caldecottmedal).  Personally, I can't wait until my nephew is old enough to read anything by Robert McCloskey, or The Story of Ferdinand, or anything by Dr. Seuss.  Just a few more years until he can read...

[bonyk]

I would suggest some non-fiction books about animals.  The older kids will read them; the younger kids will look at the photographs.

[Thipu1]

Non-fiction is a great idea.  I came across a neat series of books with fold-outs and pop-ups about science.  One was about weather.  Another was about earthquakes and volcanoes. A third was about space.   Most 9 year-olds are old enough to treat pop-ups properly and books like these would be likely to be well received by both boys and girls. 

There are also plenty of good books for children about history.  The 'If You Lived in the Days of...' series comes to mind. 

[scotcat60]

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
The Borrowers.
Anne of Green Gables.
Swallows and Amazons.
Harry Potter.
The Secret Garden and A Little Princess.



POD!  I would add the What Katy Did books,  Heidi and Alice in Wonderland. Oldies but goodies.