10 of the Best Julia Donaldson Books out there.

Julia Donaldson is just amazing. She is without a doubt our family's favourite author for birth - pre-school aged children and I sometimes wonder what children used to read before she started writing! There are often multi-buy deals available for her books on Amazon and she has written so many books that choosing from the range can be a little daunting. So I have put together a selection of our ten favourites for you.

The Gruffalo is probably Julia Donaldson's best known book and is deservedly a classic! The tale of the clever mouse who outwits the fox, owl, snake and Gruffalo is funny, witty enough for adults to enjoy  and has plenty of repeated refrains for the children to join in with. Great stuff.

Monkey Puzzle tells the story of a little monkey who has lost his mum. We follow him on a rhyming journey through the jungle as a butterfly helps him to look for her. There is plenty of humour and crossed wires as the butterfly continually shows him the wrong animal and many opportunities for vocabulary building as your child can name the animals the butterfly shows the monkey after joining in with the repeated refrain "no, no, no, that's a.." And of course, there is a happy ending!

Room on the Broom is another well known book by Julia Donaldson which has been made into a tv film, shown at Christmas a few years ago. This exciting story contains witches and dragons and a broomstick full of animals who manage to outwit the dragon and rescue their witch. This is a really good book for developing awareness of rhyme with children and they will really enjoy filling in the rhyming words at the end of each line ones they are familiar with the story.

A squash and a squeeze is a hilarious tale with a moral too. The old lady in the story learns to appreciate what she has when an old man gives her some unusual advice about how to make her tiny house seem bigger. This one had my kids laughing out loud.

The Smartest Giant in Town is the heartwarming tale of George, a giant who kits himself out in smart new clothes and then, on his way home, gives away everything he has to help the people that he meets. It has a lovely message about helping others AND a jaunty song to sing on every page - such good fun to read and the kids absolutely love the song!

All the above books were illustrated by Axel Scheffler whose pictures compliment the stories perfectly.

The next two books are illustrated by Lydia Monks, whose illustrations always contain a liberal helping of glitter to add sparkle and texture...

What the Ladybird Heard is the story of a farmyard full of animals who, with the help of a shy ladybird, foil the plan of two villains hoping to steal the fine prize cow. Children enjoy joining in with the animal noises and are most amused when the animals trick the would-be thieves.

The Singing Mermaid is currently the favourite book of my 4-year-old daughter and has been for many months. It tells the story of a mermaid who is tricked into joining a circus and then finally manages to escape with the help of her circus friends and a very clever seagull. 

Jack and The Flum Flum Tree is illustrated by David Roberts and is my personal favourite of Julia Donaldson's books because it is a very witty tale with a humour that both adults and children can enjoy. Jack's granny develops an illness that can only be cured by the fruit of the rare and exotic Flum Flum tree so Jack and his friends must set sail to find it. On the way they face many mishaps which are overcome using the bag of eclectic objects that Granny gives them as a farewell gift. And the best bit for the children is that the repeated refrain for them to join in with contains the phrase "Don't get your knickers in a twist"! Great fun!

Chocolate Mousse for Greedy Goose is illustrated by Nick Sharratt and is a simple rhyming tale of some animals preparing and eating a meal. My kids loved it because of all the funny things that the animals say to each other. They  really enjoyed joining in with it after a few readings, and had soon learnt the whole thing by heart! It is also great for building vocabulary and introducing adjectives.

One Ted Falls out of Bed, illustrated by Anna Currey, is a counting book following ted's attempts to get back into bed, with the help of all the other toys in the nursery. It has a strong rhyme, making it easy for children to join in with and really beautiful detailed illustrations. I like it because it is a counting book with a narrative, which makes it much more fun to read.

What are your favourite Julia Donaldson books?

Our favourite counting books

My children love books. I have 4 kids and they all love books, reading and being read to. I want to share the love, so I am recommending our favourite counting books to read together.

There are many, many, generic counting books that contain pictures on each page of so many items that you are meant to count together with your child. But these are not the ones that set my world on fire. I like my counting books to have a story to go along with them so that the counting is almost incidental and you can still get caught up in the story. These choices all have a story and are all accompanied by amazing illustrations with many fun details to spot and talk about as well as named objects to count.

My one year old daughter loves all these books, for the rhythm of the story and for the pictures. She does not have many words yet but she does make noises to the rhythm of counting as we read these books and 'count' together. But these books really come into their own when you have a preschooler who is actually learning to count with 1-1 correspondence and they will properly count along with you.

My Granny Went to Market: a round-the-world counting book, by Stella Blackstone and Christopher Corr (Barefoot Books)

This book is wonderful on many levels. The story is fun and quirky - who wouldn't love a granny who flies around the world on a magic carpet collecting a variety of interesting objects? The pictures are intricate, colourful and detailed - my children spend a very long time analysing the details in each one and my one-year-old particularly enjoys searching for the different animals in each picture. 

Discussions about geography and different cultures and countries of the world are also bound to arise from this book. The first time we read it my older children rushed to get a map and trace Granny's journey and then a lovely discussion ensued about which countries we would travel to on our own magic carpet. My eldest (9) was even inspired to write her own version of the story. Definitely a favourite in our house!

One Ted Falls out of Bed, by Julia Donaldson and Anna Currey

The story is what drew us into this one. It is an exciting recount of a bear who falls out of bed and all the other toys in the room rush to help him back into bed before the child wakes up and they are discovered. It is great for reading aloud as there are many sound effects to be added! It is characterised by Julia Donaldson's fantastic use of rhyme and rhythm and the beautiful drawings of Anna Currey. This is a really fun book to read and my children get very caught up in the dilemma of whether Ted will make it back into bed or not.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle

This is a book that I remember fondly from my own childhood, but which is definitely still loved by children today. The interactive nature of the pictures is what does it for me, how you can put your finger through every single thing that the caterpillar eats (great for counting with 1-1 correspondence) and the bright and colourful illustrations. 

The story of the caterpillar who eats more and more outrageous things each day, before turning into a chrysalis and then a beautiful butterfly, is captivating for young children and again provides opportunities for so much more learning and discussions. You can use it to talk about life cycles, days of the week, or simply to expand vocabulary (particularly of fruit and other foods). A brilliant book.

One Mole Digging A Hole, By Julia Donaldson and Nick Sharratt

Another Julia Donaldson classic! This time her characteristic rhyme is accompanied by the bold and colourful illustrations of Nick Sharratt. My children find the exploits of the animals in this book, who are all gardening in some way or another, very amusing and there is always something to talk about in the pictures. 

Do check these out, and please recommend any of your own favourite counting books.

Happy Counting!