We’re coming up to one of our favourite times of the year, Book Week! Reading at home is a simple activity that all children can enjoy. The act of reading also provides many benefits including improving communication, building vocabulary and improving concentration.
To celebrate Book Week, our team have chosen our favourite children’s books that we both loved as kids and read to our own. Check out our staff picks below!
Jonine’s Pick: Meg and Mog by Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski
“Meg and Mog is a classic series of stories about a witch named Meg and her cat Mog, and all the magical adventures they go on together. I used to read it to my kids when they were young, and we all loved it!”
Jonine, CEO
Lee-Anne’s Picks: Books about Kittens and Puppies
“My favourite books are all classics now. My all-time favourite is probably The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey. It’s one of the original 12 Little Golden Books and has sold nearly 15 million copies since 1942, making it one of the most popular children’s books of all time. It is about a naughty little puppy who goes out wandering and misses out on dinner and dessert. There is no more dessert until all the puppies stop digging holes under the fence! Another one I love is Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion! I remember this one from childhood as well. It’s about a dog who doesn’t want a bath. He finally gets so dirty his owners don’t recognise him so he has to beg for a bath to get clean so they know it’s him! And lastly, I love The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown, another Little Golden Book. It’s a book about how mixing colours makes all the colours of the rainbow and so I’ve always remained fascinated by that.”
Lee-Anne, Business Development Executive
Susan’s Pick: Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae
“It is a story about Gerald the giraffe who wants nothing more than to dance, but with such long legs he finds it very hard so with a little help from a friend he finds his groove and declares – ‘we can all dance when we find music that we love’. I love this book as my husband used to read it to my three boys over many years and every time he read it, he had tears in his eyes.”
Susan, Clinical Services Manager
Sarah’s Pick: Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
“I have read it to my daughter since before she was born. Five years on we know it word for word and have even seen the stage performance at the Heath Ledger Theatre. It’s an amazing journey about a witch losing things and finding new friends along the way. An unlikely bunch of friends but when a dragon tries to eat the witch they all band together to save her. We love it!”
Sarah, Clinical Coordinator
Lisa’s Pick: Wombat Stew by Marcia Vaughan
“This classic Australian book is easy to make into a sensory story for all children to enjoy! For example, you can create a story sack like I did with some stuffed animals and feathers to create different textures.”
Lisa, Play Therapist
Michelle’s Pick: Hello Australia by Megan McKean
“The pictures are so vibrant and I love being able to take my children on a tour of Australia through the pages of this book, to learn about our different states, animals, plants and landmarks.”
Michelle, People and Culture Manager
Maggie’s Pick: The Adventures of Pipi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
“The Adventures Of Pipi Longstocking is a great book for six to ten year-olds, full of silliness and adventure. It’s a story of an unconventional, orphaned nine-year-old girl with superhuman strength, long red hair in braids, oversized shoes, and her pet monkey (Mr Nilsson), her horse, a chest of gold coins and the adventures she has with her best friends Tommy and Annika. The stories provide adults and school-aged children with many laughs, moral values. The stories often solve conflict and bullying with non-violence. Pipi is described as witty, generous and playful.”
Maggie, Clinical Educator
Hannah’s Pick: The Witches by Roald Dahl
“I loved Roald Dahl’s The Witches book and movie. It’s a great story to use your imagination to, like with all his other books. As a kid, we always wanted to discover something hidden (like Narnia) and in this book, the main character discovers witches! But he turns into a mouse as a consequence.”
Hannah, Rostering Administrator
Liz’s Pick: Peepo by Allan and Jane Ahlberg
“My favourite storybook that I read over and over to my kids was Peepo. This was a tough choice to make as there were sooo many I could have picked. I loved this book because it was a rhyming book with a lovely sense of humour, it was engaging and the illustrations reminded me of England.”
Liz, Clinical Coordinator
Jane’s Pick: Matilda by Roald Dahl
“I used to love Matilda because she was super smart, loved to read and challenged all those bullies (girl power!). Her superpowers just made her even more awesome. Anything by Roald Dahl though is just awesome for kids and a definite recommendation from me!”
Jane, Clinical Nurse
Dani’s Pick: A Fish Out of Water by Helen Palmer
“Some of my most cherished childhood memories come from my mum reading to my sister and I before bedtime. A Fish Out of Water, was a long-time favourite, it’s about a little boy who overfeeds his goldfish which then continues to grow and grow. We loved the fun story and all the rhyming. It’s the perfect book to follow for beginner readers.”
Dani, Digital Marketing Coordinator
Nikki’s Picks: Children Mystery & Adventure Novels
“When I was a kid, I went through the whole series of The Famous Five and The Secret Seven by Enid Blyton, and Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene. I even bought a box set of The Famous Five to pass on to my girls.”
Nikki, Clinical Educator
Tanya’s Pick: We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
“I loved reading this with my kids because it shows that a book can be more than a story, it can also be interactive. There are plenty of fun scenes to act out and verbal cues that everyone can join in on.”
Tanya, Administration/Finance
These books hold stories that we have all cherished over many years, did we include your favourite? We would love to know if you read any of our book recommendations, reach out to us on our Facebook page.
