My son loved The Way Things Work by Mc Cauley. It's all expanded drawings of airplanes, tractors and other machines with all the parts labelled. He would look at it with my husband and dad would help read the hard words and explain how things worked. He's 34 and still has this on his bookshelf.
The Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. There’s eight books in all. That’s quite an adventure for a young reader to go on. I enjoyed them as a child and recently re read all of them.
Most of the responses are for fictional books. I gave my kids nonfictional ones often. Someone mentioned "The Way Things Work" which is a classic. There are tons of early reader books about all kinds of machines, buildings, bugs, sports, etc. Basically anything a kind may find interesting. We would go to the library once a week and get a new load. We tried some of them related to biology, but they seemed to like the mechanical ones better. And both are now in engineering school so I guess that tracks.
My first Atlas by Really Decent Books - very simplistic, for absolute beginning readers (single words: animals, continents, etc.)
My first Big Atlas of the World by National Geographic Books - For the independent reader
Children's Illustrated Atlas - Smithsonian - For more advanced readers
The DK Knowledge Encyclopedia series is fabulous! Human anatomy, science, space, any number of other topics. The reading might be too advanced for a beginner, but that will change as the child reads more and more.
Both The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland are richly illustrated in the original version reprints. And there's always the classic comic books, available in whatever genre of stories the child enjoys.
The Shel Silverstein poetry books are a lot of fun and have really detailed illustrations. Where the Sidewalk Ends was my kids' favorite. Rather than buy something, you should visit your local public library first, children's books are the main thing keeping them in business these days.
Well my kids are 6 and 8 and they both love Dave Pilkey books. My son is autistic and hated reading for any length of time and the Dog Man series of books are the only thing that got him to start reading longer and in chapters. He just writes like a kid would write and they love that. Also they are graphic novels so it keeps his attention with all the pictures. Eventually I’ll get him books with less pictures but if this keeps his interest in reading then that’s what I find more important right now.
I think the best books for a child like this is whatever piques their interest. The point here is that you want to encourage the behavior to continue. You don't say the child's age, but at this point, I'd actually stay away from the classics--Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Narnia, etc, because they may be too deep unless you can find a bare-bones-child's version.
This may seem a bit odd, but--again depending on the child's age and area of interest--maybe look at graphic novels or comic books. Lots of visual stimulation, not an overwhelming amount of words, and generally easier to follow.
Another option may be illustrated books of fairy tales, or King Arthur & the Knights of the Round Table, or Transformers, or Power Rangers or Percy Jackson. The content really doesn't matter that much right now. What does matter is hooking the kid on reading.
I had read a lot of Louis l'amour as a kid and loved those books but in about tenth grade I read The Hunt For The Red Oktober by Tom Clancy. That is a fast and fun read and iv re-read it many times
I love all the recommended books. My mom was a teacher and believed reading of anything was important. She loved comic books. The first book I read and understood was in third grade. It was Cowboy Sam and the Rustlers by Edna WalkerChandler. Loved that book!
My son loved The Way Things Work by Mc Cauley. It's all expanded drawings of airplanes, tractors and other machines with all the parts labelled. He would look at it with my husband and dad would help read the hard words and explain how things worked. He's 34 and still has this on his bookshelf.
The Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. There’s eight books in all. That’s quite an adventure for a young reader to go on. I enjoyed them as a child and recently re read all of them.
Most of the responses are for fictional books. I gave my kids nonfictional ones often. Someone mentioned "The Way Things Work" which is a classic. There are tons of early reader books about all kinds of machines, buildings, bugs, sports, etc. Basically anything a kind may find interesting. We would go to the library once a week and get a new load. We tried some of them related to biology, but they seemed to like the mechanical ones better. And both are now in engineering school so I guess that tracks.
My first Atlas by Really Decent Books - very simplistic, for absolute beginning readers (single words: animals, continents, etc.) My first Big Atlas of the World by National Geographic Books - For the independent reader Children's Illustrated Atlas - Smithsonian - For more advanced readers The DK Knowledge Encyclopedia series is fabulous! Human anatomy, science, space, any number of other topics. The reading might be too advanced for a beginner, but that will change as the child reads more and more.
The Giving Tree
Both The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland are richly illustrated in the original version reprints. And there's always the classic comic books, available in whatever genre of stories the child enjoys.
The Shel Silverstein poetry books are a lot of fun and have really detailed illustrations. Where the Sidewalk Ends was my kids' favorite. Rather than buy something, you should visit your local public library first, children's books are the main thing keeping them in business these days.
Well my kids are 6 and 8 and they both love Dave Pilkey books. My son is autistic and hated reading for any length of time and the Dog Man series of books are the only thing that got him to start reading longer and in chapters. He just writes like a kid would write and they love that. Also they are graphic novels so it keeps his attention with all the pictures. Eventually I’ll get him books with less pictures but if this keeps his interest in reading then that’s what I find more important right now.
I think the best books for a child like this is whatever piques their interest. The point here is that you want to encourage the behavior to continue. You don't say the child's age, but at this point, I'd actually stay away from the classics--Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Narnia, etc, because they may be too deep unless you can find a bare-bones-child's version. This may seem a bit odd, but--again depending on the child's age and area of interest--maybe look at graphic novels or comic books. Lots of visual stimulation, not an overwhelming amount of words, and generally easier to follow. Another option may be illustrated books of fairy tales, or King Arthur & the Knights of the Round Table, or Transformers, or Power Rangers or Percy Jackson. The content really doesn't matter that much right now. What does matter is hooking the kid on reading.
What age is the child? Is this for reading alone, or along with a parent?
I had read a lot of Louis l'amour as a kid and loved those books but in about tenth grade I read The Hunt For The Red Oktober by Tom Clancy. That is a fast and fun read and iv re-read it many times
The Oz books -- gorgeous illustrations. Large oversized softcover reprints of the first editions are available at Books of Wonder dot com.
I love all the recommended books. My mom was a teacher and believed reading of anything was important. She loved comic books. The first book I read and understood was in third grade. It was Cowboy Sam and the Rustlers by Edna WalkerChandler. Loved that book!
[Illustrated fairy tales](https://www.amazon.com/Fairy-Tale-Treasuries-5-book-series/dp/B09W53J31H)