Creating the Ultimate Kids Bookshelf

A friend of mine recently held her baby shower. In lieu of gifts, she asked every guest to bring their favourite book for her new bubs to enjoy over the years. She asked each person to write a little message inside the front cover to make it very personal. What a wonderful idea, I thought! It got us at Winter Rosie HQ thinking about what books would be great to feature on your little one’s bookshelf or on your to-borrow list at the local library. We asked you, our amazing community, and put our own heads together to put together this list of 10 books for little ones.

Head over to our Ultimate Kids Bookshelf Pinterest board for more of our book selections and further ideas!

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
A perfect one for just before bed, with timeless images of a little bunny ready for bed and a quick reading time. This calming book has sent little ones off to sleep for generations.

Possum Magic by Mem Fox
An Australian classic with the most magical story accompanied by beautiful illustrations. Who remembers the accompanying cookbook?

Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
Published in 1957, Doctor Seuss is still grabbing the attention of kids today with his cheeky main character and his friends Thing One and Thing Two. A very mischievous adventure is to be had within the pages of this classic!

Aunty’s Wedding by Miranda Tapsell
You may remember Miranda Tapsell for her roles in The Sapphires and Love Child, this is her second kids book. A lovely story for all children about the importance of love, family and culture.

Animalia by Graeme Base
Does anyone else remember receiving this book as a kid and being transfixed by it? An absolute visual feast, full of so many things to see and find. I don’t think there’s any other book quite like Animalia! For littler kids, there is also “My First Animalia”.

Grug by Ted Prior
OK, I'll admit - my family might have a Grug problem. Call me a Gruggie, it’s OK. Every new Grug book that comes out, we must have it. Oh Grug has a boxset? We need it. What’s not to like, he’s the top of a Burrawang tree that fell to the ground and is now on his own adventures!

No One Likes a Fart by Zoe Foster-Blake
Thanks to Adam Nickel’s illustrations, this is the cutest fart we ever did see. Most importantly this book is full of giggle-inducing fart jokes but mostly it’s about friendships and being different! What’s not to like? Definitely not this fart.

Hairy Maclairy from Donaldson’s Dairy by Lynley Dodd
This is a great one for kids being read to or learning to read, our copy of Hairy Maclary has been passed around so much between kids, its looking worse for wear! Lots of rhyming and plenty of fun, like a modern day Dr Suess, Hairy Maclary is the cheeky hero we all need!

What are Little Girls Made Of? by Jeanne Willis
This is a modern retelling of some classic fairy tales, with a twist. In this version, Humpty Dumpty is fixed by a little girl doctor and Georgie Porgie wouldn’t dare to make little girls cry! This book is great for our amazing, fearless little girls to teach them they can be anything they want to be. 

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
From the same creators of another iconic kids book, The Gruffalo, this book is full of lots of rhymes that kids love to say and a wonderful story. A bedtime favourite and also one for little ones that like to look for things to spot!


As there are so many wonderful reads - we couldn’t stop at 10, we wanted to include some notable mentions to add to your list :
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake
I Just Couldn’t Wait to Meet You
Where Is The Green Sheep?
Pig the Pug
Wombat Stew
Do NOT Open This Book
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
The Little Engine That Could
Madeline
Charlotte’s Web
ANYTHING by Roald Dahl (we couldn’t choose one!)
The Secret Garden
Harriet the Spy
The Rainbow Fish

Please let us know what your favourites are and happy reading!