Here is a list of some great stories you and your child will love:

1. The Caboose Who Got Loose by Bill Peet

   If your little one enjoys trains, this is a wonderful story of a caboose who is unhappy with her life at the end of the train.

2. Walter the Farting Dog by William Kotzwinkle, Glenn Murray and Audrey Colman

   Yes, it's a crude title and subject, but the story is well-written and you can't help but love Walter.

3. My Big Dog by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel

   Merl, a cat who is set in his way, is miffed when a new puppy is added to the household. The characters are so real...these writers definitely understand cats and dogs and the people who think they own them.

4. Edward the Emu by Sheena Knowles and Rod Clement

   "Edward the emu was sick of the zoo,
   There was nowhere to go, there was nothing to do,
   And compared to the seals that lived right next door,
   Well being an emu was frankly a bore." That's the beginning of Edward the Emu and the rest is as good or even better. It's a great story about being who you are.

5. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin

   This is a short, hilarious tale about what happens when cows start making demands of the farmer and are willing to go to great lengths until he addresses their grievances.

6. The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant and Stephen Gammell

   Such a well-written book deserves to be read again and again to youngsters, although the adults may enjoy it as much or more than the kiddos.

7. The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss

   It's a lot of reading and there are some rather grim scenes, but it's still a great story that keeps the attention of both young and old.

If any of these books have been missed by your radar when looking for great children's books, pick up one or two and give them a read with your favorite five-year-old child and be prepared for many requests to "read it again."

Dr Seuss or Theodore Seuss Giesel was born on the 2nd March 1904. Ted, as he was known to his friends, studied at Oxford, produced training literature and instruction films for troops fighting in Germany and Japan during World War II and eventually became an early ecological commentator. Concerned at the consequences of the evolving western society having too much of a good thing and effecting the natural environmental, Seuss penned The Lorax, a tale of a Once-ler building a large business to the detriment of the Truffala trees and their associates creatures. However, despite the large and successful catalogue of his work that, at the time of his death in 2001, has resulted in over 200 million sales world wide in 15 languages, it is the Beginner Book, The Cat in the Hat, probably the most recognisable of all his works.

So, what of the famous hatted feline and his associates of red boxed fame? Written at the outset of his career, and some would say the catalyst for it, The Cat in the Hat shares the adventures of an uninvited cat who enters the house of young siblings whose mother is out of the house on a cold wet day. Bringing with him his own brand of tricks, chaos ensues as he attempts to bring smiles to the bored children watching the rain at the window. Being reprimanded by the childrens gold fish, who ends up lecturing from the confines of a teapot, the cat, after standing on a ball and holding up various domestic items, falls and crashes to the floor breaking several items and generally creating a large mess.

Undeterred by the demonstrations by the fish in the pot to leave, the cat continues with his tricks bringing in a large red box with a hook and unleashes two red suited, blue haired creatures referred to as Thing One and Thing Two. The two creatures then wreck their own brand of havoc on the children's house until caught in a net by the young boy and shut back in their red box by the Cat in the Hat.

Spying the children's mother returning the fish starts to panic at the thought of her reaction to the huge domestic mess left by the cats tricks. However, the Cat returns once more with a machine to tidy the house and everything is clean and tidy as the children's mother makes her on the final page of the book with a shapely leg, red jacket and foxy pair of black mary janes.

Part of the Beginner Book Series written by Seuss for new readers increasing their vocabularies, the books simple illustrations using a limited variation of just three colours, are effective in drawing attention to the important details. The story is easy to follow, the concepts simple and the minimal number of characters keeps the reader focused on the antics of the central characters actions. The introduction of Thing One and Thing Two add an unexpected twist to the plot and the excitement of how the Cat will rescue the situation at the end with imminent arrival of the children's mother is crucial.

However, the true star of the Cat in the Hat, as with all Seuss writing is the language. For adults reading to children the language is expressive, the rhymes consistent, the pace quickens and slows in line with the story unfolding and the repetition of words is a useful leaning tool in the vocabulary of the recipient child.

Written over 50 years ago, the story is as compelling and fun now, as it was then and it would seem that imaginations the world over continue to be smitten by the possibility of a rainy day appearance of a stripy hatted feline and two blue haired vertically challenged associates. If Seuss didn't change the course of children's fiction, he certainly brightened it.

1. Eric Carle

   He is one of my favorite children's book authors. He wrote The Very Hungry Caterpillar (about the transformational changes from egg to cocoon to butterfly), The Mixed Up Chameleon (about self-identity) and many more. The Very Busy Spider was also written for the visually impaired in mind with its raised printing.

2. Dr Seuss

   This author is well-known for his rhyming text such as in his books The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham. He also stimulates children's imagination with his unusual creatures. Great books for beginning readers!

3. J.K. Rowling

   Some parents may be wary of this woman. She writes about witchcraft and wizardry. I personally have read all the Harry Potter series and I don't find anything wrong if my children read them. Rowling writes good English and that's what I want my children to be exposed to. Kids nowadays could learn a thing or two about the intricacies of long-lasting friendship.

4. Enid Blyton

   I grew up with Enid Blyton, reading The Famous Five series, the adventures at Malory Towers and St. Clare's, The Wishing Chair adventures, and many more. She also created the character Noddy. Her books have enjoyed great successes in many parts of the world. If your kids love adventure stories, you could introduce them to some of her books.

5. Roald Dahl

   I love this author! James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Twits, The BFG, and The Witches are some of my favorite children's book. His wickedly funny tales are cherished by children all over the world.

6. Joanna Cole & Bruce Degen

   If you want something educational for your children, try reading The Magic School Bus science series written by these two brilliant authors. They dwell on scientific explanations about everyday matters such as Inside the Human Body, On the Ocean Floor and Inside a Beehive. They bring young readers deep into the topic, literally. Sort of like a CSI cinematographical experience!

7. C.S. Lewis

   He wrote The Chronicles of Narnia, a wonderful collection of seven stories that will develop your children's vivid imagination. The most popular of the chronicle has to be The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Its tales of fascinating creatures and great battles between good and evil will continue to fascinate many generations to come.

8. E.B. White

   His two famous books, Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, are often regarded as classics in the field of children's genre. Many kids will grow up recalling the memorable tale of Wilbur, the little pig who became famous, with the help of his clever friend Charlotte.

9. Lewis Carroll

   His most famous books include Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. Some considered his genre to be literary nonsense. But he really is one of the best writers and his books are often analyzed for its underlying messages. Children need not understand that; they could just enjoy the fantasy stories.

10. Roger Hargreaves

    Working with people who have different traits is one of the things children will have to learn in their lives. The Little Miss and Mister Men series are great books to showcase varied characters in people. Examples include Little Miss Shy, Little Miss Naughty, Mr. Mischief and the like. Children need to learn to accept people for who they are. Not only do your children learn about other people, they also learn something about themselves too.

If your children have not been exposed to these authors, make sure you get some books suggested above on your next trip to the bookstore. Their books are a must-have in every home.

The Characters

Our first glimpse into the book reveals a young, trendy character racing back and forth, proudly proclaiming his name, “Sam-I-Am”. In the background we see a frustrated old curmudgeon, reading a paper and angered by the hustling and bustling of the impossible Sam-I-Am.

The old curmudgeon who remains unnamed throughout the story represents the generation that parented the flower children and beatniks of the fifties and sixties. This older generation often appeared to be set in their ways and hesitant to accept change. The story itself is timeless: the older, more conservative generation represents a generation afraid to try anything new or different. The lack of a name seems to be indicating a creature that is not unique or not aware of self—he is unworthy of being named because there is nothing about him that separates him from anyone else.

Sam-I-Am on the other hand, represents the new generation. The very fact that he is named and that I proclaims himself an “I-Am” signifies a creature demanding notice and who is self-actualized (a common theme of the youth movement of the sixties.) Sam-I-Am is always on the go and eager to implement change. He lets everyone he meets know who he is and invites even the namless to try something new.

Green Eggs as Black Equality?

So what is this malicious change the incouragable Sam-I-Am is trying to establish? He wants the old curmudgeon to eat green eggs and ham. This is a ludicrous request. After all, anyone who has ever had the displeasure of cleaning out a refridgerator knows that when eggs and ham turn green that it is not a good thing. You certainly do not eat them; you throw them out.

But Sam-I-Am is not throwing them out. He has embraced them and has come to love them and is now trying to persuade others to include green eggs and ham in their daily routine. The curmudgeon refuses to have anything to do with it, though and tries to turn away from Sam. Sam does not back off, though, and we find ourselves with sixty-two pages of adventure as Sam chases the curmudgeon desperately trying to find any situation that the older creature would be willing to try this new idea.

Alas! The curmudgeon, chased into a pond and fed up, gives in to the relentless requests and tries the insane concoction with the stern warning that he will not like them only to discover that not only does he like them, he loves them! He would eat them anywhere and everywhere. He would eat them with any other kind of creature: suddenly the idea of eating with a fox or in a box does not seem so ludicrous.

Now, imagine the green eggs and ham were not green eggs and ham, but a friendship with a black man. And imagine that the fox is not a fox, but an American Indian and that the box is actually a Japanese home. Would the older generation be willing to try these things? Absolutely not, but Sam and the youth movement were confident that the world would be a better place if all of these cultures could come together. They relentlessly pressed the issue: through sit-ins and love-ins, through protests, through setting examples, and through persistent public discourse.

Relevance for Today

Perhaps the curmudgeon says it best when he states, “I do so like green eggs and ham! Thank you! Thank you, Sam-I-Am!”

More than forty years later we have come a long way… yet we still have a long way to go in the efforts of racial equality. Much of our fears stem from senseless xenophobia as we find our culture clashing against others. Often, we are expected to try something as ridiculous as eating green eggs and ham, and we automatically assume that we will not like them. We reject them without even trying them… but imagine the possibilities if we did!