Wow 2016 has been some year! BookBairn has gone from a babbling baby to a little chatterbox, from a crawler to a walker, from a highly ...

Best Reads of 2016

Saturday, December 31, 2016 BookBairn 16 Comments


Wow 2016 has been some year! BookBairn has gone from a babbling baby to a little chatterbox, from a crawler to a walker, from a highly dependent baby to an independent little thinker with a mind of her own. Goodbye baby, hello toddler. And it has been amazing! Like most parents, I'm in awe of all her daily achievements, many of which are now a blur as she whizzes on to learn the next thing. She still loves her books, but now it's impossible to get her to sit and read something that she doesn't want to read - we hear the phrase "don't like it" more regularly than ever and she can now request her bedtime reads by title. She can make choices. And that is fascinating.

So here are five books, published this year that she chooses over and over again. (I won't go into to much detail here as we have reviewed them all on the blog previously - just click the titles below to link to the original reviews.)


Nibbles the Book Monster - Emma Yarlett

This is a book that is constantly lying around our house. It's pulled from the book cupboard, lives on the toy box, or features on our favourites shelf. But wherever I put it, it never stays shut for long. Daddy, BookBairn and myself all love to read this story together but it's also one that BookBairn enjoys reading on her own. If you haven't discovered this book this year - you really must hunt down a copy! It is beautiful, funny, clever and keeps little ones busy for long enough to enjoy a hot cup of tea - what more could you ask for?

Oi Dog - Kes and Claire Grey and Jim Field

I could not wait for the release of this book and it did not disappoint! The rhymes are just ingenious, and the illustrations are laugh out loud. It's a real delight to find a book that we can all enjoy re-reading night after night, time and time again. There are lots of lovely books out there but there are few that will appeal to children and adults the way that this one does.

Pom Pom the Champion - Sophy Henn

BookBairn just loves these books - perhaps it's because she can sympathise with the grumpy toddler panda who likes to get his own way, perhaps she adores the colourful illustrations, perhaps she likes that Pom Pom does the same sorts of things as her? Who knows? But she loves him. And I think he's pretty darn cute too!

Together - Emma Dodd

"Today we had a dreamy day, we watched the clouds float by." 2016 has been a year of dreamy days for us, and BookBairn often falls asleep just after this book. She has requested it more than any other at nap and bed times. And she can recite much of it by herself. It's poetic, beautiful and brings a tear to my eye to read it with her. One of the most magical books of the year. It will make you proud to be a parent and want to squeeze one more cuddle in just before bedtime!

Tickle My Ears - Jorg Muhle

A lovely story that will help little ones get ready for bed. An interactive story that avoids the flaps, touch and feel or loop-the-loop gimmicks to get children involved in the story. It simply asks them to join in with the routine. And BookBairn loves it! She loves helping Little Rabbit get ready for bed. Bedtime story perfection.

Some honourable mentions (Mummy loves them but BookBairn is still too little to appreciate them) go to:

Welcome - Barroux
Feelings - Libby Walden and Richard Jones
The Colour Monster - Anna Llenas
Frida Kahlo - Isabel Sanchez Vergara and Gee Fan Eng
Amelia Earhart - Isabel Sanchez Vergara and Mariadiamantes 


This is by no means an exclusive list, I realise I've missed off so many great books but I thought I should limit myself so that I could get this post written before 2016 was over!

Look out for our post tomorrow sharing the 2017 books that we are most looking forward to!

Hope you all had a wonderful 2016! 

Happy Hogmanay, Mummy and BookBairn x



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16 comments:

  1. What a great post! I loved these books too. Yesterday's nap time story was Together and BookBairn obviously enjoyed every word and illustration, touching each one softly with her hands. Nibbles is terrific and I've a great fondness for Pom Pom too,

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    1. You can tell they are definitely her favourites as she has shared them all with you! xx

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  2. I love Nibbles. He's my kind of monster.

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    1. Mine too! He's rocking a new look at the moment as he regularly wears Mt Potato Head's glasses! xx

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  3. I just looooove those Emma Dodd books! Excellent choices, and cheers to 2017!!

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    1. Thanks Mel! Emma Dodd's books are the ones I wish I had written. Beautiful in every way! Happy 2017! xx

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  4. Some wonderful choices there, looking forward to seeing more reviews this year :) thanks for sharing with #ReadWithMe

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    1. Thanks Chantelle! Looking forward to reading yours too! xx

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  5. How lovely! It's great that she is already choosing her own favourite books. I remember a few books we had to read over and over again when my kids were little. I can probably still recite them now!

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    1. I love that she can make choices for herself and is starting to show preferences. Though sometimes it makes taking photos of her reading books difficult as she just doesn't fancy reading the one I'm trying to review! I think the blog will become more about her choices as time goes on! x

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  6. Oi dog and Oi frog were our best book buys this Christmas for the older two x
    #readwithme

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    1. Absolutely brilliant books! Great choices from the gift giver! x

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  7. Another great year for Bookbairn, love your reviews! We still haven't read nibbles!! A must for 2017. Happy New Year! #readwithme

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    1. I'm going to have to unfriend you if you don't get Nibbles soon! Happy New Year xx

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  8. We love Nibbles too and I saw an advance copy of Nibbles and the Dinosaurs at Frankfurt Book Fair this year. Can't wait for it to be published!

    #readwithme

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    1. OMG! Nibbles and Dinosaurs! How did I not know this?! Amazing! Thanks for the scoop! x

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