This article is a continuation of Books for 0-6-year-olds, with some books that blend between years.
Growing up and facts of life
It is never too early to discuss such an important topic as body safety education. We can’t afford to be squeamish and avoid difficult conversations. Some of these books should be read once or twice per month.
- My Body! What I Say Goes!: Teach children about body safety, safe and unsafe touch, private parts, consent, respect, secrets and surprises – if I were to pick just a few books from this category, this would be my first choice: stranger danger, private parts, surprises versus secrets.
- Body Safety Education: A parents’ guide to protecting kids from sexual abuse – every family should have a copy. This book presents the signs of sexual abuse, how to teach Body Safety Education, and, more importantly, what to do if a child talks about sexual abuse.
- Some Secrets Should Never Be Kept: Protect children from unsafe touch by teaching them to always speak up – By the power of storytelling, my daughter understood that children should speak out about improper touching.
- Not Everyone Is Nice: Helping Children Learn Caution with Strangers – a great book to start a conversation about stranger/danger.
- Amazing You!: Getting Smart About Your Private Parts
- Where Willy went – I find the concept endearing: a little sperm, Willy, that wants to win the big prize, an egg.
- Help Your Kids with Growing Up: A No-Nonsense Guide to Puberty and Adolescence
- Any book from Molly Potter, these books are fantastic tools to help children learn social skills:
- How are you feeling today?
- Let’s Talk About the Birds and the Bees: Starting conversations about the facts of life
- Will you be my friend?
- What’s Going On Inside My Head?: Starting conversations with your child about positive mental health
- What’s Worrying You?: A mindful picture book to help small children overcome big worries
- Let’s Talk About When Someone Dies
- It’s OK to Cry
- If I get lost – clearly explained steps on what to do if a child gets lost. An absolute must buy.
Science
- My Encyclopedia of Very Important Things – lots of details, without feeling overwhelming.
- My Encyclopedia of Very Important Animals – just like above, plenty of exciting things to find out.
- On The Origin of Species
Diversity
- We Are All Born Free: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Pictures
- Julian Is a Mermaid and Julian at the wedding
- Children Just Like Me Ultimate Sticker Book – learning about different cultures
- This Is How We Do It: One Day in the Lives of Seven Kids from around the World or This Is How I Do It: One Day in the Life of You and 59 Real Kids from Around the World – fragments from the daily life of schoolchildren from different countries: what they eat, what they wear, how they travel to school, what their classrooms look like and how they relax after school.
Inspiring people
- Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls
- Stories for Boys Who Dare to be Different
- Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World
- Zen Pencils – Inspirational Quotes for Kids
Storytelling
- Harry Potter illustrated edition
- Jill Tomlinson
- Dr Seuss books, we got A Classic Case Of Dr Seuss, that is not available any more on Amazon. I will leave this link for possible options, as a case is a much better value than individual books (in 2017, I paid 27 pounds for 20 books). These books are a complete hit in our house, read, reread, and full pages are memorized and narrated through the day.
- The books from Andrea Beaty – Sofia Valdez, the future president, Rosie Revere, the engineer, Ada Twist, the scientist, Iggy Peck, the architect, are great role models, showing that small actions can have a big impact. “Most people like good, Sofia liked better.”
- Pettson and Findus books from Swedish writer Sven Nordqvist. This is a delightful series with whimsical and often hillarious illustrations about a quirky old man and his talking cat.
Poetry
Exquisite books
- I talked about wimmelbooks in this article. We have Mein Wimmelhaus, Die große Anne Suess Wimmelbox, an English edition for Rotraut Susanne Berner seasons’ book and a German edition for her night book (Wimmlingen by day and night is an amazing value for money, all five books in one big volume).
- The Street Beneath My Feet and The Skies Above My Eyes – fascinating foldable books.
- Carl Warner’s Food Landscapes – a book that can be read at 4, 6, 9 years as more details are discovered with every new reading session.
- Inside the villains – astonishing book, with an insane amount of details and imagination. Some books are just works of art.