It’s quite a task to choose just 6 books from the wealth of great literature that exists, but Herok have selected our top 6 books for six year olds which have stood the test of time. We all used to love them as kids and it’s a joy to read them again to our youngsters today.
6. The Owl and the Pussycat
By Edward Lear, published by Templar,
RRP £5.99
What’s the story: The absurd and fanciful verses of this poem have enchanted generations of readers, children and adults alike. Lear wrote the poem for a three-year-old girl, Janet Symonds, the daughter of Lear’s friend poet John Addington Symonds.
Why we love it: The richness of language and the comical and quirky characters amuse both the reader and the listener. Completely mad with rhymes galore. Whoever heard of an owl and a pussy cat falling in love and being married by a pig?! Not I…
First published: 2006 (poem first published in 1871).
5. The Twits
By Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake, published by Puffin, RRP £5.99
What’s the story: Mr and Mrs Twit are dreadful and disgusting. They love nothing more than wallowing in their filthy habits and playing cruel tricks on each other. So the Muggle-Wump monkeys and the Roly-Poly bird hatch a clever plan to give the ghastly duo their just-desserts!
Why we love it: This is one of Dahl’s shorter books making it perfect for a child aged six to tackle on their own. There’ll be woops and cheers as the nastiest couple in children’s literature get their final comeuppance and get ‘the shrinks’.
First published: 1980
4. The Velveteen Rabbit
By Margery Williams, illustrated by William Nicholson, published by Egmont, RRP £5.99
What’s the story: The Velveteen Rabbit is a newcomer and asks the oldest and most knowledgeable of all the toys in the nursery, the Skin Horse, what it is to be ‘Real’. It’s not how you’re made but what happens to you. When a child loves you then you become real. And so begins the story of the Velveteen Rabbit and his quest to become ‘Real’ through the love of a child.
Why we love it: This plays with the idea that toys want to become real just as much as children do. The ending is poignant and significant – reality means something different for the rabbit than he anticipated, but it is a joyous happening nonetheless. The Skin Horse, the rabbit and the boy are all real, and serve as an extended parable on how good relationships can overcome much adversity.
First published: 1922
3. A Bear Called Paddington
By Michael Bond, illustrated by Peggy Fortnum, published by Harper Collins, RRP £4.99
What’s the story: When Bond bought the last teddy bear on a shop shelf he was inspired to write about the adventures of the accident prone bear ‘from Darkest Peru’. Sitting on a suitcase at Paddington station with a tag around his neck which reads ‘Please look after this bear. Thank you’, the good intended Mr and Mrs Brown take him in to their home and their lives are never quite the same again. For ordinary things become quite extraordinary when a bear called Paddington is involved.
Why we love it: Paddington is truly a British institution. This is a favourite for all generations to read aloud or alone. Stephen Fry is a big fan saying he has ‘always had respect for Paddington’. You certainly will too.
First published: 1958
2. Just So Stories
By Rudyard Kipling, published by Puffin, RRP £6.99
What’s the story: These gorgeous, magical tales, explain how things came to be, including how the leopard got his spots and the camel his hump and the ingenious invention of the alphabet. Kipling’s compilation of very tender and often laughable stories has become firm favourites since they were first published over 100 years ago.
Why we love it: Kipling narrates the story as if he’s addressing one person, ‘best beloved’. He was in fact addressing his daughter Josephine who sadly died very young of pneumonia. Reading the stories to your own Best Beloved will be as touching as Kipling had meant it to be.
First published: 1902
1. Flat Stanley
By Jeff Brown, illustrated by Scott Nash,
published by Egmont, RRP £3.99
What’s the story: After a billboard falls on top of him, squashing him flat, Stanley Lambchop lives a new and deliciously dotty life – being posted to California to visit an old school friend (so much cheaper than buying a seat on a plane) to turning himself into a kite for his little brother. Stanley saves the day by catching a bunch of museum thieves by posing as a shepherdess in a painting. Not bad for a boy that’s only half an inch thick.
Why we love it: Anyone who’s read this book remembers it forever. This is a book which shows that heroes can come in all shapes and sizes (…and thicknesses).
First published: 1968
We hope you like our selected top 6 books for six year olds. When it comes to storing traditional books Herok have the answer too. We manufacture sturdy Kinderboxes, book trolleys, library shelving, book and media spinners, book displays and reading corners in a great range of colours. See www.Herok.com for further details of all of our school library furniture products.
