Books my children keep making me read

Hannah Coates, Tasmanian author and mother of two, shares the joys of reading - the same books, over and over again!

There was once a time when my children’s bedtime story requests (demands?) consisted solely of Peppa Pig titles. For almost two years, my suggestions of Mem Fox and Alison Lester were firmly rejected in favour of the pink piglet. 

Thankfully, that phase has passed us by. Peppa has now been replaced by Bluey. The most loved title in our collection is the ‘Grannies’ book. (If you’re not familiar, I can’t even begin to explain; you’ll have to go and watch it for yourself). I thought the boys liked this book because of my excellent ‘Janet’ and ‘Rita’ impressions. I was mistaken. Mr 5 loves the lenticular page, where you can tilt the book to make the grannies do a flossing dance. And Mr 3? Well, “the grannies are funny”. He’s right. They are.

Another current favourite is I’ll Wait, Mr. Panda, written and illustrated by Steve Antony. We must have borrowed this one from our local library about 20 times. Again, I thought the popularity was due to my excellent characterisation (I put on a different voice for each animal). Wrong again, Mum. Mr 3 likes joining in on the reading; he gets to be the voice of the penguin, who repeats “I’ll wait, Mr. Panda” throughout the story. Mr 5 enjoys counting the sprinkles on the giant doughnut (there are over 100…). I don’t mind reading this book over and over. It’s a cute concept with a good life lesson about being patient.

The third current fan favourite in our home is Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam - Pirates Ahoy by Tracey Corderoy, illustrated by Steven Lenton. We haven’t read any other Shifty McGifty titles, but my kids love boats and pirates, so this one was an instant hit. They both love checking out the different pirate ships and trying to locate the tiny spider on each page. Personally, I love a good rhyming book, and this one is really well written. 

Reading together has always been a really important part of our evening routine, and I look forward to it at the end of each day—even when the book choices are questionable!

Hannah Coates

Mother and storyteller

BIO:
Hannah Coates is a Tasmanian mother and storyteller. She lives on the beautiful East Coast, where her love for the ocean inspires her in all things. She has published two titles: A Home for Little Penguin and Have You Seen a Monotreme?