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I Don’t Read Berry and Dolly, But These Are My Go-To Books for My 5-Year-Old

Barbara Lee3 min read
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I Don’t Read Berry and Dolly, But These Are My Go-To Books for My 5-Year-Old — Family
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Neil Gaiman: Fortunately, the Milk

Neil Gaiman: Fortunately, the Milk
Both my daughter’s dad and I are big Gaiman fans, but somehow we missed that besides comics, novels, and short stories, Gaiman also wrote a children’s book—and what a gem!

Shortly after my daughter was born, I stumbled upon a post about Fortunately, the Milk and immediately started hunting it down. Smart move, since it was published in Hungarian in limited numbers and isn’t easy to find. Still, I managed to get it before her first birthday, and it patiently waited on the shelf for its moment.

The story is short and sweet: the dad—who, surprise, resembles Gaiman himself—runs out to get milk for the kids’ breakfast but takes a long time coming back. His son and daughter suspect he stopped to chat, but he assures them he went on a wild time-travel adventure in a stegosaurus airship, battled vampires, saved the universe from evil aliens, all while carefully guarding the milk he just brought home.

Gaiman’s quirky, brilliant humor shines through even here. My daughter loved it, we still quote it, and I couldn’t be happier that one of my favorite authors is now one of hers too.

Magda Szabó: Fairy Lala

Magda Szabó: Fairy Lala
I’m bending the rules a bit—I only just placed this book by our bed today, but I can’t wait to dive in. I was about 5 when my mom first read me Fairy Lala’s heartbreakingly beautiful story—a fairy tale about friendship and love—and I’m excited to introduce my daughter to this world. Fairy Lala’s impact on me is clear: Amalfi’s coast is on my travel bucket list because of Captain Amalfi, I loved Szabó Magda’s novels as an adult, and there’s a line from Fairy Lala I still quote from memory 30 years later: “Here is the king of the water folk, the dwarf goblins, the one-eyed giants, the animals, here is Justin, the most famous jurist, here is Omicron, whose head is full of knowledge, here is the queen herself, the fairy queen, and all their power and resistance crumble before one single word: orphan child!”

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls
I received this book as a gift from a friend when my daughter was born, so we had to wait a bit to be ready for it. Recently, we read all the stories, and I’m so glad we did.

My daughter loved hearing that every story “really happened, and these girls are all real.” The book gently and thoughtfully touches on sensitive topics—from the importance of consent to how democracy works—and it proved you can absolutely have these conversations with a 5-year-old, and you should!

Though I have a daughter, I’d encourage parents of boys to grab this book too, because every kid deserves to hear that anyone can be a hero.

Gerald Durrell: My Family and Other Animals

Gerald Durrell: My Family and Other Animals
Okay, I admit this one challenged us a bit—there are way more descriptive scenes than I remembered, and around page 200-something, my kid lost interest. But surprisingly, there were plenty of parts she really enjoyed. She got most of the jokes and loved the scene where scorpions hidden in a matchbox scatter around the house, much to the family’s horror. I’d say this book is best for kids a year or two older and familiar with literature. For younger ones, Durrell’s Around the World in a Flying Boat might be a better start. It’s actually on the agenda at our daughter’s preschool right now.

Cover photo and illustrations: istockphoto.com
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