Camping with the Mediocre Dad

Camping tips, tricks and advice from a fairly average parent and a reformed dad blogger

Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Camping
  • Family Days Out
  • Sponsorship
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Why celebrate mediocrity?
Menu

Fatherhood²: Favourite Pre-school Bedtime Reads – UK vs North America

Posted on May 16, 2013January 7, 2018 by Henry Elliss

gruffaloWith so much talk of literacy and reading at the moment, I found myself curious to know whether the books we enjoy here in the UK are also enjoyed elsewhere in the world. As I’ve recently been invited to join a community of other Dad Bloggers – most of whom reside in North America – I thought now would be an ideal time to find out.

So, I posted a poll on my Facebook page, asking the following question: “Calling all British parents of 0-5 year olds: Which of these books feature amongst your favourite bedtime reads for the kids? Feel free to pick a few, and add your own suggestions too!”. I added a few of our own favourites, and they were soon joined by 30 more suggestions. Over 200 votes later, I had myself a top 10 list – which you can read below.

I asked the same question in the Dad Bloggers Facebook group. As you can see below, there isn’t a lot of crossover – I wasn’t expecting much, but the only books which made the list on both sides of the Atlantic are “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”, “Green Eggs and Ham” and “Guess How Much I Love You” – though “Where the Wild Things Are” gets a notable mention for *almost* making the UK list.

Anyway, there’s not a lot more for me to comment on at present – apart from the books that appear in both lists, I’ve not read any of the books in the second list. Though now that I’ve compiled it, I’m almost tempted the buy some of the North American favourites and compare the two lists myself.

If you’re more internationally well-read than myself, and have better experience of both lists, I’d love to know your thoughts. How do the two lists compare?

Anyway, here’s the lists…

The British List:

  1. The Gruffalo, by Julia Donaldson
  2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle
  3. The Tiger Who Came to Tea, by Judith Kerr
  4. The Snail and the Whale, by Julia Donaldson
  5. Room on the Broom, by Julia Donaldson
  6. Guess How Much I love You, by Sam McBratney
  7. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, by Michael Rosen
  8. The Smartest Giant in Town, by Julia Donaldson
  9. Peepo, by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
  10. Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss

Curious_Georg

The North American List:

  1. Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown
  2. Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss
  3. The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein
  4. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle
  5. Curious George, by Hans Augusto Rey
  6. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Numeroff
  7. Skippyjon Jones, by Judith Byron Schachner
  8. The Richard Scarry books
  9. Guess How Much I Love You, by Sam McBratney
  10. Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak

Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • WhatsApp
  • Print
  • american
  • Bedtime
  • Books
  • british
  • canadian
  • dadbloggers
  • fatherhood
  • literacy
  • Reading
  • UK
  • 1 thought on “Fatherhood²: Favourite Pre-school Bedtime Reads – UK vs North America”

    1. Mark says:
      May 16, 2013 at 8:14 pm

      We love the gruffalo. Just forgot about it

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    henweb

    henweb

    Pun-loving, 👨‍👦‍👦 dad-blogging, 📷 photo-taking, 🏰 Lego-making, 🎅🏿 beard-wearing, 👶 child-caring dad of 2. 💍 Husband of 1. 💩 Strategist

    View Full Profile →

    Instagram Gallery

    Spent a few hours in a client meeting this week wh Spent a few hours in a client meeting this week where this was the view from the meeting room. I’ve definitely seen worse views.
    Swipe to see where I spent today. It got busier, I Swipe to see where I spent today. It got busier, I promise
    Good morning from a frosty Brimpton Good morning from a frosty Brimpton
    Had the absolute pleasure of seeing @actualbenfold Had the absolute pleasure of seeing @actualbenfolds again last night, this time at the @royalalberthall. Not only was it an amazing concert, there was a big surprise at the end when he bought out both @doddleoddle AND the legendary @realmattlucas - what a treat!
    Went to the ‘Spectacle of Light’ at @welfordpa Went to the ‘Spectacle of Light’ at @welfordpark (where they film @britishbakeoff) and had a lovely autumnal stroll amongst the lights
    As today is ‘Back British Farming’ day, I want As today is ‘Back British Farming’ day, I wanted to give a shout-out to all the farmers in the local area, especially Brimpton’s own @mbowden1954. One of my favourite aspects of living where we do now is being surrounded by countryside and farm land - and being able to see an actively-farmed field at the end of our garden. Every time something’s being done to the field I’m out with my camera, usually trying to figure out the names of all the machinery - and it’s so nice to see a product being grown right from seed to harvest. I know it’s not easy for farmers at the moment, and I dearly hope ours are able to keep farming for many years to come - so if you have one near you, make sure to show them all the support you can!
    Load More… Follow on Instagram

    A little ad for some stuff




    Subscribe by RSS

    RSS Feed RSS – Posts

    Recent posts

    • The 7 Reasons I don’t post as much as I’d like to October 31, 2023
    • 5 Tips to Make Family Travel Easier December 2, 2022
    • 5 Great Camping Blogs You Should Follow August 18, 2022
    • Summer Holidays in the Mountains? 4 Reasons Why You Should Go for it! June 7, 2022
    • Family Camping for Beginners – A Guide to Buying a New Tent May 31, 2022

    A bigger ad for some stuff

    Recent Comments

    • RayCaldereta on 5 Great Camping Blogs You Should Follow
    • Family Camping for Beginners - The Ultimate Guide for first time campers | Camping with the Mediocre Dad on Family Camping for beginners – Food, glorious food
    • Tiana on Fatherhood²: The Ultimate Octonauts Quiz
    • The best camping gadgets for your next trip with the family | The Mediocre Dad on Family Camping for Beginners – The Ultimate Guide for first time campers
    • Dynamite dad blogs | Samuel Windsor on Family Camping for Beginners – The Ultimate Guide for first time campers

    My Brimpton Village history website

    My Mastodon profile

    © 2025 Camping with the Mediocre Dad | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme
    Find me on Mastodon