Finding suitable books for morning time can be a little tricky, as you want to choose books that your child will find interesting and enjoyable, but that are also easy to dip in and out of. There are so many wonderful books out there. Way too many for me to list here. For morning time, we are HUGE fans of the Usborne 100 Things to Know About series. Let me tell you a bit about these books, and why we love them so much.
The Usborne 100 Things to Know About series is a collection of ten books (there were ten at the time of writing, anyway) which include... Food, History, the Human Body, Music, Numbers, Computers and Coding, Oceans, Planet Earth, Saving the Planet, Science and Space. We have read and would recommend those photographed above, but I feel confident that the format and quality is consistent with the entire series, and am sure that we will read others that interest us over the coming years.
From 100 Things to Know About Food (above).
The 100 Things to Know About Series are non-fiction, with the content presented in an info-graphic style. Each page (or double page spread) features one fact, presented with a vibrant illustration, and with simple, clear, easy to follow and read aloud text and labelling. One of my biggest gripes with many non-fiction texts are unnecessary additional headings and labels, which do not add value to the reading experience. I like these books because I feel like the wording has been carefully considered. Every sentence and text box included is worth the effort of reading.
We love these books for the sheer 'mind-bogglingly' interesting and thought provoking facts included. These books are not dry, boring or dull. Each of these books has been curated by a team, including specialists in the field of each topic, who have researched widely to find facts that will be of interest to children. There is a huge variety of facts included, many of which have you entering into a vibrant discussion or further research. Our morning time is interrupted by gasps of 'wow! really?! but how?!'
For example, did you know that you can live on just one food?! (Only when you are a baby... this double page spread breaks down the miracle of breast/formula milk). Did you know that handkerchiefs and radiators are both names of types of pasta?! (This double page spread on pasta shapes was fascinating). Did you know that honey lasts forever, because it's a natural bacteria killer, or that you can't make jelly with kiwi fruit?! Did you know that eating too many carrots will make your skin orange, or that milk from sleepy cows actually makes you sleepy?! You get the gist.
From 100 Things to Know About the Human Body (above).
Each fact is accompanied by a clear explanation, with a breakdown of steps (if needed), in child friendly language. Examples are often provided too.
The recommended age for these books is 8-12 years, which I expect is the recommendation for independent reading. I'd have thought that they would be suitable for reading aloud to a slightly younger audience, say from 5 or 6 years. They're similar in style and content to the Usborne Beginners series, which Bean enjoyed at age 3-7 years, although are obviously much longer. One of the reasons that we like these books for morning time is because we can dip in and out of them.
From 100 Things to Know About Science (above).
From 100 Things to Know About History (above).
From 100 Things to Know About Numbers, Computers and Coding (above).
Have you read any from the 100 Things to Know About series? Did you like them? What did your children think? You'll find all these books, and more, listed in the Morning Time section of my Bookshop here.
With love,
Rowan x
This blog post contains affiliate links. If you do click through, Bean and I will receive a small amount of commission which will contribute to new books and resources for her home education. You can, however, find all of these resources elsewhere, including other online retailers, second hand selling pages and your local library.