Look, I get it. You're standing in a bookshop, or scrolling through Amazon at midnight, wondering what to buy. There are thousands of children's books. Most of them are mediocre. Some are actively bad. You don't have time to research this.
Here's the cheat code: Julia Donaldson.
She's written over 200 books. The ones illustrated by Axel Scheffler are essentially all bangers. The rhymes are perfect—not almost-perfect, not good-enough, perfect. The stories are satisfying. The illustrations are gorgeous. Your kid will love them. You won't hate reading them for the 400th time.
The Simplest Possible Advice
If someone asked me "I have a child aged 2-5, what books should I buy?" and I was only allowed one sentence, it would be:
Buy a Julia Donaldson box set and just read your way through it.
That's it. That's the whole strategy. You now have 10-16 books that range from good to masterpiece, zero duds, and you didn't have to think about it.
The Hits
You've probably heard of some of these:
- The Gruffalo – The one everyone knows. Deserves the hype.
- The Gruffalo's Child – Somehow just as good as the original.
- Room on the Broom – Witch picks up passengers. Lovely.
- Stick Man – Will make you emotional about a stick.
- The Snail and the Whale – My personal favourite. Full review here.
- Zog – Dragon goes to school. Charming.
- The Highway Rat – Basically a Western. Excellent.
- Tiddler – Fish who tells tall tales. Beautiful underwater art.
- Tabby McTat – Cat and busker. Will make you cry.
- The Smartest Giant in Town – Giant gives away his clothes. Lovely message, doesn't feel preachy.
I could keep going. She doesn't miss.
Just Buy a Box Set
If you're a new parent, or buying for one, here's the move: get a Donaldson 10-pack and you've basically got an instant home library. One purchase, and you're covered from about 18 months through to age 5 or 6. No more standing in bookshops wondering what's good. No more wading through Amazon reviews. Done.
The per-book price works out great, you get a curated selection of her best, and you've just given a child years of genuinely good reading. This is the gift that keeps giving—and the gift that doesn't require any thought.
Why This Works
Most children's authors are inconsistent. They'll write one good book and three mediocre ones. Donaldson is freakishly consistent. I genuinely can't think of a bad book she's written with Scheffler. Some are better than others, but there are no duds.
The rhymes actually scan properly. You have no idea how rare this is until you've tried to read a book where the author clearly couldn't be bothered to count syllables. Donaldson's books flow. They're a pleasure to read aloud, even on repetition thirty-seven.
Axel Scheffler's illustrations are detailed enough to reward close looking, but not so busy that they overwhelm. Every spread is worth pausing on.
She was the UK's Children's Laureate. The Gruffalo has sold over 13 million copies. The Guardian and New York Times agree with me. Sometimes the consensus is correct.
The Bottom Line
You can spend hours researching children's books, reading reviews, second-guessing yourself. Or you can just buy a Julia Donaldson collection and know that you've made a good decision.
Sometimes the easy answer is also the right answer.