Our family bookshelf
Books to grow up with.
I love books. I’m a mum of three, I trained as a kindergarten and primary teacher, and I ran reading workshops that supported children’s critical thinking. And I also know how hard it is to find your way in that flood of books on the market. I’m not saying my tips are the only right ones — they definitely aren’t. This is a small, purely subjective selection of my favourites: the ones we have at home and love, that have depth, an educational reach, and that we can often build on creatively.
Ages are a guide based on my selection. A publisher’s recommendation may differ for a particular book.
For babies / the youngest
The very beginning — contrast, first colours and books with little text.
Board books 1–3
Sturdy pages for small hands. I put Strom here too — even though it isn’t a classic board book: we fold it out on the floor into a huge tree.
Where Are You Hiding, Little Rabbit?
ages 0–3
The little rabbit hides and children find him through cut-outs
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
from age 1
The caterpillar that is always hungry: counting, days of the week and those famous page holes
MiniPEDIE – Discovering the world
from age 1
Small format, sturdy pages and moving parts
Jak to žije — The cake shop and more
from age 1
A cake shop, playground, farm and cars: sturdy pages with sliding and rotating pictures
Do pelíšku
ages 0–2
We wish goodnight to the animals and a starry sky waits at the end
Who Is Sleeping?
ages 0–3
“Who is sleeping?” and animals hidden behind a leaf or snow
The Cricket and the Ants
from age 3
The cricket plays through summer, the ants work
Tom Thumb
from age 3
Tiny as a thumb, yet a big story
Come Mushrooming with Us!
from age 3
Mushrooms fascinate children and adults
About the Apple Tree
from age 3
We watch how the apple tree changes through the year
How the Mole Got His Trousers
from age 3
The Mole needs trousers and friends help him
The Little Ant Broke His Leg
from age 2
The little ant is hurt and a friend’s touch helps most
Ivanka (Janouchová)
from age 3
Short texts about washing, food, illness and plasters
Hervé Tullet: Press Here, Mix It Up!, Say Zoop!
from ages 2–3
We tap, shake, blow and mix colours
The Tree (Strom)
from age 3
Strom is definitely not a classic board book
Petr Horáček (selection)
ages 2–5
Colour, texture and short stories about friendship and courage
Musical & sound books
Buttons, blowing, classical music — books you listen to as well as look at.
axiōma sound board books
from age 1
Simple pictures, good recordings and buttons little fingers can press
Usborne Sound Books: Night & Garden Sounds
toddler+
Night Sounds and Garden Sounds
Sweet Dreams (Sladké sny)
from age 1
It isn’t a classic sound book
Usborne Musical Books: Carnival & Four Seasons
ages 3+
Saint-Saëns and Vivaldi under a fingertip: press a button and music meets the picture
Play, Mozart, Play
from age 4
Music, practice and imagination in Sís’s pictures
Vehicles and machines
Diggers, tractors and how things work behind the scenes — boys and girls love them at our house.
How things work & look-and-find
Seasons, a town in motion, finding characters on the page — books for noticing and talking.
Pop-up Seasons (Usborne)
ages 3+
Four seasons in 3D and a tree with all seasons at the end
A Year in… (Host series)
from ages 1–2
Large wordless board books: twelve months, lots of characters to find
Spring–Winter & Night (Berner)
from age 3
Ten things happen on one page
Ultimate Book: Life Around Town
from age 3
Over 55 moving parts: transport, shops, offices… discovering together how a town works.
How I Came into the World
from age 9
A kind explanation of how babies come into the world
Atlases & nonfiction
Maps, cross-sections, bees, bugs — books we linger over.
Maps
from age 6
Countries, animals, food, people — we browse together and always find something new.
Under Earth, Under Water
from age 7
A two-sided book full of cross-sections and details
Bees
from age 6
A large-format invitation into the hive
The Big Book of Bugs
from age 4
Beetles, ladybirds, spiders
People
from age 5
Short concepts and strong illustrations
The Great Indian Book
from age 9
Information and how-tos, careful illustrations
What We Know About… (Thovt)
from ages 7–8
Short stories followed by fact spreads
Diogenés v sudu
from age 8
Witty stories about where familiar sayings come from
A First Book of Animals
from age 4
Short poetic texts full of facts and Horáček’s bold pictures
Me and My Family (Březinová)
from age 4
Short stories about animal young and their families
First reading
Tip: when a child starts reading, some kids at school syllable-read lowercase right away, others start with robotic speech and only uppercase print — we choose first books accordingly. When we search for “first reading”, we find plenty; I look for short sentences and a smaller vocabulary. Albatros does this well — e.g. Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad (Kvak a Žbluňk) and Mouse Soup (Myška a pohádková polívka) are top classics that work; Portál and more contemporary stories are great too.
Reading together / stories
Stories for reading together — by age, from bedtime picture books to longer classics.
About ages 3–6
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
from age 3
Short stories and beautiful original watercolours by Beatrix Potter
I Don’t Want to Go to Bed
from age 3
Lindgren for bedtime, short and kind — it helped us fall asleep many times.
Little Polar Bear, Take Me Home!
from age 3
Lars the little polar bear and his journey home to the North Pole — we love it.
Lotta on Troublemaker Street
from ages 4–5
Another Lindgren we love at home — short, lively, close to little kids.
So That Children Wonder
from ages 5–6
Short fairy tales, fantasy, nonsense — I like its otherness; that’s why we reach for it.
The Little Pink Elephant…
from age 3
About a friend moving away — short, clear, with a hopeful ending.
Just Like You!
from age 3
A story about likeness, difference and belonging
The Greatest Treasure
from age 4
Seeking treasure and discovering what is precious beyond gold — lovely art to look at.
The Possum That Didn’t Smile
from age 4
About a creature that “doesn’t smile like the others”
Little Cheetah's Shadow
from age 3
A gentle story about a shadow that wants to be a friend — quiet pace for bedtime.
Kamil Can't Fly
from age 4
Starling Kamil keeps his beak in books and skips flying class
About ages 6–9
Tip: besides Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling also wrote The Ickabog and The Christmas Pig for children — we love them at home.
Pippi Longstocking
from age 6
Pippi is a must-have for us — the freedom, courage and humour I love in Lindgren.
Madicken
from age 6
Another staple on our Lindgren shelf — we read together and come back.
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
from age 6
I’ve loved Betty MacDonald since childhood
Nancy and Plum
from age 7
Besides Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle I also love Nancy and Plum
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
from age 7
Humour, exaggeration and a clear message about what happens when someone is greedy
Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter
from ages 7–8
A strong story of courage and friendship — a Lindgren highlight for us.
Mary Poppins
from ages 7–8
The magic and the edge of the nanny who arrives with the wind — a classic we return to.
Milton's Secret
from age 7
A story about fear, bullying and presence
Čenda the Spider
ages 5–6
Warm, humorous stories of a little hero with Pavel Čech’s clear drawing style.
The Ickabog
from age 8
A stand-alone fairy tale about fear, truth and courage
The Christmas Pig
from age 8
A Christmas story about losing a beloved toy and the journey after it
9+ / older
Fairy tales
Poetic, beneficial and classic fairy tales — for evenings and reading aloud.
Beneficial Fairy Tales
from age 4
Animal stories about kindness, courage, and about every child being enough just as they are.
The Garden (Zahrada)
from age 5
Five boys enter a mysterious garden with a gnome and a tomcat
Rainbow Fairy Tales
from ages 3–6
Seven poetic tales of how the Sun turned a grey world colourful with the rainbow
And Then It Happened!
from ages 5–6
Ten tales about uncombed hair, unbrushed teeth and toys left lying around — we love it.
Buddha at Bedtime
from age 4
Twenty retold stories of compassion and wisdom — we read them at bedtime.
The Magic Lantern
ages 4–8
Twenty calming stories; each begins with the child picking up a magic lantern
From the Diary of Blue-Eye the Cat
from age 5
A classic about Blue-Eye the cat — one we keep coming back to.
Fimfárum
from age 6
Werich’s fairy tales we return to for the language and humour
Bible & stories of faith
Bible stories at different depths — from first selections to more substantial reading. Advent and Easter sit right under them.
The Great Children’s Bible
from age 8
More substantial Bible stories with Martina Špinková’s art
Children’s Bible – Read and Discover
ages 5–10
Besides the stories, kids also get context
Discover Bible Stories
from age 6
365 stories for a whole year, each with a few questions
Bible Stories for Children
from age 4
A first solid selection of 29 stories from creation to Easter
New Testament Stories
from age 6
Focused on Christ’s story
A Night Full of Stars
from age 3
A Nativity story with sheep and counting to ten — short, rhythmic, for the youngest.
Dear Pope Francis
from age 6
Children from around the world wrote questions to the Pope and he answers with kindness and humour
Advent & Easter
Before Christmas and at Easter we reach for these — Advent evenings and Easter reading.
Christmas for the Cat
from age 4 · Advent
The Bethlehem cat tells a story for each figure the children gradually place in the crib
The Christmas Mystery
from age 9 · Advent
An Advent story with calendar windows
Easter Book
from age 5 · Easter
Simply and honestly it brings close the Easter story and folk customs
On death
Children are naturally curious about death. I only put books here that are truly about death and grief — we read them together and leave room for questions.
Anton and Jonathan
from age 6
Teddy Anton is left alone when Jonathan dies
The Visit of Little Death
ages 3–9
Little Death is sad that everyone fears her
Anna and Anička
from age 4
Anička grows; grandma Anna is leaving
The Brothers Lionheart
from age 8
Lindgren on death, courage and brotherhood
Mice Belong in Heaven
from age 6
A mouse and a fox meet in animal heaven
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