We reached out to mums in our community, mums in our office, mums on the street and social media for their favourite children’s books, and boy did they deliver…

here is your definitive list of the top 40 books that are equally enjoyable for child as they are for parent.

Australian & New Zealand authors

Possum Magic by Mem Fox

Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox

Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen

This & That by Mem Fox and Judy Horacek

Uno’s Garden by Graeme Base

Imagine by Alison Lester

American & Canadian authors

The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

What Makes a Rainbow? by Betty Schwartz

That’s Not My Mermaid by Fiona Watt (& other ‘That’s Not My’ touchy-feely series by Usborne)

You Belong Here by Mary Higgins Clark

The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Penguin Problems by Jory John

We Found a Hat by Jon Klassen

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty

Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty

Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty

What Do You Do With An Idea? by Kobi Yamada

What Do You Do With A Problem? by Kobi Yamada

English & European authors

The Lion in Paris by Beatrice Alemagna

Bambi: A Life In The Woods by Felix Salten

The Fox and the Star by Coralie Bickford-Smith

The Lion Inside by Rachel Bright

The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson

One is Not a Pair: A Spotting Book by Britta Teckenturp

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

The World of Peter Rabbit Pop-up Book by Beatrix Potter

Funny Farm (Peek-a-boo pop-ups) by Jack Tickle

In My Heart: A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek

Brave As Can Be: A Book of Courage by Jo Witek

All My Treasures: A Book of Joy by Jo Witek

AB See by Elizabeth Doyle

Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

Feelings: Inside My Heart and In My Head by Libby Walden

Plenty of Love To Go Round by Emma Chichester Clark

And if you’re feeling crafty, one of our mums suggested that the best thing she did for her toddler was create an alphabet photo book with pictures of her son doing things he loved and pictures with special family members to represent each letter… he loves it and it helped him learn his alphabet.