Children love and benefit so much from experiencing stories at a young age, it develops their language, speech, listening skills and most importantly knowledge and understanding of the world around them.

There is no end to the wonderful selection of children's books available in libraries, online and at local bookshops. These are just a few of the most popular children's books. The  Harper Collins Treasury of Picture Book Classics: A Child's First Collection is an ideal starting point and way to inspire a love of stories and reading from an early age.

'20' of the Best Children's Picture Books

1. 'The Gruffalo' By Julia Donaldson

2. 'Guess How Much I love You' By Sam McBratney

3. 'The Tiger Who Came to Tea'   By Judith Kerr

4. 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt' By Michael Rosen

5. 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?' By Bill Martin

6. 'Maisy Goes Swimming' By Lucy Cousins

7. 'Mr Grumpy's Outing' By John Birmingham

8. 'NO David' By Shannon David

9. 'Where's Spot' By Eric Hill

10. 'One Ted Falls Out of Bed' By Anna Currey

11. 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' By Eric Carle

12. 'Monkey Puzzle' By Alex Scheffler

13. 'Room on the Broom' By Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler

14. 'Sharing a Shell' By Julia Donaldson

15. 'Wriggle and Roar', Rhymes to Join in With, By  Julia Donaldson and Nick Sharratt

16. 'The Cat in the Hat' By Dr Seuss

17. 'Dear Zoo' by Rod Campbell

18. 'The Bad-Tempered Ladybird' by Eric Carle

19. 'I don't want to have a Bath' By Julie Sykes    (Ideal for children who don't like bath time!)

20. 'Lost and Found' by Oliver Jeffers

Image courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net