 | The Book About Moomin, Mymble and Little My by Tove Jansson
Buy new: £6.49 / Used from: £4.21 Very trippy, funny rhymes and delightful calligraphy.
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![The Moomins [1977]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510EJYSD31L._SL75_.jpg) | The Moomins [1977]
Buy new: £44.09 / Used from: £21.14 The animé of The Moomins was my introduction to both 'The Moomins' and animé, but this Germanstop-motion series is also highly recommended and more faithful to the original books.
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 | The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (Picture Puffin) by Jon Scieszka
Buy new: £5.24 / Used from: £2.51 I have many fond memories my sister and I practically laughing our heads off while being read this. Also good are 'The Happy Hocky Family' and 'Pamplinas'.
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 | Beware of the Storybook Wolves by Lauren Child
Buy new: £4.49 / Used from: £0.01 One of her most funny and visually spectacular books. Also see the Clarice Bean 'Exceptionordinarily Good Boxed Set' for its lovely presentation and typography.
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 | Adventures of Hamtaro: Volume 1: A Home for Hamtaro & Other Stories: 1 (Adventures of Hamtaro) by Ritsuko Kawai
Buy used from: £28.84 The book series which started the whole craze, with water-colour illustrations even more charming and irresistibly cute than the animé and games etc. (which are also rather good, by the way).
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 | Mary Poppins Boxed Set by P. L. Travers
Buy new: £10.64 / Used from: £12.19 The film is nice in itself, but the enjoyable, memorable and most of all surreal books still beat it by far. 'Friend Monkey' is is by the same author, and is cute but mysterious.
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 | The Glass Mountain and Other Polish (Dover Children's Thrift Classics) by Byrde
Buy new: £0.95 / Used from: £40.85 Just one of a series of (very affordable) little books containing stories from throughout the world. A welcome change from the familiar done-to-death cannon of European fairy-tales.
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 | The Boy Who Drew Cats" and Other Japanese Fairy Tales (Dover Children's Thrift Classics)
Buy new: £1.99 / Used from: £0.01 Another from the same series, this even has some by Lafcadio Hearn!
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 | The Mini Hardback Gift Box (Dr Seuss Miniature Editions) by Dr. Seuss
I've been trying not to mention anything too well known, but I like Dr. Seuss so much I had to make an exception. And you might not know about this useful box set of all his major works.
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 | Kiki's Delivery Service by Elko Kadono
Buy new: £4.34 / Used from: £1.17 Ugly USA cover, but still a classic of Japanese children's literature. The characters are the same, but the bulk of the story is completely different from the film and just as charming.
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 | A Little Snow Fairy Sugar Volume 1: v. 1 (Little Snow Fairy Sugar) by Haruka Arai
Buy new: £5.20 / Used from: £0.99 Cute and charming in just the right way, not as commercialised as it might appear, and really, REALLY enjoyable to read aloud with all the sound effects lovingly translated.
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 | Where is the World (Tik & Tok Adventures) by Peter Suart
Buy new: £10.99 / Used from: £14.68 The first 'Tik and Tok Adventure'. They're all beautifully detailed, surreal and thoughtful with an inexplicable magic like 'The Little Prince' (another one you NEED to read, even as an adult).
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 | The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Buy new: £9.99 / Used from: £5.39 One of many from the great engineer of pop-up books. Show them this, not the film.
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 | The Wish Factory by Chris Riddell
Buy used from: £9.10 Chris Riddell is the contemporary successor to Winsor McCay. Also look out for 'Something Else', 'The Story Giant' and many more.
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 | Can't You Sleep, Little Bear by Martin Waddell
Buy new: £4.49 / Used from: £0.01 Yes.
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 | The Fuchsia Is Now by J. Otto Seibold
Buy new: £8.48 / Used from: £2.72 Yes. Also look for 'Penguin Dreams', and all his other books.
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 | My Neighbour Totoro
Buy new: £7.98 / Used from: £7.50 An absolute essential, for ages zero to infinity. Get them to experience it while they're still young enough to not mind it being in a foreign language.
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![The Last Unicorn [1982]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513Zar6v1%2BL._SL75_.jpg) | The Last Unicorn [1982]
Buy new: £3.48 / Used from: £2.59 No life can ever be quite complete without the vague but eternal childhood memories that this film is guaranteed to implant.
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 | Lavender Castle
The CG graphics are dated, and some of the story-lines even more so, but the "planetary romance" style of the artistry is timeless. Also amazing value, with both whole series in this one collection.
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![Kirikou And The Sorceress [2002]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51K3P71T3FL._SL75_.jpg) | Kirikou And The Sorceress [2002]
Buy new: £14.98 Michel Ocelot is a near-equal of Miyazaki, with several styles all of his own, but is criminally under-represented in the English-speaking world. Rather scarier than Totoro, but just as essential.
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 | Kiki's Delivery Service
Buy new: £9.48 / Used from: £5.75 You'd need to be at least 14 or 16 to really know what this film is about (and it's essential viewing at that age) but under 10s seem to love it as well and there's not unsuitable content for them.
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 | Astro Boy - Greatest Astro Adventures by Astro Boy
Buy new: £3.98 / Used from: £3.95 Surely you know Tetsuwan Atom? He's more famous than possibly even Totoro.
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 | Tonari No Totoro by Manga
Buy used from: £41.29 Get this, rather than the OST. It has all the main themes made into songs, with lyrics by Miyazaki.
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 | Colours Are Brighter by Various Artists
Buy used from: £12.00 A surprisingly mixed bag of modern nursery rhymes. Kids will love 'The Monkeys Are Breaking Out of the Zoo', and I love 'Night Baking' and Rasputina's 'A Skeleton Bang'.
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 | Bed, Bed, Bed: Bedtime Stories and Songs (They Might Be Giants) by John Flansburgh
Buy new: £10.99 / Used from: £3.61 Similar to the above, but comes with a story-book of bizarre and interesting illustrations.
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