My grandson was born in London into multicultural family. He is now two years old. It looks like his parents are going to live and work in England in the future, and my grandson is going to attend a school in London. Please can you let me know the essential books of British children's culture? I am not dreaming of moulding "a proper English boy" in our family, but would like to diminish any gap between him and his peers,while in school. Thank you for your time and attention.
Pavel
Today, there is an explosion of wonderful picture books which pre-school children and beyond can enjoy. They provide a number of characters which are well established and much loved by this age group. My recommended library would include Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar; Eric Hill's Where's Spot?; Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury's We're Going on a Bear Hunt; Janet and Allan Ahlberg's Peepo; Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's The Gruffalo; Lucy Cousins's Maisy; David McKee's Elmer. There are, of course, many more.
But, the point about all of these books is that they have been translated into many other languages and read across the world. Children's books are one of the best ways of sharing culture rather than compartmentalising it.
For a good introduction to a more specifically English cultural tradition, the best place for a two-year-old to start would be with traditional English nursery rhymes. These provide a bedrock of easy to say and easy to remember words which is good for speaking and listening and also for developing a later love of poetry. Within these simple rhymes and stories there is always a kernel of morality or guidance as well as the traditions of storytelling structure – all useful for growing up in a British culture but also familiar and replicated in most other cultures as well. My favourite of these collections is Raymond Briggs's Mother Goose Treasury (Puffin) which is a feast of witty illustrations and wise and snappy rhymes.
From these, it is an easy step to first fairy stories which again hold universal truths. Here I would avoid being culturally specific; the characters in these stories and the themes that they cover occur all over the world with more that is similar than different despite their local settings.
From traditional tales, the big leap forward is to the classics of the early 20th century, Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit and AA Milne's Winnie the Pooh may not be as widely read as they were but the characters at the heart of them remain vivid and influential through other media and, most especially, through Disney.