Paul Kropp, author of "Raising a Reader," lists these 15 must-have books for your young child's book shelf. Suggest them to friends and family as birthday and holiday gifts.

* "Each Peach Pear Plum," by Janet and Allan Ahlberg

* "Goodnight Moon," by Margarret Wise Brown

* "Franklin in the Dark," by Paulette Bourgeois

* "Are You My Mother?" by P.D. Eastman

* "Something from Nothing," by Phoebe Gilman

* "The Snowy Day," by Ezra Jack Keats

* "Whose Mouse Are You?" by Robert Kraus

* "Frederick," by Leo Lionni

* "Fables," by Arnold Lobel

* "A Boy, a Dog and a Frog," by Mercer Mayer

* "Thomas' Snowsuit," by Robert Munsch

* "The Best Word Book Ever," by Richard Scarry

* "Where the Wild Things Are," by Maurice Sendak

* "The Cat in the Hat," by Dr. Seuss

* "The Polar Express," by Chris Van Allsburg

Pub Date: 11/04/98