I believe part of the reason I love reading so much is because my parents read to me (and my brother) long after we were able to read for ourselves. Mom read prose and Dad read poetry
One of my favorites was Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936). He was born in India of English parents, and lived in England, India and the US over the course of his life. He was a very prolific writer, turning out stories, novels, poetry, innovative children's books, and more. He was the first English-language writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, in 1907
His reputation has waxed and waned over the years. George Orwell hated him as an apologist for empire, but Henry James and T. S. Eliot loved him. He is still known for his innovative writing, his use of language, and his powers of observation.
He is probably best known for the Jungle Books and the Just-So Stories. The Just-So stories are wonderful – how the elephant got his trunk, how the rhino got his skin, and more -- and "How the First Letter was Written."
The story features the Neolithic family of Tegumai Bopsulai (dad), Teshumai Tweindrow (mom) and Taffimai Metallumai (small daughter called "Taffy").
Tegumai breaks his spear while fishing and Taffy gets the idea to ask another tribe member to bring him another spear. Tegumai won't let Taffy go back to the cave by herself. So Taffy draws the scene on a piece of bark with a shark's tooth and gives to a stranger happening by; of course the stranger doesn't speak their language, and finds the cave completely by accident.
The scene Taffy draws, which Kipling illustrates, looks like someone is killing Tegumai with a spear in his back while hordes of warlike strangers (actually beavers) approach.
Predictably, the "letter" is not understood, and the poor stranger is roundly thumped and his hair filled with mud until the whole tribe goes out and discovers what really happened. The perils of poor communication!
In another story, Taffy and Tegumai invent the alphabet.
The stories are funny, charming, inventive, and well worth reading; I highly recommend them. There is one unacceptable word in one of the stories, but a parent can easily substitute when reading to children.