If you have read my “About” page you might know that during the day I am a Children’s Librarian. I’ve been doing this for 10 years and I love it. There are some days when I can’t believe I actually get paid for this because it is just so much fun.
One of the things that I do is story time for preschoolers, toddlers, and babies. I’ve been doing story time for many years and there are tried and true books that I use for each age group. One of my Twitter/Facebook friends asked if I could recommend some books he could read to his toddler so I thought my list of favorite story time books would make a good blog post.
Story time is so important. It’s more than just simply reading books to kids. When I plan story time I am including specific activities that will help the child learn the skills they need in order to learn to read later.
If you are a parent and are interested in learning more about the activities you can do with your child to help them learn to read, check out this website. The activities are simple and easy and you are probably already doing them, but it is nice to know that what you are doing is going to help them later on. And if you have questions or want more resources please don’t hesitate to ask me in the comment section.
Toddlers like illustrations with bright colors and simple graphics. Something to look for in books for toddlers is less text and shorter stories (they have low attention spans, as I’m sure you already know).
OK! On to my favorite books.
Miss Monica’s Favorite Story Time Books For Toddlers
- My Car by Byron Barton – I can recommend ANY book by Byron Barton. I love this book in particular because it has a funny twist at the end and it has a couple of big words that parents can point out to the child.
- Meeow And The Little Chairs by Sebastien Braun
- Hurry! Hurry! by Eve Bunting
- Cat’s Colors By Jane Cabrera. I love everything written and illustrated by Cabrera. Her fun illustrations and bright colors really draw the little ones in.
- From Head To Toe by Eric Carle
- Maisy Dresses Up. By Lucy Cousins. This is a series and toddlers love them all!
- Orange, Pear, Apple, Bear. By Emily Gravett
- Kevin Henkes. I am kind of obsessed with Kevin Henkes’ illustrations in a few of his picture books. Really wonderful, simple stories, too. These are three of my all-time favorite story time books:
- Spot Goes To The Park. by Eric Hill. (those lift-the-flap books are a big hit. Make sure you are careful with them or they will be destroyed.)
- Clip-Clop by Nicola Smee
- Chicky Chicky Chook Chook by Cathy MacLennan. This one is just really fun to read – lots of fun rhymes.
Something else to consider: buy durable board books for your toddler and let them play with them. It is OK if they are destroyed. Allowing your child to handle books at this early age will help them later. Let them become familiar with them and comfortable with them.
Most importantly though: make your reading time FUN. Let every reading time be a happy experience for them so they will associate reading with positive feelings.
Enjoy! And if you have questions, please ask.
I will share my favorite Preschool books in another post.
Blatherskite 