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You are here: Home / Uncategorized / Our Favourite Toddler Books

Our Favourite Toddler Books

April 6, 2010 by sarahnewk

The Boy (now 11 months old) is almost classified as a toddler, I assume.  I can hardly believe that 12 months/walking classifies him as a toddler but, according to his pediatrician, it does. 

At this stage in his life, his curiosity is really peaking.  He points at objects and says, “What’s That?”…well, he actually says, “Wh Dat?”.  I’m interpreting.  He loves to roll around on my yoga mat when I’m trying to do some stretching and throw and kick his $2 green plastic ball.  But, most of all, he loves to climb the stairs to his room and choose books to be read to him.

The Boy is very methodical about the way he chooses his books- standing at his bookshelf, he goes shelf by shelf, dumping books he does not want read on the floor and handing me the books he does want read.  Without fail, he has three absolute favourite books- and they happen to be three of my favourite toddler books:

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Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What  Do You See?

by: Bill Martin Jr.

I love this book for many reasons- the gentle rhyming and repetition are excellent ways to encourage reading and listening skills.  The anticipation of seeing the next animal as you turn the page. The colourful illustrations (by the fantastic Eric Carle) encourage colour and animal recognition.  But most of all, it is a classic that my son adores!

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Grumpy Bird
by: Jeremy Tankard

Jeremy Tankard is one of my favourite children’s authors (check out “Me Hungry” for another great offering!) and my son loves his just as much.  “Grumpy Bird” has vibrant, exciting pictures and offers children the opportunity to learn about emotions.  The story revolves around a little bird who is feeling grumpy and decides to walk instead of fly.  As he walks, his friends begin to follow him, turn their walk into a game, and turn his frown upside down.  My son loves this board book because his little hands can easily turn the pages.  I love the way Tankard weaves a story using rhythm and dialogue- fun for little ears to hear.

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Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus!

by: Mo Willems

To be fair, he loves the entire series of Pigeon books.  I bought these books for him before he was even born.  I use these books in my grade 5 classroom because they are great examples of simple but effective storytelling.  The Boy adores the pictures (a bus, a truck, hotdogs, pigeons!) and the yelling! He LOVES the yelling! The Pigeon is desperate to drive a bus, but the driver doesn’t want him to.  The Driver asks you (the reader) to make sure he doesn’t drive the bus. The Pigeon tries EVERYTHING to convince you to let him ride the bus (including yelling!) but you have to make sure he doesn’t.  I’ve actually had to hide this book series on occasion because he chooses these books everytime and wants them read over and over and over again!

So those are our essential Toddler books. What are some of yours?

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: best books for toddlers, Brown Bear, Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus, Grumpy Bird, Toddler books

Comments

  1. Jennifer Rayment says

    April 8, 2010 at 11:18 am

    Grump Bear is one of our favs too
    Other good suggestions
    Where is the green sheep by Mem Fox
    Anything by Sandra Boynton
    and the board book versions of Dr Seuss’ stuff — don’t trust the little hellions with anything paper ; )

  2. Jessica says

    April 7, 2010 at 8:27 am

    Lucas also likes Brown Bear. You may also want to check out Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton. It is now our go to book whenever Lucas is being a bit whiney.

  3. Julie says

    April 6, 2010 at 2:43 pm

    anything by mo willems is hysterical. wait until you see the elephant and piggie books! i bought one for my childless in-laws cuz they couldn’t put it down.
    my 4 1/2 year old had brown bear memorized and it’s so great to hear her read it out loud. i love her voice!

  4. annabelle says

    April 6, 2010 at 2:24 pm

    Ooooh, just love this topic. Classics never fail, but some other favs were “Tumble Bumble” by Felicia Bond. A lovely illustrator. My oldest knew the book by heart well before two and I still read it years later. “Monkeys in My kitchen” by Sheree Fitch. Such a great Canadian poet who can make kids laugh and laugh. Gotta read that fast and with lots of emotion…though maybe too long for littlest ones. “Gotta Go” by Sam Swope. About caterpillar and butterfly migration. Very cute. “Bear Snores On” and all the Bear ones from that collection. “Time for Bed”…nice repetition and nice illustrations.
    “Big Red Barn” version illustrated by Bond. “Peepo”.. by Alhberg… Kids start repeating “peepo” very early on. Happy reading!

  5. Sara says

    April 6, 2010 at 1:21 pm

    OOoh I need to check out that pigeon book. My boy chooses his books just as yours does. And we could read for hours on end – he’s always been like that. His current fave is Go Dog Go – combining dogs and cars…what could be better. He’s also down with Fix It Duck that we got at the library – ducks, cars AND trucks…are you seeing the theme?? I love going to the library and letting him pick – then we can return them and I don’t get bored with the repitition!

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