It is so important to expose children to reading from a young age. Shared book reading supports speech, language, and literacy skills in young children. There are so many books out there, though, and it can be overwhelming to choose which ones to read with your child.
If you pick a book using these three guidelines below, you can be confident that you picked a book that will help your child learn and grow, and that your child will also love!
Books With Movements
Children learn to imitate actions before they readily imitate words. Therefore, building a child’s imitation of actions will support their ability to learn new speech sounds and words.
Here are five books I recommend:
- Elmo Says by Sarah Albee and Tom Leigh
- Shake a Leg (Sesame Street) by Constance Allen and Maggie Swanson
- Shake My Sillies Out by Raffi
- From Head to Toe by Eric Carle
- Eyes Nose Fingers Toes: A First Book All About You by Judy Hindley and Brita Granstrom
Books With Sound Effects
Before children readily imitate words, they imitate sound effects. You can support your child’s language development by reading books with sound effects and encouraging your child to imitate them.
Here are five books I recommend:
- Poke a Dot Old MacDonald’s Farm by Melissa and Doug (or any Poke a Dot book)
- Moo, Baa, La La La by Sandra Boynton
- Noisy Things that Go by Libby Walden and Tiger Tales (or any books in this series)
- Can You Say it Too? series by Sebastien Braun
- Roadwork by Sally Sutton
Interactive Books
Little ones have a short attention span. We want to teach them that reading is fun, not boring! The best way to keep them engaged is through interactive books.
Here are five books I recommend:
- Wheels on the Bus by Paul O. Zelinsky
- This book has moving parts. It is a great one for imitating actions, too, using the actions from the song.
- Peekaboo: Bear (Peekaboo You) by Camilla Reid (or any books in this series, or any flap/slide books).
- They will love sliding open the flaps and seeing themselves in the mirror at the end!
- Press Here by Herve Tullet.
- This book is “magic!” By following directions to touch certain things on the page, your child will make “magic” happen on the next page!
- That’s Not My Dinosaur… by Fiona Watt (or any in this series, or any touch-and-feel book).
- These books allow a child to feel different textures and develop their descriptive vocabulary (e.g., shiny, squishy, rough)
- Busy Train Book by Fiona Watt
- This book comes with a wind-up train that goes along tracks embedded in the pages of the book. You can also use this book to help teach location words, such as “next to” or “around”
Early Reader Support At Enrichment Therapy & Learning Center in Johnston & North Liberty
Early skill building is so important when it comes to a child’s speech, language, and literacy skills. These fun and interactive books are a great way to help with those skills. As you read and play with your child, if you have any questions or concerns don’t hesitate to reach out! Our office provides free screenings to help parents know if their child’s skills are on track. Whether you live near Johnston or North Liberty, or want virtual support from home— give our team a call today!
Enrichment Therapy & Learning Center has locations in Johnston and North Liberty, IA, with virtual services also available. We provide individualized speech-language therapy, dyslexia and reading intervention, academic support, and executive functioning services to help children build skills and confidence. Contact us to learn more about how we can support your child.
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