Best Books for your Preschooler!

Choosing Books for Your Preschooler
Build on the library you started for your baby.
By Kate Jack

The preschool years are a period of rapid language development. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, your 3 year old should have an active vocabulary of 300 or more words. At about age 4, that vocabulary will have grown to around 1,500 words, and it will expand by another 1,000 words or so by age 5.

Now is a great time to add to your child's book collection, with picture books, activity books, and bedtime books that introduce new words and cater to his interests.

Developmental Edge
Need help deciding which books to choose? Below are some basic recommendations from reading specialists, librarians, preschool teachers, and experienced parents.

Picture Books: Tell Me a Story
Whether read aloud or "read" alone, picture books offer your young child the chance to answer her never-ending questions about the world around her. She's ready to listen to simple stories with basic plots, but illustrations are still the main attraction for this age group. Look for bright, big pictures and be sure to talk about them as you read. It's important to provide pre-readers with plenty of exposure to books. Your child will gain satisfaction from learning and gain motivation that will provide the foundation for her school years. When choosing picture books, look for the following characteristics:

Favorite Characters

From Bob the Builder to Dora the Explorer, from Franklin to Barney, from Madeline to Miss Spider, favorite characters serve as trusted tour guides to kids of this age. Topics range from emotions to weather to ABCs. It's also fun to look for characters that have the same name or age as your child — it will help him relate to the story.

Favorite Subjects

Does your child have a case of the "why"s? It's important to take her questions seriously. And when you don't have an answer, there's likely a children's book that does.

Like music?
Look for Charlie Parker Played Be Bop by Chris Raschka or Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin by Lloyd Moss. Need to talk about last night's tantrum? When Sophie Gets Angry — Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang shows that anger is okay. Want to explore the human body, the ocean, or even space? Try The Hidden World Collection. The key is to find basic stories that relate to your child's experiences. This way, children learn the connection between words and pictures on a page and what they see in real life.

Rhyming Text

From Mother Goose to Dr. Seuss, catchy text makes for great entertainment. Look for rhythmic and/or rhyming text that's fun to read aloud and relatively easy to memorize so that your child can join in when she's ready. Nursery rhymes and poetry collections are good places to start.

Classic Tales

There is a reason that the tales you grew up with are still around. From The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant by Jean de Brunhoff to The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter, classic stories introduce universal themes in the most comforting and creative ways.

Activity Books
Busy Hands, Busy Minds
Pop-up . . . Lift-the-flap . . . Scratch-and-sniff . . . and more. Activity books provide vital learning skills and endless entertainment for this age group. Hunt-and-find books, such as the I SPY series, encourage visual discrimination, while sticker books and oversized books show that reading can be fun. These titles can hold kids' interest, so they're a good choice for rainy days or long trips by car or plane.

Bedtime Books
Sweet Stories for Sweet Dreams
A nice, soothing bedtime story can provide some welcome downtime after a busy day at school or day care. Two books to try: 10 Minutes Till Bedtime by Peggy Rathmann, which introduces the numbers 1-10 while encouraging healthy bedtime rituals, and Night Lights: 24 Poems to Sleep On by Denys Cazet, a sweet poetry collection.
Extending the Fun

Try to teach your child that books matter to grown-ups too!
Even though your daughter might be going off to school, it doesn't change the importance of the example you set at home. Children love to imitate; let her see you reading the newspaper in the morning or a good novel at night. Point out street signs. Talk through recipes. Read billboards together. Welcome your child into the wonderful world of reading.