Books For 2 to 3 Year Olds

Read With Your Child Every Day!

• Reading improves language and cognitive skills (e.g., attention, listening comprehension, vocabulary, sequencing, rhyming, reading, etc.).
• Choosing the right books (even wordless picture books) can help target language skills you want to develop.
• Read face-to-face so your child can observe your facial expressions and mouth to see how you produce sounds.
• Many of Stephanie’s recommended books are repetitive to encourage child participation and improve vocabulary. Stories that rhyme help children with word prediction, a crucial pre-reading skill.
• Some books have few words (e.g., Wow! City! by Robert Neubecker (see below) and No, David! by David Shannon). When reading a wordless picture book, or a book with just a few words, describe what you see or make up the storyline, and encourage your child to do the same. For example, in No, David, when David is about to fall off the chair while reaching for a cookie, you can say something like, “Be careful David, you’re going to get hurt!” or “No cookies before dinner!” instead of simply reading the text.
• As your child gains more skills, advance the book choices and the conversations you have around the text and pictures.

Language Rich Books

It’s Not Easy Being A Bunny by Marilyn Sadler, illustrated by Roger Bollen
P.J. Funnybunny becomes unhappy with being a bunny, so he decides to become a bear, but when he doesn’t want to sleep for the winter, he thinks he’d rather be a bird, or a beaver, or a pig, or a moose, and so it goes until P.J. learns that bunny-hood is for him after all. This book includes a variety of bilabial sounds (/m/, /b/, and /p/) that use the upper and lower lips. These are typically the first sounds produced by children. Animal names (essential vocabulary for toddlers) are repeated throughout the story. Regular plurals are used consistently (e.g., P.J. says, “I want to be a …possum!” And P.J. went to live with the possums.).

Wow! City! by Robert Neubecker
Izzy leaves her home in the mountains for a trip to the big city with her dad. Each page includes exciting comments, such as “Wow! Park!” or “Wow! Museum!” allowing an excellent opportunity for you and your child to describe what is happening. 

Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
Mr. Gilly is a garbage collector who picks up trash from places familiar to kids: school, park, pizza parlor, doctor’s office, and the fire station. Each time he stops, the repetitive phrase, chock-full of prepositions is used: “Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the Trashy Town!” Trashy Town is also a great read-aloud because it encourages verbal participation.

My Dad by Anthony Brown
This tribute to all dads is packed with figurative language, which may help your child use language more creatively. “My dad can eat like a horse, and he can swim like a fish. He’s as strong as a gorilla, and as happy as a hippopotamus.” “My dad’s as big as a house, and as soft as my teddy. He’s as wise as an owl…” 

Down By The Cool Of The Pool by Tony Mitton, Illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees
Frog invites his animal friends (duck, pig, sheep, cat, dog, goat, pony, donkey, and cow) to a fun-filled day by his “pool.” Kids love to dance and chant to the repetitive, rhythmic, rhyming beat. The action words/verbs the animals demonstrate can be imitated (e.g., wiggle, stamp, flap, etc.).

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