Books for Toddlers

Today, I visited the Burbank Adult School to speak with parents about some good books for toddlers as well as other resources we have available at our library. Here are some of the titles that I recommended:

Characteristics of Good Books for Toddlers
*Stories they can relate to: animals, body, clothes, home, holidays, familiar situations
Example: Here Are My Hands by Bill Martin Jr.
*Stories with rhyme and rhythm
Example: The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Trapani
*Stories with phrase or repeated happenings
Example: Napping House by Audrey Wood
*Predictable stories
Example: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.

Formats
*Picture Books
Examples: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle; Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day (wordless)
*Folktales, Fairy Tales & Nursery Rhymes
Examples: Neighborhood Mother Goose by Nina Crews; My Very First Mother Goose by Iona Opie and Rosemary Wells; The Three Bears by Paul Galdone
*Board Books—thick sturdy cover and pages; small size for little hands; bright colorful pictures; simple shapes; clear pictures; pictures of human faces; few words; nursery rhymes
Examples: Clip Clop by Nicola Smee; Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton; Mary had a Little Lamb by Salley Mavor
*Toddler Collection—Concept books (ABCs, 123s, Shapes, Colors, etc.)
Examples: Dog’s Colorful Day by Emma Dodd; Max’s ABC by Rosemary Wells; Count and See by Tana Hoban

Parent Collection—Books written for parents as well as books written for children dealing with various “growing up” topics (potty training, new sibling, discipline, education, etc.)
Examples: Once Upon a Potty by Alona Frankel; The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease; The Mother of All Toddler Books by Ann Douglas