Choosing books for a toddler

The importance of sharing stories with toddlers 

Story times present wonderful moments for shared experiences between you and your toddler. Books are a magical resource that can inspire ideas or transport you into a world far beyond your home. It is likely that your toddler has begun to have lots of interests, such as transport, dinosaurs or nature, to name a few. There will be plenty of books available that suit their interests and provide an opportunity to learn more about their likes and fascinations.  

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It is largely thought that when toddlers have experience of books, they learn much more about the world around them.[1] New vocabulary is introduced through stories alongside gorgeous illustrations. Your toddler will be able to link the images they see to the words they hear, and it is probable that they may repeat them back. The amount a toddler can learn from the joy of sharing stories can’t be underestimated. The scope of topics covered in stories provides toddlers with a rich learning platform where knowledge of almost anything can be discovered. It is through these special shared moments that your toddler gains a vast amount of general knowledge while promoting their developing language skills.[2] 

When story times are shared, your toddler is able to gain much more from the book. Adults not only read the words but extend the vocabulary to help deliver the meaning. [3] There is an innate skill inside an adult that describes what they are looking at in the pictures and illustrations, and when this happens, your toddler naturally listens to and begins to understand even more words. Recent research concluded that when books are first read, the focus for the adult is providing their toddler with information about the words, illustrations and characters. Once there is evidence that the toddler understands what is being read, the adult starts to seek information from their toddler and this helps toddlers to build a wider vocabulary. [2] 

A great book for introducing language with beautiful illustrations is Wow! Said the Owl. This book is full of wonderful colours and it explores the world by day and night. It is superb for encouraging young children to talk about things they see in daily life.

Wow! Said the Owl - by Tim Hopgood

To buy (via Amazon): https://amzn.to/3qKn89o

The development of your toddler’s memory is boosted when books are shared. When the same stories are heard along with viewing the same illustrations, it becomes easier for them to remember key parts of the story. The way in which familiar stories are read by you to your toddler is unique, you will generate a pattern and a rhythm of how you say the words. Researchers have found that these interactions help them to remember the story. [4] 

Story times can sometimes last for the shortest time and other times your toddler may want the same story to be read again and again. Even the shortest of story times are valuable for your toddler. Toddlers are very busy and they can often be off and away before you are into the first page. Unless it is bedtime, leave them to explore and come back to the book when it suits them better. Reading times should be enjoyable times and should be fun for all involved.

Storytimes are fabulous for having lots of fun and playful interactions 

Books can introduce such a wealth of knowledge. Many books link across the streams of learning and the scope for further learning is incredible. As your toddler’s vocabulary improves, they will have more of an opportunity to join in with and respond to stories. They may start to notice differences in the appearance of characters or the characteristics of, say, transport. If we imagine that transport is a firm favourite of theirs, choose books which offer different types of transport and discuss what they can see. You could make a comment like, ”I wonder whether all the colours are the same?”. There may be a wonderful opportunity to talk about size and shapes within the images. Play the fool and say something like, ‘”I am looking for a circle on this car, but I can’t find one”. Your toddler will be pleased as punch if they find one for you.  A great example of a book like this is ‘Dig Dig Digging’.

Dig Dig Digging - by Margaret Mayo

To buy (via Amazon): https://amzn.to/3FOBwSl

Many toddlers love it when they hear an adult talking in a funny voice. Be brave and choose a simple story with a few characters, give each character a different voice and your toddler could well be mesmerized. The addition of sounds and noises can be added to accompany the narrative. You and your toddler can make up sounds together which doubles the fun. Introducing noises, props or music to the book helps promote their understanding of how to read a book. Your toddler will begin to associate each page with the sound and eventually they may be predicting which sounds comes next. 

If you fancy adding voices and sounds to your story time, ‘Bear Snores On’ could be the book for you. It is a slightly longer story but the rhyming words draw you in and there are plentiful opportunities to practice different voices for all the animals who visit the sleeping bear on a cold blustery night. The words are eloquently written and make it easy for you and your toddler to make up accompanying sounds.

Bear Snores On - by Karma Wilson

To buy (via Amazon): https://amzn.to/3nNLfCi

Action stories are incredible for restless toddlers. Many stories describe how animals move or they might describe a simple journey. Introducing stories where your toddler can move, make noises and have their own ideas takes shared story times to a new level. The story can be built on each time it is read, enhancing your toddler’s imagination, language, gross and fine motor skills. ‘Walking Through the Jungle’ is a really good example of an interactive action story.

Walking Through The Jungle - by Julie Lacome

To buy (via Amazon): https://amzn.to/3GRSu3l

Top tips for choosing stories 

• Choose books that are at an appropriate level for your toddler. You may know by now what some of their favourite stories are, so use this as a guide to help you choose new books. Take time to find books that interest your toddler. Is it the content or illustrations that they enjoy? If your toddler enjoys big bold, illustrations, look out for books with similar imagery. If it is an author or style of writing, or maybe rhyming that they show a particular interest in, look for books by the same author or that are written in the same style.   
• You could take a trip to the library and see if you can find books on their favourite things. Give your toddler time to choose some books of their own, however if you find a book that you feel will be better suited, explain to them why you have chosen the book. Be sure to have a look together at all the books before bringing them home to avoid any disappointment. 

• Toddlers are beginning to develop their own form of humour and they are discovering that they have the power to make people laugh – even when it is not that funny! Researchers have found that toddlers enjoy nonsense humour.[5] Look out for humorous books, these will help them develop their sense of humour and support them to eventually work out what being funny means.  Rhyming books are perfect for this, as they can be silly and fun.  What more could a toddler want from a shared moment with you? 

Here are some excellent examples of some silly books, that are fun and repetitive: 

Do Cows Meow? - by Salina Yoon

To buy (via Amazon): https://amzn.to/3qNRbgj

I Really, Really Need a Wee! - by Karl Newson

To buy (via Amazon): https://amzn.to/3rCVN8h

• Choose books that reflect what is going on in their life. Children love to talk about themselves so finding a book that they can relate to is a wonderous thing for a toddler. It might be that they have a birthday coming up soon, if so, see if you can find a story about birthdays. They might absolutely adore trains, so you could search for books about trains or stories that tell a tale about travelling on a train. 

A wonderful bedtime story just has to be ‘Pajama Time’. Every child can relate to bedtime and this story makes the whole routine jiggly, wiggly and warming. 

Pajama Time! - by Sandra Boynton

To buy (via Amazon): https://amzn.to/3GK3Fex

• Toddlers still need relatively short books with clear, simple illustrations. The busier the pages are, the more it makes it difficult for them to use clues to help them read. One of my all-time favourites is ‘Owl Babies’. The illustrations are adorable and I will never forget the first time I heard this story. I read it now exactly as it was read to me;: one of the tricks I use is to put on a high-pitched tiny voice for Bill, as he is the youngest and toddlers love it.
•  

Owl Babies - by Martin Waddell

To buy (via Amazon): https://amzn.to/3qQeNkG

Building the love of reading 

The journey of finding books that are suitable for your toddler should be an enjoyable one. There will be many books that your toddler decides are not for them, or they may not inspire you and this is a good thing. You will soon find out which type of content, appearance, author or style of writing is best suited for your toddler and you. Once you have hit the jackpot with books for your toddler to enjoy, remember they will want to read them over and over again. It is a great thing for your toddler to have favourite stories as the story can be enhanced and enriched by adding details, discussing the illustrations and detecting whether your toddler knows what is going to happen next.  

References: 

[1] M. Khu, S.A. Graham, P.A. Ganea. (2014). Research Article: ‘Learning from Picture Books: Infants’ use of naming information’. Available online at: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00144 

[2] Horst J.S. and Houston-Price C (2015) Editorial: An Open Book: What and How Young Children Learn from Picture and Story Books. Front. Psychol. 6:1719.doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01719  

[3] D. Leyvaa, A. Von Suchodoletz, D. Shroff, A. Hinojo, Joscha Kärtner (2020) Article: Maternal book-sharing styles and goals and children’s verbal contributions in three communities. Early Childhood Research Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2020.09.010  

[4] M.E. Cooper [1987]. Journal Article: ‘Glenn Doman’s How to Teach Your Baby to Read: It’s joyous, happy, simple, and easy-to-do'. Publishing Research Quarterly, Springer US. ISSN:1053-8801 / 1936-4792 

[5] O. Petter (2021). Article: Babies take a month to develop a sense of humour, study suggests. The Independent. Available online at: Babies take a month to develop a sense of humour, study suggests