HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST BOOK FOR YOUR CHILD
- Infants to Toddlers (newborn to age 3)
- Choose bright colors and pictures that the child can recognize – bright colors will help your child stay engaged.
- Books that appeal to your child’s senses
- Board books or fabric books – these are harder to destroy
- Books that rhyme – this teaches your child repetition and what to expect next.
- If your child isn’t speaking, try books with bilabial sounds (sounds where your lips come together like M, B or P words). They can watch you moving your lips to learn how to say the words themselves.
- Examples: Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See by Eric Carle or Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
- Preschoolers (ages 3-5)
- Colorful pictures that are engaging to your young child
- Quick moving books that you can read in one setting
- Books that showcase numbers, letters, shapes or colors.
- Characters around the age of the child to help them feel more engaged with the story.
- Examples: The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein or Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
- School Age (ages 6-11)
- Colorful illustrations to bring the stories to life
- Books that teach a skill or recipe books help your child put what they’re reading into practice.
- Choose books that have some challenging words that help expand vocabulary for your child.
- Make picture books – take pictures with your child on a trip, make the book together, add captions and read with each other.
- Chapter Books that include your child’s favorite characters.
- Example: Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White or The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis