“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
September 6th is Read a Book Day, so today you will see not one, but two blogs from yours truly all about some of my favorite books. The first is going to focus on some of my favorites to read to my daughter and the second will include some of my personal favorites to read when you actually have some of your own free time.
I love reading with my daughter and have been ever since she was born, so all of the books discussed are available as board books. When you ask for book suggestions for infants/toddlers you will often see the same books listed over and over, so today I’m going to give you a little “If you like this, try that.” I’ll include some titles you have probably heard of/read before and include similar books that you might like as well, so let’s get started:
If you like Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, try Chicka Chicka 123
Chicka Chicka 123 has the same rhythm as Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and can be memorized just as easily after reading it a few times. It has an apple tree (instead of the coconut tree) and goes over numbers 1-10 and then multiples of 10 all the way to 100. The number zero is the hero when bumble bees come on the scene and scare the other numbers.
If you like Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, then I have not one, but three other books for you to try: Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See? Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?
All three follow the same format as the or
iginal, with colorful illustrations and a list of all the animals at as the ending. Panda Bear, Panda Bear includes all endangered or close to being endangered animals, while Baby Bear, Baby Bear has animals that you would see around North America (many in your own backyards!). Polar Bear, Polar Bear focuses on sound, rather than sight, and includes all animals that you can find at the zoo. We have all of them, and even though Brown Bear, Brown Bear is my daughter’s favorite (she loves the goldfish page) they are all great and these board book are the perfect size to take on the go!
If you like The Very Hungry Caterpillar, try The Very Busy Spider
I’m sure you probably remember reading about the very hungry caterpillar and his search through the days of the week for food and then turning into a butterfly at the end. The Very Busy Spider tells the story of a spider who finds herself on the fence post a farm and spends her days spinning a web, even when all the farm animals try to distract her by asking her to do other fun things. By the end of the book the web serves a valuable purpose.
If you like Goodnight Moon, try The Going to Bed Book
While The Going to Bed Book is shorter and a bit different than Goodnight Moon it is still a great book to use as your nighttime book with your child. It’s easy to memorize (in case you don’t have the book on hand, but still need to stick with a bedtime routine) and is super cute. It has a fun rhymes and talks about brushing teeth, putting pjs on, and rocking to sleep.
BONUS: I’m sure many of you know who Sophie the Giraffe is, but did you know that Sophie has friends including a bird named Kiwi and Margot the turtle? Sophie and her friends play peekaboo, count, and learn colors and words too! Some of our favorite Sophie books include: Let’s Get Counting!, Playtime with Sophie, and Colors. Many of the books have “touch and feel” aspects as well as flaps that lift.
I hope you enjoy trying some of our favorite board books, and I challenge you to read with your child(ren) at least once a day!
What are some of your favorite children’s books?
(Be sure to stay tuned for some of my favorite fiction books!)
