Some of My Favorite Picture Books

paraI wanted to share some of my personal favorite pictures books for children.  This is by no means an all inclusive list.  It is a sampling.  I am particularly drawn to well illustrated books with a good story line.  Some of these are oldies, but goodies.  Others have a more recent publication date.  I encourage adults to have fun reading to a child.  Some of my favorite memories are sharing books with my Mom and Dad.  My dad could do great voices and he was the best big, bad,wolf in Little Red Riding Hood.  Then there was the afternoon we all fell into laughter with the golden book: Teeny Tiny Woman.  As I recall it, it was one of my sister, Sandy's favorite books.  Once again, she had requested that my mom read the book.  The repetition of the main line of the "teeny tiny woman in her teeny tiny house, with her teeny tiny dog" read by my mother, just cracked us all up.  What a great time giggling over the repetitive language of a book.  Click HERE or on the images above to download a pdf file.

Here is what is really going on when...
....a child ask you to read a book "again" for the umpteenth time:  The child is in the beginning stages of reading.  Soon, the child will "read" the book to you.  They will have it memorized and be able to paraphrase it or "read" it from memory. I've had more than one beginning reader proudly tell me, "I can read this with my eyes closed!"  This is an ability to be recognized as the beginning stages of reading.  The child is grasping the importance of reading  and the story line.  (You may be fed up with reading the book and want to shout, "NO MORE!", but know that the child is on his/her way to being a reader.  Celebrate it!

Here is what is really going on when...
​...children are exposed to rhyming texts:  Nursery rhymes and picture books with predictable rhythm and rhyming patterns are the fun parts of language development for the young child.  Think about the toddler who is having fun with language and repeats the same "fun" word over and over.  This is all part of language development.  The future reader can be helped on their way by exposing them to books and rhymes that have a predictable pattern.  Exposure to books like Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom! celebrate the joy of rhythm and rhyme and a child's natural language development for the sounds of language.  The child is developing phonemic awareness.

Here is what is really going on when...
​...reading the silliness of "Hop on Pop" or "Green Eggs and Ham" and so many more:  The books of Dr. Seuss are an absolute genius!  He was challenged to write a children's book with a minimal amount of words that would delight children.  He succeeded in a big way and has been delighting children for years.  His books combine the repetition of a few words in very silly ways that leave children giggling and practicing the art of reading.  These books can build a child's confidence, fluency, and love of learning.  They also incorporate rhyme with whimsy.  What a great combination!

Here is what is really going on when...
...you read to a child.  You model reading.  You model reading as something that can be enjoyed and shared.  If you are cuddled together reading a book, that adds an even greater message about reading.  I once knew a little boy who wanted to "get cozy" with me.  He was about four years old.  "Getting cozy" was code for snuggling up and reading a book together.

My recommendation:  Get cozy with reading a book to a child and watch the love of reading and ultimately the "skill" of reading evolve!  To quote and paraphrase Dr. Seuss, I encourage you to:
​

Read on a boat.
Read on a goat.
Read on a train.
Read in the rain.
Read with a fox.
Read in a box.
Read to a mouse.
Read to a house. 
Read here or there.
​Read ANYWHERE!...with a child.

Enjoy!