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Choosing Books for Your Child: Toddlers 1-2 Years

Source: one tough job

Tips for choosing age-appropriate books for your child

  • Bright, bold, simple pictures still catch the eye. Try to find books with photos of familiar objects or activities or set in a familiar place, like at the park.
  • Durable books are still useful at this age, board books with thick pages make page turning easier.
  • To develop your child’s oral language skills, pick books with short, simple stories or stories with rhyme and repetition. One to two sentences per page is just right!
  • Children are developing particular interests; choose books that match his interests, like animals, vehicles, or characters– like Elmo or Dora.
  • Tactile and moveable books like touch-and-feel, pop-up, or pull the tab give him the opportunity to explore and help to keep his attention.
  • Continue to read wordless books to promote oral language development and vocabulary skills.

Reading tip! Your toddler may get tired before you finish a book; keep in mind you don’t have to finish every book you start. On the other hand, he may be busy moving around a lot while you are reading, he is most likely still listening to the story.

  • Go, Dog, Go by P.D. Eastman
  • Maisy’s Big Flap Book by Lucy Cousins
  • Clip-Clop by Nicola Smee
  • Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
  • You Are my Perfect Baby by Joyce Carole Thomas
  • The Wheels on the Bus by Paul O. Zelinsky

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