Once upon a time, Ryan thought books were boring.
But you know how toddlers are. One day something is so boring that it’s downright insulting and the next day it’s The Best Thing Ever Invented And Proof That God Is Real.
Dude loves himself some books now. We end every night “readin’ one more book, mommy, ok?” (Eight books later, I say “No more books; time for night-nights,” and then he throws a tantrum which culminates in the throwing of his pillow, blankets and stuffed Dumbo across the room.)
Anyway, I have developed some favorites over the last several months, which I shall share with you now.
Top Five Toddler Books
I know. This one seems obvious because it’s a classic and everyone loves Goodnight Moon. Well. I’m about to shock you: I think it’s kind of a dumb story.
Why is that bowl of mush just sitting uneaten on the nightstand? It looks like perfectly good mush, and if the kid didn’t want to eat it tonight, maybe someone should take a moment to pack it up in a Tupperware container and stick it in the fridge so he can eat it for dinner tomorrow.
I am also confused as to why we say goodnight to “nobody” on the blank page. We haven’t said a single word to the ball of yarn, if we’re really hurting for things to say goodnight to.
Nevertheless, it makes my Top Five Toddler Books list for three two reasons:
It’s short.- I get to hear Ryan say “Cow … jump-ded … ova da moon!”
- You read it calmly and softly and it sort of winds the kid down for bedtime (at least in theory).
2. Oh Say Can You Say Di-no-saur?
This book was actually very educational for me. When you have a kid who is as obsessed with dinosaurs as mine is, you’ve got to put in the time to learn how to pronounce the names – and this book sounds them out for you.
Also, Ryan thinks that Sally and Dick (the kids who visit the Dinosaur Museum in the book) are me and Mike, and that makes me smile. I imagine this is where he thinks we go on Date Night.
That’s Mike and I on the bottom left page.
Probably going to hit the bar after the museum.
3. It’s Potty Time
(Can’t find a link to that one. Evidently there are a million “It’s Potty Time” books. Really, any one will do.)
I wouldn’t exactly say we’re “potty training” right now. Just potty encouraging, perhaps, using the world-renowned Bribe Method.
(In case you’ve never utilized the Bribe Method, it goes like this: He pees, he gets M&Ms. He doesn’t pee, he doesn’t get M&Ms.)
The reason I like this book is that every time I cheer for the little boy who successfully pees, Ryan goes, “Oooooh, poo-poo potty! Get ‘pecial MMs!” He’s proud of that little boy and excited that he gets special M&Ms. I think that is sweet of him.
Obviously, this one makes me cry. Kid, you’ll move mountains = *sob*
I saved the best for last. This book is the greatest thing to ever come out of the Target Dollar Spot. (And that’s saying something, am I right? You have experienced the awesomeness that is the Target Dollar Spot, yes?)
It’s the first book Ryan really fell in love with, the first book I memorized. One time when I was traveling, I was able to Skype with him and “read” him the book from memory while he flipped through the pages. I even have a stash of them at home that I give as gifts. Adore. It.
What are your favorite kids’ books?
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20 Responses to Top 5 Toddler Books
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I'm Meg. An Ohio girl who met a Pennsylvania gentleman in the Arizona desert. Married, toddler, cat, etc. Current adventure: Trading sun for snow, warmth for wind, an office job for a home office. Hello, East Coast.SPONSORS
Love love love Oh Say Can You Say Di-no-saur! It’s one of our favs.
Also – There’s No Place Like Space – because it’s freaking awesome.
We also adore The Foot Book because we can play baby footsie while reading it.
There’s no place like space?! I have not heard of this one! Excuse me while I go shopping on Amazon…
Aww, I love this list! One of Charlie’s favorites is, “Russell the Sheep” and my favorite is, “Wherever You Go, My Love will Find You.” I love kid books – they’re seriously some of the best “literature” out there.
Totally agree! Ryan has several that either choke me up or make me laugh. I think writing children’s books is probably harder than writing any other sort of book.
Lincoln still detests books, which hurts my reading loving self, lol. Apparently he’ll let his teachers read to him at school, at least. However at home it’s entirely a different story. He wants to be the one controlling the book. He’ll happily look at them on his own, but if I try to READ it to him??? OMG the horror!
Aww! He’s an independent reader, haha! Ryan used to be just like that and all of a sudden, it was like a switch flipped and he wanted to be read to constantly. Or maybe he just knows it prolongs bedtime for 30 minutes.
Hahah my husband was appalled by Goodnight Moon when I dragged him along to a babysitting job (man marries girl who loves children, he must learn to at least tolerate them). He couldn’t believe how dumb it is.
I love the Sandra Boynton books–they’re so cute and fun and you can make up songs to the words. Barnyard Dance, Personal Penguin, etc…so fun!
First of all, so glad I’m not alone with Goodnight Moon! Second of all, YES to Sandra Boynton! She is awesome. Ryan doesn’t have many of her books, but I bought a bunch of them for my nieces when they were younger. Barnyard Dance is my favorite.
Very very favourite right now is The Best Little Monkeys in the World. But I can’t wait to read Harold and the Purple Crayon with Ariadne with weekend. And the day will come soon when she’ll be ready for The Giving Tree and Something From Nothing… both great books. Something from Nothing is visually delightful with two picture stories going on at the same time as the main story.
And then… come Pippi Longstocking, Little Women, Eight Cousins, Uncle Wiggley and oh so many wonderful beautiful books!
Cindy, I am writing all these down and adding them to his list. GREAT suggestions. I am so excited for the day when Ryan is old enough to start the Harry Potter series. I have visions of us curled up in his (big boy) bed, reading a chapter each night.
We are so lucky to live in a time when there is an abundance of wonderful books, especially for children. Even with my love of reading, I haven’t been able to get through the Harry Potter series, but I’ll be forever grateful and in awe of Ms. Rowling for setting the reading world on fire at a time when it was desperately needed.
Reliving a memory here too, when Jaye was small, we started reading “chapter” books early. She was not even three when I read Little Women to her. I think, it was less about the book and more about the soothing event of laying down and closing her eyes, listening to my voice read and drifting off to sleep. I know she doesn’t remember the book, but she did at the time. She handed me the book each night, and said “Bef and Jo”. It was far beyond her comprehension at the time, but something Jordan’s kindergarten french immersion teacher said has always stuck with me. I didn’t speak french and asked if our reading rituals would hamper his learning french. She said no…. read to him in german, in swahili… a love of reading, a nurturing of the imagination, doesn’t matter what language, just do it.
I believed that, in stretching their comprehension too. As long as they were willing to listen, we read. Sometimes the book was beyond them, but we could read and then talk about each page, the pictures and discuss what was happening at their level.
Sorry. You touched a raw nerve there. I think reading and books are the most wonderful gift in life and get a little caught up in it!
Yes, yes, yes! Love your comments. I personally think it’s great to read a bit above their level. If they love books, it stretches them to learn more and instills confidence that they can read a “big kid” book and figure out what’s going on. I also think modeling the behavior of reading to them is so important. It shows them that it’s a skill/hobby they’ll carry with them their whole lives.
I wrote a post two months ago listing Leila’s top 8 favorite books. She’s a book fanatic (like her teacher Momma). Here’s the link to my post: http://myleilaland.blogspot.com/2012/11/two-year-old-favorites-childrens-book.html
No repeats from your list!
I remember that post! Surprisingly, we don’t own any of those books, although I do remember Chicka Chicka Boom Boom from a children’s lit course I took in college, haha. That one is adorable.
If you give a pig a party was a favorite at our house for awhile. When we’d get to the page about the pillow fight, I’d read it like this…”Piiii…loooow….FIIIIIGGGHTTT!” and eventaully he realized it was coming and would say it with me…except it sounded like this “EHHH….OOOOOO…AAAAAAT” but in the same way I said it if that makes sense. Too cute.
That is all kinds of adorable. There’s a part in Oh Say Can You Say Din-o-saur where it talks about how one dinosaur was an early riser. And if he rose so early, “did he catch the worm?” Everytime I’m about to turn to the worm page, Ryan yells out “Catchin’ wooooorm?!?” with the same inflection I use. Makes me laugh every single time.
Oh, “Bubbles Bubbles” is a favorite here, too. “Bubbles bubbles on my nose/ bubbles bubbles on my toes.” I can do that one in my sleep. And “At the Pond One Day” another Target dollar spot find. The animals have googly eyes and everything. We’ve also been doing lots of “The Big Brother Book” by Joanna Cole. Oscar’s also a fan of “The Pokey Little Puppy”, which is funny to me because my husband thinks that the owner looks like Richard Nixon–so that’s what we call him when we read it.
The Pokey Little Puppy always reminds me of Billy Madison, hahaha. I’m going to keep my eyes out for At the Pond One Day!
Carina’s new favorites are the “Llama Llama” books. She’s obsessed!
We don’t have any of those but I’ve heard they’re good. (Mental note to check them out.)