Suggested Reading List

Reading List and Activities

Suggested Reading List:

Ages Birth to Three

Title	Author
The Very Hungry Caterpillar	Eric Carle
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?	Bill Martin, Jr. and Eric Carle
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?	Bill Martin, Jr. and Eric Carle
Is Your Mama a Llama?	Deborah Guarino
The Rainbow Fish	Marcus Pfister
The Runaway Bunny	Margaret Wise Brown
Baby Beluga	Raffi
We're Going on a Bear Hunt	Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury
Wheels on the Bus	Raffi
Goodnight Moon	Margaret Wise Brown
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear	Michael Hagul
The Teddy Bears' Picnic	Renate Kozikowski
All About Baby, Goodnight Baby, Good Morning Baby, Baby Faces	DK Publishings

Ages Three to Five

Title	Author
Abiyoyo	Pete Seeger and Michael Hays
The Bossy Gallito	Amy Griffin
Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock	Eric A. Kimmel
Here Comes Kate	Judy Carlson
I Need a Lunch Box	Jeanette Craines
Jonathan and His Mommy	Irene Smalls
The Napping House	Audrey Wood
Mama, Do You Love Me?	Barbara M. Joosse
The Snowy Day	Ezra Jack Keats
There's a Nightmare in My Closet	Mercer Mayer
Tree of Cranes	Allen Say
The Very Quiet Cricket	Eric Carle
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie	Laura Numeroff

Reading books with your child is a wonderful way to help him or her to develop language and literacy skills, and for you to bond with your child. An easy way to play with your child is to make activities based on books you read to your child. Here are some examples and have fun making your own!

Activities to Do With Children:

Birth to One Year:

Read Baby Faces by DK Publishings with your baby. Let your child look at the faces in the book. Take face pictures of your own baby. Glue the pictures onto construction paper and laminate with contact paper. Punch holes in the corner and tie with a string. Now your baby has his or her own book of faces. This encourages visual discrimination skills.

One to Two Years:

Read Teddy Bears' Picnic by Renate Kozikowski with your child. If your child has a special teddy bear let your child hold it and you can talk about the bear's name, color, clothing, eyes, etc. Gather some finger foods like graham crackers and strawberries as in the story. Take a blanket and the food outside in the backyard or park and have a Teddy Bear picnic with your child and his or her special bear. After your picnic you can do a Teddy Bear dance with actions:
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear Turn Around
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear Touch the Ground
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear Show Your Shoe
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear That Will Do
(Words adapted from Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear by Michael Hagul)
This activity encourages language and gross motor skills.

Two to Three Years:

Read The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister with your child. Take your child to your local pet store. Look at the fish and find some with shiny scales. Talk about the colors and sizes of the fish and look at how fast or slow they swim. This encourages visual discrimination and language skills.

Three to Four Years:

Read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff with your child. Have your child practice predicting what will happen in the story when you read it. During the day, think of experiences that would require some predicting. For example, when your child is finished playing with a ball or toy outside on the driveway and does not put it away, ask them what they think could happen to the ball. This encourages cognitive skills.

Four to Five Years:

Read I Need a Lunch Box by Jeanette Craines with your child. Have your child decorate his or her own lunch box with many different art materials such as markers, glue, feathers, paper, etc. Take a picture of your child and his or her creative lunch box. This encourages fine motor skills.