Our Favorite Books: Fun stories that promote language development
The books in this post are recommended by Talia Leszcz, Speech Language Pathology advisor at Babbly.
Below are a list of books that are fun to read and help promote language development for the little ones:
01. Dear Zoo
A book by Rod Campbell
Description: This is a great story about a child who wants a pet. He writes a letter to the zoo and the zoo sends him a series of animals that are not the perfect pets, until finally, they send something that is just right!
Why I love this book: This book is an excellent way to teach new adjectives (e.g. describing) words and engage children who typically may not be very interested in books. The story can be used with infants, toddlers and preschool age children. Each page has flaps that a child can lift up to reveal a hidden animal making the book interactive for children who like to touch things, take control of the book or need a little more excitement during book reading. The book is repetitive, predictable and easy to follow. It also teaches your children about story structure and the essential elements of every story (sometimes referred to as story grammar and includes elements such as character, problems, and solutions that follow a logical series of steps).
How to read this book: Try reading the book in an animated voice and act out the adjectives by making exaggerated facial expressions or using your hands. You can also try gathering some matching animal toys around your house. As your child lifts a flap to reveal an animal, playfully pull out the matching toy and do a silly action with the animal (such as making it jump or fly) so that you can build verb (e.g. action word) vocabulary too! Using matching toys can also help improve your child’s pretend play skills and can keep even the busiest of kids interested in books!
Remember, most importantly to make books fun! Don’t feel like you have to read every word on the page. Let your child lead the interaction and make comments about the pictures or things they are interested in.
02: Head to Toe
Description: This is a simple and engaging story. On each page, a colorful animal does an action involving a particular part of their body and then invites a child to do it too.
Why I love this book: This book is a ton of fun and full of familiar and functional vocabulary for young children. Children of all ages will love this book, but I find it particularly useful with toddlers and preschool age children. This is a great book to teach turn taking, imitation, action words (verb vocabulary) and body parts in an active and engaging way.
How to read this book: As you read the book, act out the actions yourself. Get down to your child’s level and be face to face with them. Try the action a few times as you read each page, wait and look expectantly at your child and then do the action again! Imitating actions is a big step towards language learning. See if your child will try and imitate you and be sure to get excited at any attempt they make! Be silly and energetic as you read. The more animated you are, the more likely your child will be interested in copying you. With younger children, emphasize the action words and body parts. Be sure to say the words emphatically as you do the action! For older children, see if you can come up with new actions beyond what is in the book.
03: Up Up Down
A book by Robert Munsch
Description: This wonderful story by Canada’s favourite children’s author, Robert Munsch, is about an energetic girl who loves to climb. Anna is always looking for things to climb and her parents are always warning her to be careful. Repetitive, silly and comical, it is sure to engage readers of all ages.
Why I love this book: This is a fabulous book to teach the concepts of up and down. It is also an excellent option for early readers. The words climb up and down the page vertically to support meaning and help your child learn how words move across the page. The story is repetitive, playful and full of silly sound effects.
How to read this book: When reading this book, be sure to use an animated and excited voice. As the words climb up the page, be sure your voice does too. This will help build excitement and interest for your child. You can also turn this book into a game! As you read the words “up up up” slowly stand or reach your hands (or your child!) higher up. Pause before you read “fall down” and look expectantly at your child. Then make a big show as you tumble to the ground. If your child is a big fan, use this verbal routine (words that are repeated at predictable times in an activity) with toys as well. You can drive cars up and down ramps (say “up, up, up” as you go up, pause when you get to the top, and dramatically release the toy as you say “fall down”). You can try this with toy animals or figurines too!
“Remember, most importantly to make books fun! Don’t feel like you have to read every word on the page. Let your child lead the interaction and make comments about the pictures or things they are interested in.”
To watch a parent coaching session on reading, visit this post.
Now go on and get “Babbling”!