Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: books for one year old, books for two year old, books preschooler, classic preschool books, family devotions for infants, Family devotions for preschoolers, family devotions for toddlers, family devotions for young children, family meditation for preschooler, family meditation for toddlers, family worship for toddlers, preschool read-aloud, preschooler, read aloud infant, read aloud preschool, read-aloud 3-year-old, read-aloud 4-year-old, read-aloud two-year-old
As I was reviewing my school goals for the children, I thought I’d check on how we were really doing on one goal, “become familiar with at least 30 different children’s stories” (repeated readings assumed). So. . . here is my list – and it leaves out SO many great books – perhaps I will add to it as the year progresses. I tried to order them from birth to what Elijah is now enjoying, but all of these are also enjoyed by Merry who is just two years old.
Faces by First Focus Publishing
Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt
The Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
All the I Spy books by by Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Dogs Go. . . by Annie Horwood
Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? by Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss’s ABC by Dr. Seuss
Chicka Chicka ABC by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
Jamberry by Bruce Degan
One is 1 by Tasha Tudor
Olivia Counts by Ian Falconer
Go Dog. Go! by P.D. Eastman
ABC A Child’s First Alphabet Book by Alison Jay
It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw
I Like it When by Mary Murphy
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See? by Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carle
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss and Crockett Johnson
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
Harry the Dirty Dog Treasury by Gene Zion, illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram
You Are All My Favorites by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram
Is Your Mama A Llama? by Deborah Guarino, illustrated by Steven Kellogg
Schnitzel vonKrumm Forget-Me-Not by Lynley Dodd
Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy by Lynley Dodd
What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry
Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by Richard Scarry
Strawberry Shortcake Treasury by various authors
On a different reading note, our family has struggled to find a good “children’s Bible” that keeps the attention of toddlers and preschoolers once they are moving around. We long for our children to grow to love the Bible, so are careful to expose them to it heartily and with great joy ourselves, but also with variety and at their level of understanding, in the hope that we do not overwhelm them, or give them so much repetition that they become numb to it. We read aloud scripture in our home at various times (babies especially LOVE to have the Psalms and other poetry books of the Bible read aloud to them, I have found) and talking about it as we go along with every day life, but are concerned about getting them into the regular habit of meditating on the Bible so that it is second nature to them as they grow up. Some families call this “family devotions” or “family worship” or “family Bible time” or “family meditation,” whatever the name, we have not found any one thing that seems to sink into their hearts effectively 100% of the time. . .but here are two that we have found engage them and teach the gospel in the stories. We have read through each of these multiple times (a little bit each night before bed, working through the book from beginning to end) over the last few years and recommend them for families with children age birth to 4 years old. Of course, these books are not used in a vacuum – natural discussion and teachable moments should be pounced on by mom and dad!
The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes (1971 or 1975 versions)
The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm and Gail Schoonmaker
