Great books for preschoolers: encourage a lifetime of reading
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Encourage your preschooler to be a lifelong reader (2-4 years)
Childhood from two to four is an amazing time. Children's intellectual and emotional lives are expanding at an amazing rate!
Now that your magnificent little person has some tiny shreds of impulse control (I did say tiny shreds), it's time to bring your own books back out of hiding.
Having books in your home is a major predictor of later school success, and this is the time to do it. Show your child that you read and that books are important in your home.
We all know that what our kids see us do is the most important factor in what they end up doing themselves. Your quiet actions will speak more loudly than your (sometimes a bit exasperated) words.
The Night Kitchen and Where the Wild Things Are
by Maurice Sendak
In the Night Kitchen (Caldecott Collection)
Amazon Price: $12.92 (as of 12/19/2009) 
Where the Wild Things Are
Amazon Price: $7.00 (as of 12/19/2009)
Which is your favorite?
Two geniuses with very different visual and verbal styles. Which one is your favorite?
Dr. Seuss or Maurice Sendak?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byDr. Seuss
Yvonne says:
Dr. Seuss Is amazing for any child!
Posted July 28, 2008
Evelyn_Saenz says:
Dr. Seuss is the author I turn to when teaching young children to read. I find Maurice Sendak too scarey.
Posted February 15, 2008
Comfortdoc says:
I'd have to say Dr. Seuss, since he's another Dr. (haha) and I did a SquidWho lens for him. So many different books compared to just a handful that I can remember by Sendak.
Posted January 20, 2008
rms says:
Wow this is a tough question. I'm going with Dr. Suess but I really like them both.
Posted January 16, 2008
jeffwend says:
This is a very tough one, Where the Wild Things Are was one of my favorites as a child, but Dr. Seuss had so much excellent work. I still remember being a little guy having my parents read me Dr. Seuss books at bedtime.
Posted January 01, 2008
Maurice Sendak
homeschoolingmommy says:
Maurice Sendak. The word choice in a few of Dr. Suess' books, such as the Toothbook, really bother me.
Posted February 27, 2008
mulberry says:
This is nearly impossible, I loved "Are you my mother?"..but I'm sticking with
"Where the Wild Things Are? Maruice Sendak
Posted January 10, 2008
Janet says:
Dr. Seuss books are wonderful, but Maurice Sendak's Little Bear series gets my vote. I LOVE Little Bear! My son just finished watching Little Bear on TV. ;)
Posted January 02, 2008
sonia_simone says:
I love them both and would hate to be without either one, but there's just something about The Night Kitchen that I wouldn't ever want to be without. Tough choice, but I'm voting for Maurice.
Posted December 15, 2007
Maurice Sendak's Little Bear series
Thanks to Janet for the recommendation!
Little Bear Boxed Set: Little Bear, Father Bear Comes Home, and Little Bear's Visit
Amazon Price: $8.61 (as of 12/19/2009)
Little Bear's Loose Tooth (Maurice Sendak's Little Bear) (Festival Reader)
Amazon Price: (as of 12/19/2009)
Lost in Little Bear's Room (Maurice Sendak's Little Bear) (Festival Reader)
Amazon Price: (as of 12/19/2009)
Little Bear's Bad Day (Maurice Sendak's Little Bear) (Festival Reader)
Amazon Price: (as of 12/19/2009)
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (I Can Read It All by Myself)
Amazon Price: $8.99 (as of 12/19/2009)
"Read me a book, mama?"
Are you a reader?
If you're not a reader yourself, it's going to be an uphill battle to interest your kids in it. If you don't read much, why not? You might be subscribing to the limiting belief that reading is like broccoli. Reading is one of the world's great pleasures, not a duty you must perform.If you like to read romance novels, shoot-em-ups, or comic books, go ahead and do it. That's the nice thing about being a grown-up. What you read isn't nearly as important as the act of reading itself.
That goes for your child as well. (Remind yourself of that later when he develops a passion for Goosebumps or Captain Underpants.)
Harold and the Purple Crayon
Harold and the Purple Crayon 50th Anniversary Edition (Purple Crayon Books)
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/19/2009)
Find interesting additions to books
Magazines can be terrific, and your preschooler can even learn an incredible amount from catalogs.
My little boy happens to be partial to the Williams-Sonoma catalog and anything with pictures of cute little girls. Gardening catalogs are also great, especially the ones showing vegetables.
Colorful new images can introduce all kinds of vocabulary, and it's fun to ask questions about what the people in the catalog might be doing, or what could be in the pretty box shown in the picture.
And novelty always goes over well with small children, which means that the constant onslaught of catalogs is finally good for something.
Three cheers for BUGS!
Insects and arachnids and larvae (oh my!)
Bug IQ Book (Smart Kids IQ)
Packed with facts and great color photographs. The Goliath beetle will amaze you!
Amazon Price: (as of 12/19/2009)
I'm a Pill Bug (Nature: a Child's Eye View)
Fascinating book about pill bugs. (Or roly-polies, as we call them in our house.) Did you know they eat concrete? And that they hibernate in winter? Sweet, gentle illustrations--lovely book.
Amazon Price: $7.95 (as of 12/19/2009)
Other lenses on encouraging your child to read
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Great books for toddlers
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Language skills are starting to develop! Toddlers can learn many new words every day, but they have to have the exposure. Books and magazines will help your little Bug make the most of this powerful time in his development. There’s a...
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Great books for babies
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If you’ve recently had a baby—or maybe you're a new aunt or uncle—one of your goals might be to encourage a lifelong love of reading in this gorgeous brand-new person. This lens will give you some resources and encouragement,...
Can You See a Little Bear?
Can You See a Little Bear?
Amazon Price: $7.95 (as of 12/19/2009)
If you like this lens, you may want to visit my Web site or blog
remarcom.com
Remarcom is short for remarkable communication. This is my business home page.
The remarkable communication blog Ideas on how to communicate more remarkably. Not just for businesspeople.
Bunny Cakes
Bunny Cakes (Max and Ruby)
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/19/2009)
What's your favorite book for preschoolers?
Let me know and I'll check it out. If I love it, I'll add it to the lens.
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- only1bub only1bub Dec 2, 2008 @ 1:30 am
- What a great page - I've got several of the books you mentioned already, but this Maurice person I've never heard of & will need to look into! :)
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- OnStageLighting OnStageLighting Apr 1, 2008 @ 2:40 pm
- It has to be < a href="http://www.childrensbook.me.uk">Pants by Giles Andreae. It might not be high brow but the rhymes are great and it is just plain silly.
Visit us at http://www.childrensbook.me.uk
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- BookMom BookMom Mar 19, 2008 @ 3:22 pm
- Favorite books for preschoolers - be sure to check out books by Usborne Publishing for your list! (www.GrowingGreatMinds.com) A few of my favorites are How Big Is A Million, the Picture Book Classics, and the touchy feely books Princesses, This Is My Kitten, and Hide and Seek Bunnies!
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- Evelyn_Saenz Evelyn_Saenz Feb 15, 2008 @ 6:50 pm
- The Purple Gallinules just flew over to check out your lens. We love to teach how to read color words while learning science. Max and Ruby are my favorite books for Preschoolers.
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- midaste midaste Jan 20, 2008 @ 10:31 am
- Thank you for lens. I am always looking for new books for my 4 year old. I have a lens with a few of my favorite and also one I wrote for my boy that can be downloaded for free. I rated you a 5.
My Son's Favorite Books
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- GypsyPirate GypsyPirate Dec 15, 2007 @ 2:57 pm
- Such good memories of books from when I was little. Very nicely done!!
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- rockycha rockycha Dec 6, 2007 @ 10:23 am
- Excellent lens! high fives! thanks for your forum help :)
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- Jacqueline_Golding_PhD Jacqueline_Golding_PhD Dec 1, 2007 @ 9:36 am
- Great lens! Reading is so important - and such a joy! I have so many favorite books for young children that I wrote a book about them, HEALING STORIES. Along the lines of HAROLD, how about CHERRIES AND CHERRY PITS by Vera B. Williams or APPELEMANDO'S DREAMS by Patricia Polacco?
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- ina_mar ina_mar Sep 12, 2007 @ 4:56 pm
- I love "The Trip to Panama" by Janosch (
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