Choosing Books for Your Child: Preschoolers 3-5 Years

Source: one tough job

Tips for choosing age-appropriate books for your child

  • Stories with longer and more complex rhymes are fun to read and will help teach your child letter sequence and that some words share common sounds; this helps to build his “phonemic awareness”.
  • Your child’s attention span may be getting longer; try reading longer stories, with short paragraphs. Experiment with different length books to find what works for him.
  • Books that reflect your child’s experiences, like going to a new school or welcoming a baby and the feelings that go along with the experience may help him adjust to change.
  • Books where the main character is his age, stories about animals, or specific topic areas often peak interest.
  • Wordless books with detailed pictures, allow him to use words to interpret and describe the events/actions in the story. Also wordless books promote parent-child conversations and imagination.
  • Introduce books that review basic concepts, like numbers and letters, to help prepare him for kindergarten.

Reading tip! When reading aloud to your child, try to actively engage her by asking questions, discussing what is happening, making predictions, connecting the story to her experiences, or simply by having her turn the page! By doing so you can help build her vocabulary and reading comprehension.

  • Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker
  • Miss Spider’s Tea Party by David Kirk
  • Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
  • Bear Feels Sick by Karma Wilson
  • Rainstorm by Barbara Lehman
  • Alphabeasties by Sharon Werner
  • How Many Snails? By Paul Giganti Jr.
  • I Love You All Day Long by Francesca Rusackas
  • Round is the Mooncake: A Book of Shapes by Roseanne Thong

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Source: Reading Rockets

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