They Never Stop Moving
Toddlers are constantly exploring their world, checking out how everything moves and works, exploring within their reach. Of course, your house is toddlerproofed, and his environment is safe, and your toddler is meant to explore this exciting world because everything is so new to him. In addition to exploring, toddlers love attention. If they don’t get the attention they are seeking from their parents, they’ll find their own way of getting it. We have all had the experience of being on the phone or trying to concentrate on a task when our toddler wants us to play with him. He’ll dump all of his toys, sit on the cat, scream pitifully and hold onto our legs to get attention. Reading with a toddler is an excellent way to give him attention and he will slow down to non-stop motion to sit on your lap and read a book.
Choose Books with Rhymes
Nursery rhymes occur in just about every culture and language, and young children love to hear them. They are important as tools that will help them when they learn to read. It’s very important to early learning development that children are able to recognize and create rhyming words. Nursery rhymes and songs help children to develop an ear for rhyme and rhythm. You can sing or say these rhymes any time and choose books of nursery rhymes to share with your baby. He will enjoy seeing pictures alongside his favorite rhymes. If you speak a language other than English, try to find books to share in your home language too. It’s important for children to learn about the history and culture of their family, and nursery rhymes are one way to share these things with even the youngest of children.
Try These Books
You can ask at your local library for some good titles that a toddler would enjoy, and some libraries even have story time for toddlers. Here are a few books that children ages 18 months-3 years might like:
Board Books
The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton
Fat Cat on a Mat by Phil Roxby Cox, Jenny Tyler & Stephen Cartwright
The Everything Book by Denise Fleming
Five Little Ducklings by Lorna Reed & Louise Gardner
My Big Animal Book by Roger Priddy
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Wheels on the Bus by Raffi & Sylvie Wickstrom
Hard or Soft Cover Books
Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin, Jr.
Just Like Daddy by FrankAsch
Ten, Nine, Eight by Molly Bang
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown & Clement Hurd
The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins
More, More, More, Said the Baby by Vera B. Williams
Tortillas and Lullabies/Tortillas y Cancioncitas by Lynn Reiser, Rebecca Hart & Corazones Valientes
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr., John Archambault & Lois Ehlert
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Choose Books She Will Enjoy
Toddlers love to see pictures of other children doing things they like to do. Choose books that show pictures of little ones getting dressed, eating dinner, playing with toys, etc. Very young children love books with pictures of animals, cars, trains and airplanes. Books for toddlers should have just a few words, or even one word or letter to each page. You child will begin to connect the fact that there are letters on the page with the idea that you are telling a story or talking about the pictures. From ages 18 months-3 years you may want to choose two types of books for different occasions; sturdy board, cloth or plastic books are good for your child to play with by herself. Hardback or paperback picture books with paper pages are wonderful to share with her when you have reading time together. It’s good to keep these books in a special place for special times so that she will enjoy them and connect them with the quality time she has with mom or dad.
photo by:
Mike Babcock 
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