Guides for Parents and Caregivers

Books with lots of good pictures and not many words

Crash! Bang! Boom! by Peter Spier
Gobble Growl Grunt, by Peter Spier

These board books are filled with colorful, detailed drawings of animals and objects, accompanied by the sounds that they make. Your child will enjoy pointing to the words just to hear you make the interesting sounds ("Whop!" "A-OOOOOOO-A-OOOOOO").

Doubleday, 1972 and 1971

NFL ABC, photographs by the NFL

This small board book will give young and old football fans lots to talk about. Along with a trip through the alphabet, your child will find pictures of real football players, stadiums, equipment, trophies, and team logos.

Dorling Kindersley, 2000

Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks From A to Z, by Richard Scarry

In this chunky cardboard book, a worm drives an apple through town and passes lots of vehicles. Children will recognize many real ones (dump truck, ice cream truck, racing car). They will also laugh at the silly ones (hot dog car, pickle car).

Random House, 1990

Look Again, photographs by Tana Hoban
Take Another Look, photographs by Tana Hoban
Look! Look! Look! photographs by Tana Hoban

In these books with no words, your child will see a part of each object through a 2-inch peep hole. After guessing what the object might be, your child turns the page to see the object up close and then from a distance. Once your child knows the objects, he can show the book to others and ask them to guess. These are not board books, but the hardbacks are sturdy.

Greenwillow Books, 1979, 1981, 1988

Color Zoo, by Lois Ehlert

This bright cardboard book with cut-out shapes contains stylized pictures of animals. The simple words at the bottom of the pages tell the animal name and the shape name. Children will like to guess the animals and feel the shapes. You can also put a piece of paper behind a cut-out, and let your child trace around it to make her own shape. Then your child can color the shape or add lines to turn it into an animal.

Harper, 1989

Dear Zoo, by Rod Campbell

This story begins, "Dear Zoo. . . send me a pet. " Each page of this book has a package to be opened by lifting the flap. Inside are pets (elephant, camel, snake). None of them are ideal, though, until the very last page. After several readings your child will remember why each pet was sent back (snake-- too scary).

Simon & Schuster, 1982

Pigs in Hiding, by Arlene Dubanevich

Your child will have fun helping to find the fifty or more pigs playing Hide and Seek in this story. After you and your child have looked at this book a few times, your child might like to know what some of the words in the conversation bubbles say ("Nobody here," "I smell popcorn."). This book is available in paperback and hardback.

Scholastic, 1983

Rough Road, by Kate Davis, illustrated by Bob Filipowich

Each page of this textured book is a different road surface (ridged, rocky, rippled). The vehicle on each page is actually a removable puzzle piece, with the end of the sentence underneath. The illustrations are large and clear; the sentences are simple and predictable. Your child will have fun taking the puzzle pieces in and out as you read the words. This rubbery book is also indestructible.

innovative KIDS, 2000

Where's Spot? by Eric Hill

This large format, lift-the flap book stars that favorite puppy, Spot. As you read about Spot's mother looking for him, your child will enjoy opening doors, and telling who is hiding behind them. Along the way, your child might learn to read the word, "No" on each page, and to understand the difference between the words "in" and "under." The book has sturdy paper pages.

G.P. Putnam's, 1980

Short books about familiar stories and characters

Arthur's Tooth, by Marc Brown

The story in this book will be familiar to any child who has lost a tooth, met a playground bully, felt on the outside of a group, or watches the Arthur Show on PBS. The pictures are full of interesting details to talk about. If your child is a beginning listener, read the book yourself first; and then tell your child the story as you look at the pictures together.

Little, Brown and Company, 1985

Clifford the Big Red Dog, by Norman Bridwell

Many preschoolers enjoy Clifford and his antics. In this simple story, we learn how Clifford came to live with Emily Elizabeth, and how he grew to be so big. The large illustrations and short, simple sentences make this a hit with beginning listeners.

Scholastic, 1963

Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid (A Step into Reading Book), retold by Deborah Huitzig, illustrated by Darcy May

This book is part of a series of easy to read versions of classic stories. Although the book is 47 pages long, there are few words on the pages and each part of the story is illustrated. It would be easy to talk with your child about this story; and just read one of the sentences on each page. Over time you can add more sentences.

Random House, 1991

Maisy Takes a Bath, by Lucy Cousins

Maisy, a little girl mouse, solves the problem of what to do when her friend comes to play--at bath time! Two, three and four-year olds will surely understand and enjoy this simple story.

Candlewick Press, 2000

The Three Little Pigs by Paul Galdone

This retelling of the classic story is especially suited to beginning listeners. The story is simply told, and there are pictures to accompany each part of it. You can read a few lines of the story, but ask your child to look at the pictures and tell parts of the story herself.

Clarion Books, 1970

Song and poem books

Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd

This lovely, short goodnight story is told in rhyme. The words match the pictures; and children easily learn when to turn the pages and to join in on the rhyming words.

Harper Collins, 1947

Laugh-eteria, by Douglas Florian

This 150-page collection of silly poems will delight young school-age children. Children will enjoy looking at the humorous pictures and choosing a poem to hear. The poems are short, one per page, and guaranteed to make you laugh. If this book is a hit for your child, try Florian's other collection, Bing Bang Boing!

Harcourt Brace, 1999

Ten in the Bed, by Penny Dale

If you know this song, sing it with your child as you read the book. If you aren't a singer, it can be read as a rhyme just as well. Children love to guess which animal will fall out of bed next. They will also like to find the large word on each page that tells the sound the stuffed animal makes as it falls: OUCH! THUD! BONK! DINK!

Discovery Books, 1988

We Sing Silly Songs, by Pamela C. Beal & Susan H. Nepp, illustrated by Nancy S. Klein

This paperback book has an accompanying tape; so your child can learn the songs as she looks at the book. Among the silly songs are-- "I Stuck My Head in a Little Skunk's Hole," "Baby Bumblebee." With one song per page, and humorous illustrations, your child can easily find his favorite songs.

Price Stern Sloan, 1982

Wheels on the Bus, retold by Raffi, illustrated by Sylvie Wickstrom

Your child will enjoy singing and acting out the motions for this popular song. The book is cardboard, and has lots of bright, humorous illustrations.

Random House, 1998

Books for browsing through

Clifford's ABC, by Norman Bridwell

Each page of this paperback book shows Clifford with an alphabet letter. And for each alphabet letter, there are at least seven objects that begin with that letter. You can read the list of words while your child finds the object in the picture. You can read just one or two pages at a time. Say, "Let's find the page that starts with D like your name, David!" Over time, your child will want to read more pages at a sitting.

Scholastic, 1983

I Spy: Little Numbers, rhymes by Jean Marzello, photographs by Walter Wick

A great book for counting, rhyming, and playing. The numbers one through nine are illustrated by bright photos in this small cardboard book. You and your child can play "I Spy" by finding objects from each rhyme (such as a 6-string guitar) within those pictures. Let your child choose which pages to use for playing the game. If your child likes this book, you may want to look for others in the "I Spy" series.

Scholastic, 1999

My First Action Word Book, by Jane Bunting

This large book is filled with colorful pictures of children busy doing interesting activities: having parties, going shopping, dressing up, playing in the park. Let your child choose pages that he wants to look at. After you and your child have talked about some of the pictures, try reading the words that go with those pictures.

Dorling Kindersley, 1996

Planting a Rainbow, by Lois Ehlert

Many preschoolers love coloring rainbows. If your child is one of these, she will enjoy this book of colorful flowers. The second half of the book has pages of graduated size, colored according to the rainbow. Your child will probably like to begin with this part of the book. She can find her favorite color, and you can point to the flowers as you read their names. After many readings, your child might like to look at the beginning of the book where she can see how the flowers grow from bulbs and seeds. Your child might even like to try planting a rainbow herself.

Harcourt Brace & Company, 1988