More Books for the 3-year-old Crowd

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Christmas is coming!

Sorry if you’re already sick of hearing about Christmas around here. It’s going to get worse. I can’t help myself.

Christmas is coming! I’m excited.

Each year, for Christmas, we get Grace a book or two six. If you’re thinking about doing the same, here are some of our favorites at the moment.

1. One Hand, Two Hands

   I received this book from a Tommy Nelson representative at the Relevant Conference. It was instantly one of Grace’s favorites. She loves the sing-songy cadence, and she loves acting out the motions described in the book. We wave our hands, clap our hands, count our fingers, and make reading this book into play time. It’s a fun one.

2. Frog and Toad Are Friends

   Joe and I both had the Frog and Toad books when we were little, and that makes sharing the stories with Grace even cooler. I remember reading these stories to Amanda when I learned to read. We’ll be collecting more Frog and Toad stories as the months go by.

3. My First Study Bible

   This book is less Bible and more Bible stories, which is perfectly okay with us. The stories are short, and each and every book of the Bible is represented (even if it’s just as kid-friendly summary). Grace asks me to read to her from this book often.

4. Strawberry Shortcake at Ballet School

   This is one of those really inexpensive “I Can Read” books. Grace isn’t reading at this level yet, but she really likes me to read it to her. I like the premise of this one, which is that one of Strawberry’s friends has trouble learning the dance moves, but she practices and works hard and figures it out. This book takes all of two minutes to read.

5. Fancy Nancy: Pajama Day

   Poor Fancy Nancy decides to wear a fancy nightgown on pajama day, and she ends up feeling left out. Grace asks to read this book over and over again, and I think it’s because it’s the only book we have where the character experiences sadness and frustration. No one is picking on her; she’s excluded because of the choices she made. The end is happy, though, and Nancy gets a chance to change her clothes and fit in again.

6. Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?

   We borrowed this one from the library, and Grace really liked it. The story is repetitive and sing-songy. Grace liked that the book follows Jesse through each part of his day, from getting dressed in the morning to going to bed at night.

   

7. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type and Click, Clack, Splish, Splash

   Click, Clack, Moo has long been my favorite children’s book. Before Grace was even born, another Mom in the book store told me that I had to read it. I found it, and I fell in love. The farm animals (especially Duck) torments Farmer Brown mercilessly.
   Grace likes all of the stories; they’re silly enough that she recognizes the kookiness. In one story, Duck runs for farmer. In another, the animals participate in a talent show. In another, Duck outsmarts the substitute farmer while Farmer Brown is on vacation. They’re all silly, funny stories.
   Click, Clack, Splish, Splash is a counting book where Duck and his animal friends rescue the goldfish from Farmer Brown’s fish tank and give them freedom in the farm’s pond.
   I thought we had all of the books in the series until today, when I discovered A Busy Day at the Farm. It will be under our Christmas tree this year.

8. Madeline

   Madeline is a little girl in Paris, which makes me like her instantly. She’s a little mischievous, too, which totally sweetens the deal for me. In this story, Madeline has to go to the hospital to have her appendix out.
   I don’t remember reading Madeline when I was little, but I think I must have since it was written in 1940. Like many of the books above, Grace likes the sing-songy cadence in this story. I like reading it, too, and I can’t say that for all of the books that she requests.

9. The Random House Book of Bedtime Stories

   Grace and Joe read stories every night at bedtime, but they don’t like to read single story books. I can’t explain it. They prefer anthologies (and they don’t like to repeat stories, which has me searching the library’s catalog and Amazon just about every other week).
   Joe likes this particular collection because most of the stories are classics, but a few are lesser known (but just as timeless).  It’s perfect for bedtime because none of the stories are scary or violent, even though they are based on fairy tales. They’re also all free of commercial characters, so they require Grace to use her imagination as opposed to remembering something she saw in a movie.

10. Angelina Ballerina’s Big Performance Collection

    This is another of Grace’s favorite bedtime story collections. I got this one because it has a story about Angelina and her baby sister. After reading it the first time, I was hesitant; Angelina is very jealous of the new baby. That’s probably realistic, though, and she does come around in the end.
    Joe told me this morning that Grace has asked for an Angelina story most every night since this book arrived.

Have you seen my original Books for the 3-year-old Crowd list? It includes 13 different books that your preschooler will love.

Happily submitted to Things I Love Thursday and Finer Things Friday

© 2010, Tara Ziegmont. All rights reserved.

Tagged as: Arts, books, books for 3-year-olds, books for preschoolers, children, Children's literature, christmas, Frog and Toad, Literature, preschool, preschoolers, Strawberry Shortcake, Tommy Nelson

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