Grow-a-Reader BookList

2 - 4 Year-Olds

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Language and
Literacy Development:		 Play is the name of the game for these children.  Play is their work; play is their school.  They play with the words they've heard.   They learn the names of more things and start to string words together to communicate their ideas.  As they play with toys, they experiment with language and make-up stories.  They create stories that align with the books that have been read to them.   They use their stuffed animals and dolls to create new storylines that reflect a series of events, cause and effect, responses to situations, actions and feelings of characters, etc.  As their vocabulary grows, they try to say more things; they experiment with ordering words in different ways to communicate their ideas.   They understand the ways that they can use language--to request assistance, to explain things, to demand things, to ask questions, to make others laugh, etc.  Children are very inquisitive at this time;   they ask lots of questions.  They are working hard to understand their world; this sometimes results in their asking layers of "why" questions.  They are writing more now.  They start to move from virtually no control of the pencil to a little control.  They start to be more intentional with the marks that they make on a page and can tell adults what they are doing.  They start to understand the difference between writing and drawing---even though to the adult eye, their writing and drawing may both look like scribbling.  The child can now hold a book and understand how a book works--s/he knows when the book is upside town, how a person turns pages, and concept of going from front to back in the book  This child is also noticing print in the environment.  More and more, s/he is reading signs and labels on products.  This is the child who sees the McDonald's sign and says "Ronald McDonald" or urges the parent to stop for a Happy Meal.  This child is starting to relate printed words  to the spoken words and meaning.  This child loves to be read to, but sometimes likes to hold his/her own book; they may even look like they're not paying attention to the book being read---but they are!  This child will also sit with a book, turn the pages, and "read" the story out loud.  On stories that the child has heard over and over again, s/he will even be able to correct the adult who makes a mistake or skips a page!
Reading Interests:

Children in this age group enjoy:

  • books they can handle and manipulate (board books, cloth books, bath books,
    touch-and feel books, scratch and sniff books, etc.

  • having stories read to them over and over again

  • songs and rhymes with motions

  • books about families---they point at children, mommies, and daddies

  • counting, saying ABCs, identifying colors, and naming parts of the body

  • wordless picture books
Children's Books:

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr.; Spanish version:  Oso pardo, oso pardo, Que ves ahi?

Runaway Bunny board book by Margaret Wise Brown, Paperback and Audio cassette; Spanish version:  El Conejito Andarin, Spanish Audio cassette

Where's Spot? by Eric Hill; Spanish version:  Dondé esta Spot?

Bedtime for Frances by Russell Hoban; Spanish version:  La hora de acostarse de Francisca

Guess How Much I Love You  by Sam McBratney and Garth Williams (illustrator); Spanish version: Adivina cuanto te quiero; French/English version: Devine Combien Je T'Aime; Vietnamese/English version

Go Dog Go by P.D. Eastman; Spanish version:  Corre, Perro, Corre!

The Little Red Hen by Byron Barton  

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff and Felicia Bond (Spanish version:  Si le das una galletita a un ratón)

Clifford the Big Red Dog (board book) by Norman Bridwell, Paperback with Audio cassette; Spanish version: Clifford el gran perro colorado

Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh; Spanish version: Cuenta Ratones

Freight Train board book by Donald Crews

Time for Bed board book by Mem Fox and Jane Dyer (illustrator)

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson (illustrator); Spanish version:  Las Lechucitas; English/Vietnamese version

Corduroy by Don Freeman; Audio cassette with paperback book; Spanish version:  Corduroy

A House is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman and Betty Fraser; Audio cassette

Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert

Popular series:

Clifford by Norman Bridwell.

Curious George by H.A. Rey and Margaret Rey

Informational Books:

First Wonders of Nature Board Books by Lynne Cherry:

              Grizzly Bear

              Orangutan

              Seal

              Snow Leopard

Reference Books:

My First Dictionary

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