benefits of reading Archives

Ever since our son turned three his curiosity started to peak and new, sometimes deep questions started to come up regularly. At first, I was simply picking up learning books for preschoolers that I felt should cover topics he should know at his age. But slowly as he began to express more verbally his interests came to the forefront. Now I shifted focus towards buying books on subjects he wants to know more about.

In the last post, I covered some of our favorite books at age 3. In today’s post, I will share details about some of the learning books we use and why we love these. Each of the books included on this list is my preschooler’s favorite. We have long discussions on the topics covered in these books and many of them have contributed immensely to his understanding of certain topics.

I divided these learning books for preschoolers in categories so that its easier for you to browse through the list.

THE BEST LEARNING BOOKS FOR PRESCHOOLERS

WHAT BOOKS SHOULD PRESCHOOLERS READ?

Alphabet books

Usborne Big Book of ABC

A perfect book for toddlers and even preschoolers learning the alphabet. The beautiful illustrations grab the child’s attention. A great addition to any preschoolers library.

Montessori letter work – Bobby George and June George

A unique board book that provides an interactive learning experience for preschoolers. We bought this book on a whim when our son turned three, and it was an instant hit. The combination of traceable letters along with their sounds encourages little children learning to write.

Dr. Seuss’s Amazing Alphabet Book

A funny alphabet book for toddlers and preschoolers. From Aunt Annie’s Alligator to a Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz, it is fun to learn the alphabet with Dr. Seuss. The rhyming words and silly illustrations bring a big smile to my son’s face.

Number & Counting books

Usborne lift the flap numbers

I love this preschool book by Usborne. It makes number counting, addition, and subtraction fun. Each page is filled with cute illustrations and a storyline that makes lifting the flap and counting a game.

This book can be used from ages 2-5.

Ten wriggly wiggly caterpillars – Debbie Tarbett

The 3-D caterpillars going on a journey through each page, make counting fun for preschoolers. There is lots to explore in this book and a wonderful surprise on the last page.

Books that encourage reading

Bob books Set 1 – Beginning readers

If your preschooler has just started learning phonics and blending words this book is the best to start with. The stories use simple three-letter word sentences for your early reader.

Each set covers a few letter sounds, gradually adding more and more sounds and increasing the complexity.

A must-buy book for preschoolers learning to read.

Usborne phonics readers

Even though our son cannot read yet, he enjoys these short stories and spots a few sight words here and there.

This series has been created by Usborne in consultation with reading experts and each book includes notes for parents on how to make phonics-based reading engaging for kids.

Books on shapes

First Shapes: Shape Search (Bob the Builder Concept Books)

If your child loves construction vehicles like mine, this is the book to get.

Bob the builder goes about building a house and you learn about the different shapes hidden in the house he builds. Each page comes with flaps for your child to lift and explore.

Usborne lift the flap shapes

Another one of my favorites and one of the best learning books for preschoolers. Usborne’s lift the flap book is a delightful and interactive book for preschoolers on shapes. Includes many spotting, naming and counting activities too. A wonderful book that can be used from age 2-5.

Books on Nature and Life science

The tiny seed – Eric Carle

We have this book for some time now and it’s my go-to read when my son has questions about plants and trees.

The story takes you on a journey with a tiny seed, as it travels a long distance through different seasons to finally grow into a beautiful plant.

This book is age-appropriate from ages 2 – 7. It gives the child a good understanding of the lifecycle of plants.

Usborne Peep inside animal homes

A delightful book for preschoolers showcasing different animal habitats and homes. One of our current favorite reads, our son loves flipping through the pages and talking about each animal home.

Ladybird Mad about bugs

This year during the monsoon, we started observing all types of bugs on our walks. Our conversations seemed to revolve around what they eat? can they see us? etc these conversations encouraged me to buy a book on bugs.

Mad about bugs is the perfect book that introduces children to different types of bugs and simple facts about them. It helped our son identify some of these creepy crawlies on our next walk. He now has a newfound interest in all tiny living beings around him.

Appletree little hands series – Birds

Our son’s favorite book on birds. The pictures on each page are in a large size making it easy for the preschooler to identify different birds.

Discovery kids Moo on the farm 10 farmyard sounds

An interactive sound book that introduces children to the different animals found on the farm. Easy press buttons to hear the animal sounds make this book an engaging read for little ones.

RHS The Magic And Mystery Of Trees

An informative book on trees that pulls the child in with beautiful illustrations. A beginner’s guide of sorts about forests and natural ecosystems for little readers.

Books about the world

Ladybird I am ready to explore my world

We recently bought this book, after our son started asking questions about India and the countries around us.

I thought it was a good time to introduce him to a map of the world, different countries around us, how their flags look, and little snippets of information about each country.

This book includes all of this information for a 3-year-old to grasp in an easy format. He loves this book and learned a lot of new information through the book, things that I would have otherwise missed talking about.

Books about the body and body safety

Usborne look inside your body

Though some concepts like internal organs are difficult for our son to grasp at this stage, he found this book fascinating and had many questions about what he read. A great starter book to introduce the human body parts to children.

Health & Safety Rules – My Very First Preschool Book

This is an easy to grasp book for preschoolers on the subject of health and safety. Each page has a concept explained in short sentences accompanied by a large picture. This helps preschoolers understand the safety concept better. Covers topics on personal hygiene and safety around electrical sockets, swimming pools, etc.

Books on emotions

Duck and goose how are you feeling

In this book, Duck and goose help toddlers and preschoolers figure out how they are feeling and learn how to name emotions.

Trumpet the elephant – Jane Clarke

This book tells us the story of Trumpet the elephant. He cannot stop feeling angry and frustrated about the littlest reasons. His mother helps him figure out how to manage these big emotions in this fun read for preschoolers.

Books with morals

I referenced a few storybooks for kids that end with a good moral for little children in my previous post on books for 3-year-olds.

Aesops fables

Age 3 is a good time to introduce Aesop’s fables. These are stories we all grew up hearing. This collection of value building stories makes for enjoyable bedtime reads.

The Golden Rule – Ilene Cooper

This book takes children through the meaning of the classic quote, ” Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. A beautiful story about a grandfather passing on his knowledge to his grandson.

You, Me And Empathy – Jayneen Sanders

The story takes us along with Quinn the central character who models empathy in different situations he encounters. A great book for children to understand about qualities like kindness and gives them phrases/sentences to use inorder to comfort others when in need.

Nursery rhymes books

My rhyme time: Five little ducks and other nursery rhymes

A collection of popular children’s nursery rhymes in a book form. The eye-catching illustrations are a bonus. I, personally like having a few nursery rhyme books on hand, as an alternative to playing the rhymes on repeat all day.

Activity books for preschoolers

We recently started using activity books for 3-4 year-olds. Here are some of our favorites so far.

Dreamland kids 1^stactivity book

Wonder house books: My first super pack of pencil control and pattern

I will keep adding more books to this list as we move through the preschool years, so make sure to bookmark this page for a quick reference.

Leave me a comment below with some of your recommendations for learning books for preschoolers.

If you are a new age parent you have probably already heard about the benefits of reading to your child. In fact, even the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) makes a strong effort to talk about the importance of reading to babies and toddlers as a way to promote early literacy skills. These efforts have led to a rising trend in reading to kids among millennial parents.

“Reading regularly with young children stimulates optimal patterns of brain development and strengthens parent-child relationships at a critical time in child development, which, in turn, builds language, literacy, and social-emotional skills that last a lifetime,” the AAP says.

Let’s look at this topic more in-depth and understand why educators and child development experts stress on reading aloud to kids.

BENEFITS OF READING TO BABIES AND BRAIN DEVELOPMENT

Bond with parent

Reading aloud to babies helps parents bond with their babies. Reading helps soothe the child and build the foundation for trust in the parent. The parent is giving direct attention to the baby through the act of reading aloud and infants notice this.

Early reading kickstarts language skills

A big importance of reading at an early age is the effect reading has on developing early language skills. Babies are noticing tone, inflections, and rhythms in voice. Research shows that reading aloud from an early age leads to developing early language and vocabulary.

Helps eyes to track and focus on visuals

An infant has blurred vision and daily reading can help them focus on strong contrasting visuals in books providing the necessary input for eyesight development. That is why many experts recommend reading books with high contrast or black and white images to babies.

Cognitive development

Introducing books at an early age lays the foundation for future cognitive skills like reasoning, problem-solving, and memory building. Early reading benefits not only language development but also helps literacy skills in the future such as writing, reading and math.

Introduces the child to the concept of reading

They say practice makes one perfect. The same applies here, the more a child is read to the more will he learn to read in the future. Before they learn to read independently they need to be equipped with a large vocabulary. Setting a reading routine is crucial to make the child understand that books are a form of communication. They contain pictures and words that mean something. It is never too early or late starting to read to your child, as long as you read.

BENEFITS OF READING TO TODDLERS

Introduces emotions and feelings

Reading stories introduces the child to different emotions and feelings. Watching the character go through emotions helps the toddler understand his own. This, in turn, helps with better communication since they now recognize the emotion and can express it to their parent.

Sparks creativity

Reading books helps the child understand concepts, ignite imagination and creativity. They spark a whole new series of questions getting the child to think about and express feelings and ideas.

As a form of entertainment

One of the biggest benefits of reading to toddlers is the use of books as a form of entertainment. Keeping kids engaged in books reduces screentime. Not only is reading helping the child to learn how to focus and engage in deep work, it keeps over stimulating modes of entertainment like electronic toys and screen use to a minimum.

Enhances language development

Not only does early reading kickstart language skills it also helps improve language skills. Reading short stories regularly helps a toddler understand the finer nuances of conversation through tone and inflection. They begin to hold effective conversation themselves.

Using books to teach life skills

Toddlers need to feel included in the adult world at the same time feeling as competent as the adults around them. Using books about bedtime routines, daily routines, ones showcasing expected behaviors, helps a toddler grasp these concepts faster.

By now they are deeply invested and engaged in the reading habit and want to mimic the characters they read about.

I have found books useful in teaching my son everything from helping mommy with chores, to brushing teeth, having a bath. When he sees these characters do these things in the books he reads, he wants to follow along and do it himself.

Books can also be used as an introduction to your culture or language. These days there are toddler storybooks on almost every subject and language.

Must have books for toddlers

Brown bear, brown bear what do you see?

Polar bear, polar bear what do you see?

Goodnight moon

The going to bed book

The Gruffalo

Busy park

HOW TO GET YOUR CHILD INTERESTED IN READING?

Start with a routine

The easiest way to get your child interested in reading is by including reading as a part of your daily routine. Include bedtime reading or morning reading sessions or both. Make books your go-to activity as you move along the day. Once kids get used to this one on one time with you, they themselves remind you about books.

Books everywhere

Another smart tip to encourage reading and interest in books is to create a small reading nook for your child. Include a big basket or bookshelf that is easily accessible to the child and a mat or chair to sit on.

Leave books in different corners of the house from your coffee table to the bedside table.

The key here is, the books need to be accessible to the child.

Once placed in different locations of the house, the books catch their attention and they like finding something familiar in different corners of the house.

Model the behavior

Read with your child or make it a point that your child sees you read. As with everything else in parenting, when the parents act as a model for a certain behavior, it catches on faster with the kids.

Diverse topics and styles

To keep your child constantly engaged, buy books in different formats – board books, cloth books, paperbacks, pop out books, and busy books.

Include different topics in terms of the subject of books. Here are some age-appropriate book lists for your kids.

Books for babies

Books for 1-year-olds

Books for 2-year-olds

I hope this article helps you get into a reading routine with your child and reinforces the importance of reading to babies. What benefits of reading did you experience with your child?

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The Best Learning Books For Preschoolers