The three’s have been an exciting time for us as parents. Our son is finally expressing clearly what he likes and dislikes. He is actively looking for content and topics to learn more about. This makes it easier for us as parents to curate his toys and books. No more guesswork required! In this blog post, I will feature the best books for 3-year-olds that match their curiosity levels and bring out the giggles.
Before I go ahead, I want to mention three books that are all-time favorites in our house. But since I already covered them in previous book lists I will keep them out of this one.
All three by Julia Donaldson. We are huge fans of her books. In fact, our son loves The Gruffalo so much we had a Gruffalo themed birthday party for him too.
10 BEST BOOKS FOR 3-YEAR-OLDS
This story is about two birds who find an abandoned egg in their nest and go on to kindly help the egg hatch. On hatching, they find a creature different from themselves, a baby crocodile, yet they continue feeding the little baby. When he is finally too big for the nest its time to bid adieu.
This story was one of our favorite bedtime stories this year and highlights the helpful nature of Mr. and Mrs. Bird.
Age 3 is a time when children have many questions about life around them. Our son is very interested in knowing where other animals live. This prompted me to buy this beautiful Usborne book. The illustrations and information are just right for ages 3-5.
The book covers different habitats and a variety of animal homes, for curious little readers.
As I adready mentioned, Julia Donaldson is our all-time favorite children’s book authors. Her rhyming storytelling engages little readers in rapt attention.
Paperdolls is a sweet story about a little girl and her paper dolls. It showcases how some family traditions continue on through the generations.
This book has been read on loop nearly every night in our house. Once again Julia Donaldson knows how to create engaging stories for little ones.
In this story, a Duckbill dinosaur egg gets misplaced in a Tyrannosaurus dinosaur nest. The Tyrannosaurus family end up raising the Duckbill dinosaur as their own. But the little duckbill dinosaur feels out of place in this family of large meat-eating dinosaurs. To know how this story ends, read the book. Any dinosaur-loving child will love this read.
5. Gajapati Kullapati – Ashok Rajagopalan
I like to add stories around Indian themes to our collection and Tulika Publishers is one of my favorite Indian publishers. This series follows the central character Gajapati, the elephant and his various experiences and adventures. The sing-song storytelling style is perfect for toddlers.
The perfect book for preschoolers. The book exposes the child to the emotion of empathy and different situations when one can empathize with those in difficulty. It gives the child a perspective of what it feels like to be in another’s shoes.
One of the best interactive book for 3-year-olds, Knock! Knock! takes you on a journey with a little girl in search of her teddy bear. A wonderful adventure unfolds as you turn each page.
A simple counting book that makes counting fun for preschoolers. My son loves this book and is often seen sitting in a corner flipping through the pages counting the caterpillars on each page. You must buy this book in hardcover with the little 3-D caterpillars jutting out through each page. The counting rhyme ends beautifully with a pop-up surprise on the last page.
A book about big emotions. Trumpet can’t seem to control his anger and frustration. His mother is teaching him how to manage his anger by counting to 10. A fun twist at the end brings home the point that anger is a futile emotion. A must-have in every 2-3-year-olds book library.
Our son loves this series of books on Meg, the witch and her pet cat, Mog. The stories are fun and the spells in the book make read-aloud fun. Meg and Mog Books are great books for 3-year-olds learning to read. Here are some of the titles we own and enjoy reading in this series;
Previous book lists:
These are books that our 3-year-old absolutely loves. I hope you find a few picks for your child’s book library. What are some of your 3-year-olds favorite books?
