These are the books that Alex read many times. If you notice we didn’t have any Valentine-themed books. We read a few of those books but he never really liked them. I wrote a short summary for each book and shared about Alex’s interaction with it. So here is the list of books.
The Pout, Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
This story is about Mr. Fish who thought he was a pout pout fish. So he lived his life spreading “dreary, wearies” everywhere. Suddenly, a mysterious fish turned his life around.
Just recently, I put this book in Alex’s reading box. He chooses this book for us to read almost every day. I like the rhyme of this book. It’s like a song with a catchy tune. I would read part of the sentence and Alex supplied the missing word/s. It’s humorous and it introduces a lot of vocabulary words. I think the best part of this book is, it compels my son to give his mama some kisses! I love it!
The Three Robbers by Tomi Ungerer
This is not a typical book that you would read to a three year old. The story of three robbers is somewhat similar to Robinhood.
Alex received this book on his 2nd birthday. His dad and I read this book a lot when he was two. Then, I resurfaced it again after so many months. And just like that, Alex was still into it. He was engaged in reading, pointing to the pictures and words. He really likes saying the “huge red axe,” “tall black hats,” “black capes” and “smash!” This book is like an action movie for a three-year old. It makes me feel ecstatic to hear my son verbalize words.
Sesame Street Happy Birthday
This book is a special birthday memory book for kids. The guests can write their messages and sign their names on the book. The story is about the whole gang of Sesame Street characters who were celebrating and saying their well-wishes to the birthday celebrant, a “Happy Birthday.”
Alex loves this book! I found it at a thrift shop. Since it’s a Sesame Street book, I bought it even though it’s not Alex’s birthday yet. I am positive that he will like to read this book. Alex just learned to say these words, cake, birds, happy birthday, mind, stars, day, and night. It was perfect because they have all these words in this book! How cool is that!
Alex would look at the pages for a long, long time. He notices every detail and the colored words on each page. He talks to me about his fascination with this book (mostly about Cookie monster, Elmo, and Abby). Sometimes, he picks up this book and babbles as if he’s reading the story on his own. That’s a good sign of reading readiness.
Sesame Street Music and Storybook
This book includes 24 songs that are mostly familiar (if you grew up here in the U.S.!) Also, it contains some short stories on friendships. It has a cd player and 4 music cds. A young toddler can easily learn how to operate the cd player.
Alex was ecstatic when we gave this book to him. Of course, it’s because it is a Sesame Street book. Hearing him squeal in delight is like heaven to me. If there is one thing he didn’t like about this set was playing the music in the cd player. For some reason, it scares him. My theory is, the sound is almost high-pitched and the songs sounded more like electronic than real Sesame Street characters singing. Overall, he is happy as can be. He reads it almost everyday.
Brand New Readers Book Set 1
This book set comprised multiple high-quality booklets. Each main character has two different stories in two separate booklets. It includes a parent/teacher guide which provides different strategies to help your child read successfully. The following characters in this series are Kazam, a magician, Tabby Cat, Monkey, Mouse, and Dinah Dinosaur. The stories are humorous, witty and fun to read.
I had to admit this book series has my praises. I’ve never thought Alex would actually be interested in it. We read each booklet probably about 3-5 times (or more)! If I ignored my son’s request (his signing for ‘more’) he blurts emphatically, “read again!” How can I say ‘no’ to that? We read it so many times that Alex started reading some of the phrases. I was flabbergasted! Now, I am in for the hunt for the other Brand New Readers series sets.
Chicken Soup with Rice by Maurice Sendak
Who does not like chicken soup with rice? Well this book tells you that you can have it all year round, anywhere, and any time! Try it! It’s a great book.
Alex dislikes food with textures and unfamiliar flavors. It’s fairly recent when Alex started eating rice. I thought this is a perfect book for him. I didn’t know anything about this book until this past Christmas, when a close friend of ours gave it to Alex. It’s a delightful book. Alex’s favorite words and phrases in this book are: once, twice, whoopy once, Whoopy twice, soup with rice.
Big Red Barn By Margaret Wise Brown
This is a book for bedtime. It tells the story of different farm animals and how they spend their whole day together. At the end of the day, they all come to gather in the big red barn and sleep.
At first, Alex didn’t particularly favour this book. His change of heart started when we went to visit Alex’s grandparents. Alex had a chance to see real farm animals. He saw the big red barn. He had a first-hand experience of the farm. Then, suddenly he had come to like this Big Red Barn book. I think he was able to connect his experience with the story. I can almost see him imagining all the animals sleeping in the big red barn.
A Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na
The owl was busy flying and watching other animals as they slept. Morning came and everyone started waking up. Then, all the animals watched the exhausted owl fall asleep.
This book is beautifully written and illustrated. Whenever I read this story it makes me feel very sleepy too. I tell you, it has some kind of lulling effect (you have been warned!) It makes me want to close my eyes and snooze especially when Alex makes a ‘shhhh’ sound as if he’s telling me to be quiet. It was so cute, I can’t help but smile. We close the book and say good night and my beloved son falls fast asleep.
Dr. Seuss’s ABC by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel)
Learning the alphabet doesn’t have to be boring. Dr. Seuss’s alphabet book is wild and funny. You’re little one will surely have a blast while learning the letters and their sounds.
I agree it is an AMAZING alphabet book! My son giggles everytime we read it. It is a page-turner. It has a nice rhythm and it introduces so many vocabulary in a silly and amusing way. In some ways, the absurdities of some of the pictures were clearly understood by my toddler. My son will tell you that a ‘tuttle-tuttle’ tree was an actual tree. You might find yourself scratching your head, where did Dr. Seuss got this idea of a ‘quacking quaker-oo’ or a ‘Zizzer -Zazzer-Zuzz’ creature? I’d say, you can only find them in Dr. Seuss’ world and in my son’s imagination. After reading this book to Alex for an umpteenth time, I think he is now proficient with his alphabets.
Charley Harper’s ABC’s
This book is a must-have in your child’s library. Your child can learn the ABC’s while also being exposed to beautiful still artwork.
When I saw this book, I fell in love with it. I thought this book would spark Alex’s artistic imagination. Of course, he is still three years old, but I can see that Alex appreciates good art. He likes the illustrations of the animals in this book. The sentence structure was simple and somewhat repetitive. The illustrations provide good visual support in reading the sentences. Alex was able to read most of the pages. He really enjoys reading this book.