Now that I’m back to working in the library, I’ve been coming home laden with picture books for my toddler. Some of my picks have become firm favourites, while others…haven’t. You never quite know what a two year old is going to like, and sometimes his preferences surprise me! That’s what makes the library such an amazing resource – you can introduce your child to a wide range of new books without the cost, and without worrying about whether or picky little one will refuse a $20+ picture book.
I’m thinking of trying to do a post at least once a month where I share some of the books I’ve recently borrowed from library for my son. I find it so helpful to find out what books other kids are enjoying, and hopefully I can help some of my readers my sharing the books we’ve loved, and the ones we didn’t quite love as much. I’m…notoriously bad at keeping up with my blog these days, but I will definitely give it a shot!
WHEELS
We read this book so many times I was thrilled to return it to the library, because I was starting to recite it in my dreams…
This really is such a perfect storytime book, with a repetitive rhyming refrain and opportunities for audience participation as children guess which wheeled vehicle will appear on the next page. It’s similar in spirit to another storytime favourite, THE BUS FOR US, and I highly recommend it for any early learning setting, especially if you have any young fans of things that go.
CONSTRUCTION SITE MISSION: DEMOLITION
I had thought we had read all the titles in this series of rhyming construction site-themed books, but I was wrong! This entry follows our friendly construction vehicles as they destroy a crumbling building and prepare the site for a new development. There’s a few new vehicles in the line up, too, which my toddler found fascinating – flatbed truck is definitely his new favourite, though dump truck is close behind.
In a bit of a funny twist, there are two spreads that my toddler absolutely despises, and which I have to skip over every time I read. Crane Truck uses his wrecking ball to create a massive gaping hole in the crumbling building, which my toddler seems to find unsettling. Perhaps it’s because the holes are dark and black and potentially scary? I’m not sure, but it doesn’t impact the story at all, so we just merrily skip over the offending spreads.
DIG, DUMP, ROLL
From the team behind WHEELS comes another winner – like WHEELS, this is a sort of guessing game book, in which readers have to guess which construction vehicle will appear next. Another catchy repeated refrain, more opportunities for kids to shout out answers, this is definitely a winner for storytimes and circletimes, and one I highly recommend adding to your collection if you work with small children.
And there you have it, a couple of the picture books we’ve been reading and enjoying recently! Can you sense a bit of a theme?