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My very favourite books for 3 year olds

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I am such a fan of books. And wanted to pass on my love of books to my children. So I’m pretty happy to live in a family of book worms. Young children don’t stop very often, so I still remember clearly the day my son flopped on the couch after school to read his book ALL afternoon. He was seven. And now it’s a common sight at our place.

We’ve created quite a lot of reading spots in our house. If there is a spare nook, we’ll find some pillows and make it a cosy spot. There’s a space above the stairs where my daughter climbs up – so we bought some foam and made a colourful covered cushion. And then there are bean bags, blankets and our couch too.

Story time was always part of our evening ritual, right through primary school. But once my kids started high school – with much chagrin – story time in the evenings seems to have faded out of the routine. The kids stay up later, the chapters were getting longer, and I couldn’t keep my eyes open some nights while I was reading (!).

So lucky for me, I get to read my very favourite books with the kids in my classes. I have read the books in our classroom so many times I’ve lost count. But I love it e-v-e-r-y time, and even more when the child asks at the end, “Again?”.

Today then, here are my very favourite books for 3 year olds. To pin this list for later, click here: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/111745634480800612/

books for 3 year olds montessori style

I’ve talked before about what kind of books to choose for Montessori children here.

On top of this, 3-year olds are starting to enjoy longer stories with more text and more pages. They love looking at all the details. And making connections from other pages, “Look Simone, there’s the fisherman again!”

Let’s take a look at them:

1. Press Here by Herve Tullet
Kids love to interact with this book, pressing the dots, making them slide over the page and changing their colours. So much fun.

2. Fred the Firefighter by Felicity Brooks
Follow Fred’s day as the fire station are called on to put out a fire. Anyone who loves fire engines will love this one.

3. Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins
This one is a simple story you can also read with younger children. But the older children really begin to enjoy the humour about what happens to the poor fox following Rosie the hen.

4. The Waterhole by Graeme Base
Such beautiful drawings and a message about our environment too. Good for kids interested in counting.

5. Rosie’s Hat by Julia Donaldson
By the author of The Gruffalo, you will love to watch the adventures of Rosie’s Hat with a lovely rhyme too.

6. A Child’s Book of Art by Lucy Micklethwait
This is an old edition now, but a beautiful introduction to art in a way young children enjoy – pointing out objects, animals and emotions.

7. A Seek and Find Book: Can you Find me? by Roger Priddy
Combine counting with colourful realistic pictures and you have a book that becomes a firm favourite.

8. The Pear in the Pear Tree by Pamela Allen
Pamela Allen has beautiful rhyming stories and you love to read about whether they will reach the pear!

And a very special book we received as a farewell gift from a family, Art of Clean Up: Life Made Neat and Tidy by Ursus Wehrli. It sounds like it is about decluttering your home, but I promise it is not.

This book will make you look at everything with fresh eyes and will enchant you as much as your children. It is a work of art!

Here is a little peek inside:

the art of clean up

I hope you are inspired to add a few books to your collection. Snuggle up and enjoy!

(If you follow any of the links above, Amazon will give a small amount of credit for our school library at no cost to you)