Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Nonfiction for Toddlers

Over on my website, I'm compiling book selections for my favorite baby gift: the BOOK BASKET. That got me wondering - are there any nonfiction books for toddlers? We have to start them early, right?

I love book baskets as gifts for many different reasons:
1) One can never have enough books.
2) Everyone in the family can enjoy the present, especially since the baby present is to celebrate the creation/union of a family.
3) Many books will last forever, to be past down to the next generation.
4) If a family starts reading to baby early, it will become an important part of that child's life; for example, reading books before bedtime.
5) I love to give a sampling of: books my family loves, classic children's books, books that can be read by a sibling, interactive books, and books that can be drooled, chewed, and whatever-ed on.

I bought extra copies of my children's favorite books for their baby memory boxes to be past down to their children.

Here's just a few of the nonfiction books for toddlers I found:

Does A Giraffe Drive?
Fred Ehrlich (author)
Emily Bolam (illustrator)
Blue Apple Books/Chronicle Aug 2007

Tag line on cover: My Very First Nonfiction Book
Well, there's my answer.

Funny book about how we get around.


This Is My Truck
Amanda Hudson
Gareth Stevens Publishing July 2008

Comparison of truck opposites is a great way to learn about trucks: shapes, colors, and purpose.
This Is My Bear, This Is My Ball and This Is My Book are other titles in the series. All titles are also published in Spanish.




Dreaming With Rouseau
Julie Merberg
Suzanne Bober
Chronicle Books Aug 2007

One of the newer titles in Chronicle's Mini Masters Series, these books are the perfect introduction to art for babies and toddlers. All the famous masterpieces of the world invite fun exploration of colors, details, actions, and words either between parent and child or just the child alone.


"L" Is for Library
Sonya Terry (author)
Nicole Wong (illustrator)
Upstart Books March 2006

Fun exploration ABC book about the library. What better way to start a lifelong love of books.





If I'm missing one of your favorite nonfiction books for toddlers, please share "with the rest of the class" in the comments.

4 comments:

Linda Zajac said...

I was always searching for Tonya Hoban books when my kids were small. Her photography captured ideas in unusual creative ways. She did an alphabet book, but found letters in places where you wouldn't ordinarily find letters. In another book, she expressed the meaning of prepositions with her photography(over under and through). In yet another, she used street signs to convey information....

Susan E. Goodman said...

I think that there are a million of them. Freight Train by Donald Crews, Trucks by Byron Barton, most ABCs--my son loved Animal Alphabet by Bert Kitchen (me too), lots of the books that are word books--you know pictures with captions like "happy baby," etc. I agree that Tonya Hoban's books are great.

Anonymous said...

The World Snacks series by Amy Wilson Sanger, especially First Book of Sushi, were big favorites for my daughter.

Anonymous said...

I love Joy Cowley and Nic Bishop's Red Eyed Tree Frog. The photographs are fantastic and tell the entire story -- most of the toddlers have their mouths open and eyes glued to the book during storytime! I've read this book to a variety of age groups from toddlers to 8th graders, and everytime we've had interesting comments and discussions after the book. It's one of my top favourites -- and so is this blog!!!