For Other Professionals
Summer Reading
2011 Big Summer Read
Recommended Books for 0-3 Year Olds
No matter where you travel this summer, near or far, books for young children pack easily and share anywhere and anytime.
Browse through the recommended books below or download the guide as a one-page handout you can easily take to the library or store.
- Download the 2011 guide for 0-3 year olds (326K PDF)*
The boy and his stuffed toy duck are the best of friends; they do everything together. Soft line and wash illustrations show their joyful play and the boy's sadness when Duck goes missing. The satisfying resolution is plausible and pleasurable.
Meet a baby beluga whale, its mother, and the sometimes threatening environment in which they live through a series of questions and answers between the beluga and the reader. Softly lined, idealized illustrations are used in this book for older toddlers.
Summertime is a time for growing vegetables. Younger children can now see if different vegetables grow above or below ground and get a sense of what they might feel like when touched. Crisp illustrations incorporate texture that can be seen and felt.
An eye peering through a hole and a die-cut on the next page provides a twist on an old game to introduce a range of animals, a notable characteristic, and a specific color associated with each. The participatory format and handsome illustrations will engage children for many readings.
A sudden summer shower sends animals from the forest and the farm — including Kitten — running for shelter. Textured collages and rhyming couplets present the creatures, their environment, and their actions in rich, rhythmic, and brief language.
Meet the many animals that live on a farm in gentle rhymes and soft, highly realistic illustrations. Questions posed are likely to engage young listeners while adults will appreciate the additional information presented at the end.
Sturdy pages are used to tell the story of Oliver, an egg who could roll from side to side but not much more as "he was simply an egg and that was that." That is, until the day "everything changed." An open format and clever ending are sure to delight even the youngest reader.
Die-cuts are cleverly used to focus on counting from one to 10 but with a turn of the sturdy page, readers can count again when introduced to a circus animal and various objects. Bold form and bright colors create a new spin on an old rhyme.
An adult accompanied by a mouse encourages a group of children to shout out what they know: numbers 1 to 10, letters, colors, animals, and things that move — and once again with the small mouse. Lively, full color illustrations add verve to the participatory text.
Shielded by umbrellas, children board the train when it rains for a nighttime, sleep time, dream journey that continues until the bright morning. Rhythmic, rhyming language filled with train and rain sounds combine with richly hued illustrations for an imaginative evening jaunt.
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