Best Books For 3 Year Olds
Three-year-olds like to listen to stories being read to them and flip through the illustrations. If reading has been an everyday activity from a young age, then your child, by this age, would have imbibed plenty of words and can recognize a lot of things.
Additionally, they start to grasp long, complex storylines and display a growing inclination to read on their own.
There are many books out there, such as picture books, rhyming stories, fantasy tales, fables with valuable life lessons, interactive books that are both fun and educational, and many more.
I’ve narrowed the list down to 7 books with varied content for 3-year-olds. The books are listed randomly, not in order of preference, as each is an enjoyable learning experience.
Can 3-year-olds really read books?
Absolutely.
Reading regularly to a child inculcates interest in books. At 3, children have the potential to read and understand quite a bit, something we most often do not realize.
Guiding a child to read at an early age and in the right way lays the foundation for their reading success in the future.
An efficient approach with proven results and happy parents appears to be teaching phonics and creating phonemic awareness. Check out the link to one such program: Children Learning Reading Program.
Let’s dive into the list
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Author: Eric Clarke
The story of transforming a caterpillar into a butterfly, beginning its journey from an egg, and eating its way into the cocoon it builds is narrated and illustrated beautifully.
Each page depicts a day of its life and its adventures, including the wide variety of foodstuff it consumes. Though the diet shown is not scientifically accurate, it does indicate the growing appetite of the caterpillar. There are colorful pictures that engage a child while improving vocabulary.
A classic from 1969, still gets voted among the top few books for toddlers and is widely acclaimed in literature and graphic design categories.
Why is it recommended?
Deemed an all-time classic, the book is well illustrated and innovative. It is a favorite among kids in the age range of 2 to 5 years.
With minimum text, short sentences, and colorful images, the book teaches counting to starters and the concept of a caterpillar changing into a butterfly for older kids. Not to mention, days of the week as the caterpillar progressively increases its intake.
The holes in the pages excite kids and also depict the way the caterpillar eats through fruits in reality. The book holds the child’s attention while also serving as a lesson in science.
Little Blue Truck’s Christmas
Author: Alice Shertle, Illustrator: Jill McElmurry
The blue truck series of books comprise the truck and farm animals. Kids at this age are excited about animals and trucks; that makes for a good start.
This book’s storyline is simple, with the little blue truck delivering Christmas trees to its farm friends, and in the process, there is a countdown as it delivers.
Also, animal sounds are included, and a Christmas tree on the last page that twinkles when you open the page is a big hit with little kids.
The colors and pictures in the book are wonderful, with nicely illustrated wintry scenes.
Why is it recommended?
It is a gentle backward counting story, with animal sounds and twinkling lights. Above all, it makes for an excellent read-aloud book.
Where do Diggers Sleep at Night
Author: Brianna Caplan Sayers, Illustrator: Christian Slade
Little kids, especially around 3 years, are fans of construction vehicles. Almost everyone I know possesses the entire fleet of construction vehicle toy models and spends a significant amount of time playing with them.
Though the title mentions only diggers, the book covers all construction vehicles and other kinds of trucks.
Having said that, let’s talk about the book. It is a good book for bedtime. The story revolves around how each type of truck deals with bedtime.
Each page is dedicated to a different kind of truck and its baby truck – dump truck, crane, garbage truck, digger, tow truck, monster truck, tractor, to name a few.
The probable bedtime routine of each is discussed. It is an adorable book. The illustration is cute, vivid yet calming, serving well as a bedtime book and highlighting positive aspects of bedtime rituals. A truck brushes its teeth, another takes a bath, and the third puts away toys.
Why is it recommended?
To begin with, most kids that age love trucks. One book that covers all kinds of trucks with a charming depiction of parent trucks singing goodnight songs as the baby truck getting tucked in.
Unique little story of each truck also teaches about the vehicle’s structure and purpose.
Press Here
Author: Herve Tullet
Unlike the aforementioned books, this one falls in the interactive category. It is devoid of the stories, characters, and illustrations, as in the first three books.
The book encourages imagination. The idea of the book is to teach kids to follow directions in a fun manner. Young readers learn about cause and effect through this book.
Each page has one or more dots of different sizes and an instruction to be followed, such as press the dot, shake the book, tilt it, clap, and many more tasks that generally follow pressing a dot.
What is also to love about the book is that the author talks to you as though he is responding to your actions, which is very encouraging for little kids.
Why is it recommended?
When we think of interactive books, what comes to mind is a pop-up book or a tactile book (touch and feel). This book is one-of-a-kind interactive, an interesting concept, wherein the goal is to read and act based on the instruction.
Here comes the fun part, kids in small groups can read the book and follow along, or parents can participate with kids making it a fun group activity.
The Snail and the Whale
Author: Julia Donaldson, Illustrator: Axel Scheffler
This book is captivating. The story is magical. The detailed illustrations complement the beautiful narrative that has a rhythmic feel.
The story goes like this. A snail who wants to see the world manages a lift on a whale’s tail. They see the amazing world together, going past icebergs, sharks, volcanoes, penguins, and many more. The whale gets beached in the bay due to a tide. It is the snail that gathers help and saves the day. The story gradually develops as one about an incredible journey, then focuses on environmental concerns and then the grateful, heroic snail saving the whale. Thus, covering various settings and emotions.
It offers a wonderful lesson about friendship. And about how the snail uses its ingenuity to rescue the whale.
Another important aspect the story offers is that the little snail dreams big and pursues its dreams though the rest of the snails discourage it.
Why is it recommended?
The book conveys important messages about friendship, gratitude, and perseverance. The little snail, driven by these qualities, managed to help its friend. Also, a child draws inspiration to not give up on things and pursue just like the tiny snail that managed to do fantastic things.
The book is engaging. It has an excellent flow, more like a poem with stunning illustrations. It is one book that will definitely boost a child’s vocabulary.
Room on the Broom
Author: Julia Donaldson, Illustrator: Axel Scheffler
It is yet another jewel from the Author/Illustrator duo, who gave us ‘The Snail and the Whale’, I mentioned above.
The enchanting story is about a friendly witch who sets out on a journey with her cat on the broom. They keep losing things as the wind picks up, and have to fetch them. Along the way, they meet other animals. Each one wants a ride on the broom and the kind which accommodates them all.
The new friends are grateful and offer to help the witch find her lost items. Later in the story, the generous witch and her friends fall off the broom and are confronted by a dragon who wants to eat the witch.
Her new friends save her by disguising as a mud monster and frighten the mean and scary dragon away. The witch then creates a magnificent broom with her magic spell that has room for all.
It is a memorable story with inviting characters. The repetitive verse is what makes the story child friendly.
Why is it recommended?
The story with the rhyming flow will keep kids engaged. The mesmerizing pictures with descriptive words, along with the moral it conveys, is impressive. It also serves well as a read-aloud book, especially if you enjoy doing voices.
The concept, content, theme, and rhythm ensure a grown-up is not tired of reading the book over and over, as that is exactly what kids expect you to do, especially if the book involves animals.
Not to mention, it teaches a lot about sharing, preparing kids for their own journey, where they have to share with siblings and friends, as this is the age some kids start preschool.
The Day the Crayons Quit
Author: Drew Daywalt, Illustrator: Oliver Jeffers
Though the title says the crayons quit, they actually do not quit. They have grievances they put forth to the owner to address. Each crayon wants more attention.
A little boy gets letters from each of the crayons expressing how they are either overused or not used enough. Colors like red and blue stress on how they are always in action, coloring fire trucks, vast expanses of water, like working even on holidays, whereas pink is hoping to be picked more often.
A hilarious protest from white that it is invisible, the objection from beige for being referred with different names such as brown and the list goes on.
Through crayons, the author brought out various personalities. Simply put, though, kids learn colors and associate the colors with everything they see around them. Illustrations in the book are creative and childlike.
Why is it recommended?
Another book, you can read in different voices to little ones to make it fun while also teaching colors. An adorable book that motivates a child to imagine. It also introduces children to empathy, an important emotion to co-exist.
The clever book can be a good read for kids of age groups 3 to 5 years or even a little older for the message it offers in a subtle manner.
Conclusion
Books are like a gateway to a fun-filled world that sparks a child’s imagination and facilitates learning.
Books for 3-year-olds are intended to be educational, fun, and informative. Sometimes one book could turn out to be all-encompassing. But, very often, that is not the case. Each book is distinct with something unique to offer. It is impossible to choose one as the best.
The list of 7 books I have here is an excellent start to a collection you would like to have for your little one, so the child learns to read, enhances vocabulary, all while having a good time glancing through exquisite illustrations that keep children engrossed in books.
To summarize, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Little Blue Truck’s Christmas, and Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night can be good books to encourage a 3 year old to read. Press here is a unique interactive book.
The Snail and the Whale and Room on the Broom are a little advanced when it comes to vocabulary and comprise more text, something that a child can adapt to reading a little later but can definitely enjoy listening to while turning pages.
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