As Lucas nears the 2 year mark, I thought it would be a good idea to put together more of these “favorites” lists. Stay tuned for 4 HEALTHY Toddler-Proof Meals, and 5 Fun Games for Toddlers to Play (Useful both for independent play and group play). Now, without further ado. Here’s what we’ve been reading to Lucas these last 6 months:
Richard Scarry’s Trucks and Planes
Our son’s been really into transportation lately, and so these are a great addition to our library. We carry the board books around with us because they are small (the size of a hand), fun, and creative ways to keep him preoccupied. With each page dedicated to a quirky illustration and funny names for trucks and planes, it’s right up our alley. Good for imagination, and for language learning.
Wheels On the Bus (Resurrected! See it featured here too in our first list)
As mentioned, Lucas is in a transport phase, so this is one of his favorite songs once more. He loves the song in both Dutch and English, and having the book to go along as visual aid is great. He has even begun singing the lyrics himself!
Hop On Pop
It seems a Dr Seuss book always makes these lists of mine, and rightly so. In this case, Hop On Pop is Lucas’ latest favorite. Because he’s in such a sensitive period of language learning, he likes books that either have rhyme and rhythm, or music, so it’s easier for him to mimic the words himself. For Hop On Pop, the writing is so whimsical and simple, it’s got Lucas in stitches as he pipes in and finishes my sentences each page while I read it out to him.
De Zee
The next 3 books on this list are in a set that we purchased from the Netherlands to both entertain and educate Lucas with key, simple vocabulary words and actions. In this first book, it features basic concepts in relation to the sea. What I love about it is all the pull out tabs, and interactive features. To learn waves, you see how they move by pushing the page, for example. It’s a great way to keep a toddler’s attention, and teach them new ideas.
Het Lichaam
The second book in the set that I’d like to talk about is the one on body parts. This one might be my top favorite of the bunch because it features everything from hugs, to playing with others, as well as body parts. Eyes move with a push, mouths open and close with the pull of a tab.
Eten
The last of this series that we had purchased was about food. This one is cute with cross-sections of food, shots of cut fruit, and even a cute spinning plate with changing sides — chicken with peas? Chicken with fries? Lucas loves the interactive features in these books and enjoys pointing out the food that is familiar to him.
Rasa Sayang
This book was a gift from Lucas’ Oma on a visit to them in Singapore, and has been a mainstay since. It’s a sing-along book featuring popular Indonesian folk songs, and Lucas loves it as an accompaniment to meals, or when he’s drinking his milk. He isn’t in a place yet where he sings along, but it’s a great way for us to get his Indonesian language learning in given he’s got so many languages.
Teeny Weeny Looks for His Mummy
This book is from the same publishers that bring you Bizzy Bear (a constant in our library even to this day), and it’s fun too in a different way. This particular book is nice and compact, and features a literary version of one of Lucas’ favorite games: Peek A Boo. We love it because it’s interactive, simple, colorful, and keeps your little one guessing! A bonus is that it’s a fun way to teach animals.
Little Tortoise’s Starry Night
Lucas loves this “Little Animals” series because of the rhyming, bright colors, and wholesome concepts. Each book usually ends paying homage to healthy parent-child relationships, and as they are short and sweet, they make for easy, portable bed-time reads.
The Big Brother Handbook
This last book is a bit of a bonus as it’s not available in your average store, but it’s been a mainstay since I gave it to Lucas when his baby sister was born in September. They say that, to help toddlers cope with big life events, it helps to give them some visual aids and storybooks to walk them through it. I decided to go a step further and make our own that was personalized. I designed this book and had it printed board-book style to help introduce the concepts of having a new baby at home, and the new role of “big brother” to my soon-to-be-two-year-old. I included ways in which he can help, and reminders of how much we love him. I used real photos of the family, as well as life-like drawings of him that I did myself, and I ended it with a prayer. He loves the book, and was a hit when I told other family and mom friends about it. So much so that I’ll be doing an entirely separate post teaching any interested readers how to make their own, or how to download the template I’ve created myself.
foster & fit 