As I mentioned in a previous post, I am a reading fan. I actually think that it is much worse than that and I am actually a book addict. I love the smell of books, old and new, the crackling sound as you open the book for the first time, the neatly lined shelves.
And this love of books isn’t reserved to my bookshelves alone. My kids enjoy my infatuation with books and have several bookshelves in their rooms. Despite having all these books, there is one set that I really feel is a must for any toddler to preschoolers shelf and I wanted to mention it here. This is rare for me because even though there are brands and products that I love, I try not to push any one product.
As I mentioned in the Cheat Sheet:Volcanoes, I have an illustrated dictionary for my kids. This is one of our favorite books and I have used it so much that I have actually had to repair the binding. Still, that is not the book that I feel is a must have and it is actually a series of books that I am referring to.
These are the My First Steps to Reading by Jane Belk Moncure and illustrated by Colin King. This is a set of 25 books with a parenting guide on helping your child to read and also a package of flashcards that correspond to the books.
They are very colorful and the storyline, although simple, is one that holds a child’s attention. What makes these books so great is that each letter of the alphabet, except x, y, and z, each have their own books. All of them follow the same plot where a character, who is called by the letter he or she represents, such as “Little A” is trying to fill a box with things that begin with his or her sound. So the story reads, “Little A had a box,” with pictures near the word to represent “Little A,” “the box” and other things that are in the story.
Children can follow along in the story and eventually begin to memorize the repetition. Since they are following the words, they begin to remember what words look like (especially with the flash cards) and eventually they begin telling you the story.
This is a great set for building those pre-reading skills and one that I would strongly recommend. When i purchased them for my first child, he was identifying words in the book by 18 months of age and was reading along with me by the time he was 2 and a half.
So there is my first little plug to an actual product but trust me, you will be very happy that you have these books on your child’s bookshelf.
Sirena Van Schaik
*Photo Note: Yes, that is an interactive R2-D2, a great toy that I think I play with more than my son does.*
