As a professional nanny for the last 15 years and with my background in Child Development, reading to littles is something I not only enjoy, but do a LOT of.
We are very active at our local library and frequent their storytimes for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. All my book recommendations can be found at my local library, so feel free to check yours if buying new isn’t in the budget!
I chose a wide variety of books for different ages. One is a high contrast board book suitable for an infant’s developing vision and some are longer and better suited for preschool aged littles. Right now, I am a nanny for a 9 month old, 1 year old, 2 year old and 4 year old. I know how that sounds — chaotic. And it can be! But one thing they all love to come together to do is read! Because of all the little ones around, we do tend to opt for the more durable board book options right now. The books I’ll be highlighting consist of 4 board books and 3 picture books.
Reading to kids is about so much more than reading the words on the page! As Cheyenne already mentioned, it’s a great time for connection and sharing that one-on-one time together. Your voice, the cadence you use while reading, your facial expressions and the emotions you convey all help a child develop in different ways!
My first book recommendation is the high contrast board book I mentioned, called For Your Smile by Loryn Brantz. It features black and white bunnies on the cover which makes it a natural fit in your smallest baby’s Easter Basket. Black, white and red are the only colors your baby can see well when they’re young. Showing them high contrast images in those colors actually stimulates their optic nerve and helps their vision develop! So cool!
Next up is another for the babies/toddlers. And it’s a lift flap book! Which if you’ve read to little ones before, I’m sure you already know is bound to be a hit! It’s called Baby Loves Spring by Karen Katz. Having something interactive like flaps in a book is such a fun way to add another element to your stories together. This book features quite a few things that you and your toddler could get outside and spot together after reading! It’s so fun to see them recognize new things that you’ve been talking about in your books.
Our 3rd board book is How Kind by Mary Murphy. The cover is super Easter and Spring appropriate featuring pastel colors and a pig and chicken holding an egg! Even better than the colors and illustrations in this book is the message! “How Kind” is a simple story about how one small kind deed leads to another and the benefits of “paying it forward”! It’s a great way to start teaching kids about being helpful and acts of kindness without making it too complex for them to understand. My toddlers have started saying “how kind!” after reading this book and that alone is such a sweet reward!
Bunny Breaths by Kira Willey is my final board book for this list. As the title gives away, it features an adorable bunny who happens to be on the hunt for a snack but is feeling tired and hungry (relatable, am I right?). Being part of the Mindfulness Moments for Kids series, it offers easy-to-follow breathing exercises that kids can use to manage their bodies, breath and emotions! I’ve personally had great success with a lot of BIG toddler emotions by using breathing exercises. Teaching our kids how to find their breath and sense of calm when everything else in them is feeling big and overwhelming, is a lifelong helpful tool for them! I can’t recommend this book, and teaching your toddlers some simple breathing exercises, enough!
My first picture book recommendation is Ollie’s Easter Eggs by Olivier Dunrea. I don’t know about your kids, but the ones that I spend my time with really love it when there’s something silly happening that we can all laugh together about as we read! The main character Ollie is definitely silly and as all of his friends are dying their Easter Eggs, he’s making an egg hunt of his own! This book is well-suited for toddlers through young school age. Although I’ve found it to be the biggest hit with my preschool aged kiddos!
Raindrop, Plop by Wendy Cheyette Lewison is everything spring and a book that I think I’ll be adding to my personal library, as well! The watercolor style of the illustrations is soft, simple, charming and really captures the interest of everyone reading/ watching. The narrative is simple and rhythmic, making it easy for young listeners to commit to memory and "read" aloud. In all my years of experience, books like that tend to be favorites that we read over and over again! We’ve had this one in our possession for the last few days now and I’ve probably already read it about 30 times haha. I heard the 4-year-old “reading” it herself yesterday and she had remembered some of the rhymes already after only a few days! The last thing that really makes this book a hit for me is that it’s a counting book! It’s not the main focus, but through the story and rhymes we count up to 10. And the unique part, is that it also counts back down to zero from 10 which is something that I haven’t found often in children’s books! All around, this book would be a great addition to an Easter Basket or to add to your library in time for Spring.
Rounding out my list of Easter and Spring book recommendations is Creepy Crawly Calypso by Tony Longham. Another counting book but so different than the previous! This book is fun fun fun! It’s an amazing introduction to different instruments and types of bugs (or creepy crawlies as they’re called in this book). It’s full of color and lively descriptions that keep kids of all ages engaged. Not only that, but it has a CD included that makes it that much more entertaining! The kids get to listen to the sounds of the different instruments and see the pictures too.
I hope you all enjoy these books and remember- reading to your littles doesn’t have to be something that you need a lot of money to enjoy! Your local library is an amazing place and resource for you to utilize. Happy Spring and best wishes!
- Alex