We all know that reading to your toddler is vital for vocabulary development, early literacy skills and bonding with care givers. Sometimes it is easy to collect a bunch of books that just sit on your shelves. In many instances, fewer books on your child’s bookshelves mean more reading.
We will give you some practical tips for choosing the best books for your toddler, paring down your book collection, and displaying books for the highest readability.
Of course, you will need to read through our tips and choose those best suited for your child and the space you have available at home for books and toys.
Use our suggestions as an inspiration as well as a guidelines to make reading time more fun and encourage your toddler to pick up books more often.
1. SELECTING BOOKS FOR YOUR TODDLER
Choose books with colors, textures, and movable parts.
Toddlers love books with bright colors, varying textures and parts that move. The Peek-a-Boo Book is my toddlers favorite. On each page, he gets to peek-a-boo and guess an animal by lifting the flap.
Think about the books you already own.
When purchasing books for your child, first consider the books you already have. If you already have one book called “That’s Not My Dinosaur ,” then you may not need the book “That’s Not My Puppy.” Unless that happens to be your child’s absolute favorite book and you think they may enjoy another similar book.
That’s Not My Truck was my middle child’s favorite book. We made book inspired wall art for his room. (Pictures here.)
Choose books taking a note of your child’s interests.
When buying books, I think about the interests of my family and the variety of books that I would enjoy reading to my child. If you child enjoys playing with a ball, then consider selecting a book about balls.
We want our children to make and learn about art, and so we have included books in the Touch the Art series to our collection. These books combine textures with a topic we are passionate about in an age appropriate way. Who wouldn’t want to “touch a pyramid?”
Diversify your bookshelf.
Select a well-rounded variety of books for your child. Keep in mind the diversity of topics and types of books. If 90% of your current collection is all rhyming board books, you may consider adding in some non-fiction text like, magazines like Animal Babies or , and books in another language.
2. LIMITING BOOK CHOICES FOR YOUR TODDLER
Remove books from your collection.
If you are a bookaholic like me, chances are you have collected too many books. Once a month, we take a look at our collection and try to pare it down. Remove the books that you are not currently reading to your child. If you have read a book 5+ times and you or your child do not enjoy it in any way – it is time to remove that book from your collection.
Donate gently used books.
Consider donating gently used books your child has outgrown to daycare’s serving children in need or doctor offices. Often, if I know the books are going to children who may not otherwise have as many book options, I am more willing to part with them.
Always keep your child’s favorite book, no matter the shape it is in!
Put half away for book rotation.
For the books you keep – divide your collection in half and put them in a bag or storage container. These books will be used for what we call, “book rotation.” Meaning, in a few weeks, we will bring these books out for display and the other half will be put in the storage container.
Learn how to rotate all toys in your child playroom here!
3. DISPLAYING BOOKS FOR YOUR TODDLER
Now that you have selected the books that you feel would be of high interest to you and your child, it is time to find the best way to display them. The traditional sideways shelves are not always the best for a toddler.
- Do choose a forward facing bookshelf if possible. Make sure the shelf is accessible to your child and fill it with books from your home library. The Sling Bookshelf is the most affordable pre-made option, but the canvas does get dirty from use and needs washing once a year. The Wooden Book Display is a little more money, but sturdier and easy to wipe clean.
- Select toddler friendly books that you feel comfortable letting them select and read on their own. Save pop-up books and treasured picture books for special reading times with an adult.
- Consider using Storage Bins and baskets for small book collections. Think about the places where you may read to your child and put a bin there. We have a small basket by our rocking chair and another beside the couch. You may want to put small collections in different rooms around your house.
- Don’t overfill baskets and bookshelves. Typically, less than 8 per basket and less than 20 per large bookshelf is what works the best.
Hopefully, by selecting the right books for your child, limiting your collection, and displaying a few books in a kid-friendly way, will encourage even more reading.
Our selection of book storage solutions for kids
Soft canvas storage pockets are perfect for little hands to reach in and grab their own books, helping to build independence and confidence. Deep pockets can accommodate all size books from board books to picture books, coloring books or more! Find here: United States | Canada | United Kingdom
The unique double-sided design offers twice the storage capacity, maximizing space utilization while allowing easy access to all of your child’s favorite books from any angle. Equipped with lockable wheels, it can be easily moved from one room to another, catering to the ever-changing play and learning areas of children, and can also be easily fixed in position as needed. Find here: United States | Canada | United Kingdom
Not just for toys, the 3 Sprouts Toy Storage Cube can also hold books, clothing, and other household items, making it a multi-use organizer that’s perfect for the bathroom, kitchen, or living room. Choose any of 22 cute designs for your child! Find here: United States | Canada | United Kingdom
Enjoy Reading through seasons and holidays!
We listed some of our favorite books to help you make a choice for your little library at home or in school:
For second day of Less Toys. More Play. serial, we are welcoming Amanda from The Educators Spin On It, who shared why less books will result in more reading.
Amanda Boyarshinov is a M. Ed. Reading Teacher and one of the bloggers behind the parenting and education site: The Educators’ Spin On It.
She shares her teaching knowledge with parents everywhere through her creative, inventive writing including her e-books: STEAM: Preschool Activities for STEM Enrichment and 100 Fun & Easy Learning Games for Kids.
READ NEXT IN LESS TOYS. MORE PLAY. SERIES
- Simple Outdoor Play Ideas
- Turning Old Technology into Toys for Imaginative Play
- 5 Things to Consider When Choosing Toys (And What to Avoid)
I have slightly older kids now (6 and 8), but I still limit their book choices. It leaves them leave stressed and happier about reading.
Giftie Etcetera from the Golden Reflections linkup
Thank you Kristy for commenting and confirming that limiting books actually helps kids to read more!
I do agree with less toys equals more play, but I politely disagree with less books equals more reading. There are valid points, but I love books and I always let my kids buy books when we are at garage sales. We have fun reading many different books.
Thanks for linking up at Inspire Me Mondays!
Brandi, it’s more about getting all the books displayed and, at some point, having them all over the house. This way, you can get a more focused time on reading or even pull out selection of books for seasonal or thematic reading.