Are you looking for a new book for your 3 year old? I love reading to my 3 year old he’s learning a lot about social skills and empathy through stories.
Please comment down below and let me know what books your child is loving at the moment!
I can tell a big difference in the type of stories he enjoys hearing now. He loves a story line and to get to know the characters. You will notice that a lot of these books are in a series. This is great because he’s learning all about the characters!
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In school teachers spend a lot of time teaching about character development. We teach about character traits (brave, bossy, strong, etc.) and feelings (happy, frustrated, disappointed, etc.).
It is great that even at a young age he’s learning a lot about these characters and how they react in difference situations.
So if you are going to a birthday party, looking for a Christmas gift, or just want to check out a new book for your 3 year old at the library these are our go-to books!
Please share this post with someone who is looking for books for a three year old! Do it now so you don’t forget later.
Olivia By: Ian Falconer
Oh Olivia! I remember reading this book with my niece at this age! If you are new to Olivia she’s a pig and has a big personality! Her stories are perfect for 3 year olds because she is using her imagination throughout the story (just like they do).
The one downside of reading Olivia during a pandemic is that she visits the museum. My son is always asking when he gets to go to a museum. Hopefully the museums in our area will open back up soon and he can take him.
Splat the Cat By: Rob Scotton
These books are from Chic-Fil-A last year. However this year he’s pulled them out and has become quite the fan.
Splat has a mouse friend and together they get into all kinds of adventures! Along with Olivia they use their imagination.
Dinosaur series By: Jane Yolen & Mark Teague
Jane Yolen is the wonderful author behind this adorable series about how dinosaurs complete daily tasks! She has written the series by asking questions about how dinosaurs do things like telling others they are mad, going to bed, saying I love you, and more!
My son loves the series for the funny pictures and silly things the dinosaurs do. I love them because it teaches so many social and emotional skills that preschoolers are learning are regularly dealing with.
When I taught a kindergarten through second grade classroom of students with emotional needs we always had a week of read alouds devoted to these books!
Skunk in My Bunk By: Christopher Cerf
My son is really picking up on words with different rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration! Skunk in my Bunk provides rhyming words throughout the book that go along with different stories.
You can read more about ALL the ways I used to teach this book in Making Reading Matter: How to Make the Most of Reading At Home
Are You My Mother? By: P.D. Eastman
Who knew one of my favorites as a kid, would also become my sons favorite?! It’s no doubt that “Are You My Mother?” is a classic.
This book is a great teaching resource as well. It is full of high frequency words that make it an easy read for children as they get a bit older.
We can easily discuss the plot (beginning, middle, and end) of this story. It has a clear main character (the baby bird) and other characters throughout the story.
Pete the Cat By: James Dean
I loved using Pete the Cat at the beginning of the year as a kindergarten teacher! It’s engaging, sustains their attention, and he can read it with me (because it has a pattern).
You can do so many fun activities to go along with this book. In school I would have the kids color Pete’s shoes, count his shoes, and make patterns with them.
It is also great for teaching social skills. Pete gets into some things that might frustrate some people. However Pete takes it in strides! He doesn’t let things bother him.
Our kids (and ourselves) can definitely use this to learn the difference between small and large problems.
5 Minute Stories
We have a lot of these type of books including Peanuts, Curious George, Star Wars, Disney Stories and Disney Princesses. They also have Bedtime Stories and more. These are the books he keeps in his bed during his quiet time.
I love that these stories allow for discussion about reading comprehension including plot (beginning, middle, and end). They also allow for discussion of characters and why characters respond the way they do.
Curious George By: Margret & H.A.REY’s
The classic Curious George! I pulled out some from my classroom library & they are a hit with my son.
George gets himself into all kinds of adventures that are perfect for a 3 year olds growing imagination.
The Rabbit Listened By: Cori Doerrfeld
This book is new to me, he received it from the Imagination Library.
You can read more about How to Grow Your Child’s at Home Library on a Budget and the Imagination Library: Grow Your Child’s Library with Less than $60 a Year
In this cute story, the main character Taylor builds a structure with blocks. When out of nowhere some birds knock it over. Taylor is so sad!
Then all of the animals have suggestions of how to make Taylor feel better! The bear suggests getting angry, the snake suggest to break someone else’s things, and the ostrich suggests to hide. Eventually the rabbit comes and helps Taylor feel better.
It is a great story about how we feel when things don’t go our way. It teaches what helps and how we can have empathy for others like the rabbit did!
I love this book for teaching social emotional skills!
Little Critters By: Mercer Mayer
I remember the Little Critters from when I was little, do you? The series has stories on getting a new brother or sister, spending the day with grandma (or grandpa), using the potty, and much more!
The pictures are great and more than keep my son’s attention. We are reading this at least once a day!
Max and the Tag-Along Moon By: Floyd Cooper
Another great story from the Imagination Library! It’s a sweet story of a young boy and his grandpa. Max is with his grandpa and tells him he’ll miss him when he leave. His grandpa assured him he can watch the moon and he’ll be with him!
Max watches the moon in the car ride all the way home! I love that Max is focused on the moon just like my son would be.
Dragons Love Tacos By: Adam Rubin
If you aren’t reading Dragons Love Tacos RUN! to your nearest bookstore and pick it up! It is FULL of fun adjectives, a great plot, and keeps my sons attention throughout the entire book!
It’s a story about what kinds of tacos dragons like and what happens if you give them spicy salsa. Heads up whatever you do, do not give them spicy salsa!
Yes Day! By: Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Oh how we love “Yes Day!”. My mom and I picked this up at a scholastic book sale. The boy in the story has a Yes Day every year for one day. He gets to pick out his favorites at the grocery store, have a friend over for dinner, and make up his own game.
Between the funny pictures and not many words it is great for teaching inferencing.
I go over with some great detail on teaching inferencing in my post “Making Reading Count with Every Book.”
Reading in the home is so important for your child’s development.
Remember to share this with a mom or family that is looking for more books for a 3 year old or preschooler and comment below to let me know what books your child is loving!
Love, Ashley E
