What Children Like in Books?

0 - 12 Months
Board books or fold-out books that can be propped up
Books with pictures of babies
Books with simple, large pictures
Books with simple pictures of people or familiar objects
Plastic or vinyl books for bath time
Washable cloth books that can be held and placed in the mouth
Books with black-and-white pictures or patterns

12 - 24 Months
Small, sturdy board books that small hands can hold
Books about bedtime
Books with photos of children doing familiar things like sleeping or playing
Books about saying hello and good-bye
Books with a few words on each page
Books with simple rhymes or predictable text
Books about animals
Books with simple, geometric shapes
Nursery rhymes

2 - 3 years
Books that tell simple stories and have pictures with more details
Simple rhyming books they can memorize
Books about bedtime
Books about counting, shapes or sizes
Interactive books – pop-up pages, pull-the-tab and touch-and-feel books
Silly or funny books
Books with repetition in story or a repeated phase
Stories with predictable text
Songs in a book format
Books with sounds they can imitate like animal or car sounds or musical instruments
Alphabet books with simple, clear pictures of each letter

4 - 5 years
Books with a plot – a beginning, middle and end
Simple science books about how things work
Silly or funny books
Books about things in which they have a special interest
Books about friends, families and other children
Books about going to school
Books with simple text they can memorize or read
Simple non-fiction books
Books that address a common fear or concern like being afraid of the dark
Wordless picture books
Books with a cumulative or sequential plot like the Three Billy Goats Gruff by Glen Rounds or If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff