Great Books for Babies and Toddlers: More Than 500 Recommended Books for Your Child's First Three Years [Paperback]

Kathleen Odean (Author)

Book Description

“The ideal time to begin sharing books with children is during babyhood, even with children as young as six weeks.”
—Starting Out Right
National Research Council

All parents hope to give their children the best possible start in life. Many of them know it’s a good idea to read to their children at a very young age, not with the goal of teaching their kids to read, but with the joy of having special time together looking at pictures and playing with words. Carefully chosen books that introduce children to the pleasures of language, simple story structure, and wonderful artwork are the foundation for a future love of books.

Great Books for Babies and Toddlers is the first book of its kind—a guide to the best age appropriate children’s books available. Compiled by Kathleen Odean, former Chair of the Newbery Award Committee, Great Books for Babies and Toddlers provides lively annotations for more than five hundred books, divided into two helpful categories: Nursery Rhymes, Fingerplays, and Songs; and Picture-Story Books for the Very Young.

With story selections ranging from such classics of children’s literature as Goodnight Moon and Where’s Spot? to excellent new books like How Does a Dinosaur Say Good Night? and Buzz!, Great Books for Babies and Toddlers will be more than a cherished guide for parents—it will also be a child’s first step in the lifelong adventure of reading.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Chances are, your baby shower showered you with copies of Goodnight Moon, and you, if not your little one, are ready to move on. Kathleen Odean--former children's librarian, chair of the 2002 Newbery Award committee, and author of Great Books for Girls and other excellent children's literature guides--has compiled 500 book recommendations for babies and toddlers. The time to begin sharing books with children is during babyhood. As the introduction states, "Reading to young children sets them on the path of emergent literacy, a term that sums up all the ways children become at home with language, reading, and writing well before they can decipher or print a recognizable word." In addition to book recommendations, Odean offers plenty of insight into early child development, tips on reading aloud, and careful listings of additional print and online resources for information about children's literature.

Odean's friendly, accessible guide recommends books in two primary categories: "Nursery Rhymes, Fingerplays, and Songs" and "Picture-Story Books for the Very Young." Each thoughtful, decidedly "un-canned" review demonstrates how a book can be used with a child and describes its distinctive characteristics--the basic content, the look and feel of the illustrations, and the sound of the language. Information such as author, illustrator, publisher, age range, and which editions are currently in print is also provided. You'll find wonderful new castings of tried-and-true Mother Goose rhymes and favorite classics along with picture-book discoveries from Jules Feiffer's Bark, George to Peggy Rathmann's board-book edition of 10 Minutes Till Bedtime . Odean is not only knowledgeable, she has great taste, to boot. This could be the most valuable baby-shower gift you ever give, but if you have any interest in children's literature at all you'll want to keep a copy for yourself.--Karin Snelson

From School Library Journal

This valuable resource includes a wealth of information for parents and librarians about the importance of reading aloud to babies and toddlers, as well as an annotated listing of books, mostly published since 1990. In the informative introduction, Odean discusses when, where, and how to read aloud effectively, choosing the best books, and the importance of visiting the public library. Nursery rhymes, fingerplays, and songs make up the first section, which is followed by picture books for the target audience. The author includes resources and tips for adults with lists of good baby-gift titles, favorite bedtime books, books for older siblings of a new baby, old favorites, books that inspire movement and verbal participation, favorite flap books, and books with multiethnic groups of children. Finally, Odean includes Web sites concerned with young children, sources to help parents keep abreast of literature for them, and further reading. Author, illustrator, and title indexes make for easy access. Libraries will want to have this fabulous guide on hand as well as Jane Marino's Babies in the Library! (Scarecrow, 2003), which encourages libraries to hold programs for infants and toddlers and presents good public library programming ideas. A must for all public libraries.
Leslie Barban, Richland County Public Library, Columbia, SC
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 337 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1 edition (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345452542
• ISBN-13: 978-0345452542
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #454,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, what a resource!, September 24, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Great Books for Babies and Toddlers: More Than 500 Recommended Books for Your Child's First Three Years (Paperback)

If you have ever wondered whether all books for babies and toddlers are created equal, then wonder no more. Kathleen Odean has done all of the footwork for parents of young children and for youth services librarians responsible for collection development in this area, with this well-researched and annotated guide to the best of the best. Also included are tips on reading aloud, activities with books, books in Spanish and so much more, all to ensure that the maximum benefits are derived from the recommended literature. This is certainly an acquisition that leaves no room for regret.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good resource, but I wish..., January 27, 2006

By 

MCRS "voracious reader, child development res... (Pasadena, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great Books for Babies and Toddlers: More Than 500 Recommended Books for Your Child's First Three Years (Paperback)

In looking for things to read to our daughter once she was born, my husband and I searched our memories for childhood favorites, talked to friends and librarians and poked through Jim Trelease's Read Aloud Handbook but found it to be a little light on suggestions appropriate for an infant. Kathleen Odean has done a wonderful job of describing several hundred books appropriate to read to 0-3 year olds and suggesting age ranges for each book.

I do wish that in addition to her "Favorite Picks" which give quick lists such as "Favorite Bedtime Books" that she had also included a list of books that rhyme and an index of titles by age since paging through to find things for a particular age is time consuming. All in all we are very pleased with this book and look forward to being introduced to many new books and authors as our child grows older.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helped this new father..., June 17, 2004

By 

Jeffrey P. Ralston (West Orange, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Great Books for Babies and Toddlers: More Than 500 Recommended Books for Your Child's First Three Years (Paperback)

I used this book to build a 100+ library of books for my 17-month old daughter. There are so many children's books available that a guide like this is indispensible for distinguishing between them. This guide pointed me towards some fantastic books and authors that I would not have encountered by simply browsing my local library or bookstore. Some examples of fantastic authors that my daughter and I love whose books were recommended by this guide include Frank Asch, Pat Hutchins, Eve Rice, and Patricia Hubbell.