A Great Book

Monday, March 5th, 2012 1:36 pm | By Stephanie Woo

The best books for kids are ones based in reality.

Elementary school kids love fantasy, but very young kids, with their limited time on earth, are still doing all they can to learn about this world. So give them books that are based on things they can see, touch and experience in their everyday life. Don’t confuse them (and possibly scare them as they get older) with fantasy, myths or fairy tales. Put away books with animals that talk or go to school. YOU may find this boring, but it’s good for THEM to play on the swings in the park and then read a book about a child who plays on the swing, or for them to read books about children who nap, bathe, eat and sleep.

Which is why I love this book. It is based on reality, it’s about all the things you can with your hands, and most of the images are ones little kids can relate to, like waving bye-bye, playing peek-a-boo and putting on shoes. My kids love this book. I’ve been reading it to them for months now, and now, they will read it by themselves and do all the hand gestures that go along with it!

The picture shows a girl reaching up to touch a leaf, that’s what M is doing too

That’s M giving herself a hug!

Mackenzie waves bye-bye, just like the boy in the picture

Reader Comments (3)

  1. what is this book called? any suggestions for one year old?

    Thursday, March 8th, 2012 6:46 am | eva
  2. This book is called "Hands Can" by Cheryl Willis Hudson. It's perfect for a one year old. We started reading it at 10-11 months and it's still a favorite at 15 months.

    Friday, March 16th, 2012 9:09 am | Stephanie Woo
  3. Do you read to your twins in both English and Chinese ? My boy/girl twins are 20 months old. My husband speaks English only. I try to speak Chinese only but found myself using a lot of English words with the twins. Would you mind sharing your experience and tips on raising bilingual children ? Thank you.

    Thursday, June 4th, 2015 4:34 am | Yung Yung

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