We wanted Gab to develop the love of reading and so we exposed him to books from the very start. We see to it that we read everyday. He also likes going to the bookstore so we make sure to schedule every week. Given the choice, when he is offered a book and toy, he will go for the book. We are happy that age 2.5 years old, he knows  how to read already.

Gab has his own bookshelf. We choose books for him. Here are some of our favorite books from his collection that are good for early reading.

Dr. Seuss One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish is a classic Dr. Seuss book that that works great for early reading or a fun read-aloud. This is a simple rhyming book that tells about about a boy and a girl, and the  many funny fish and amazing creatures they have as friends and pets.

There lots of Dr. Seuss books, like the Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, Fox in Socks, to choose from that young readers and toddlers will surely enjoy.

Go, Dog. Go! – P.D. Eastman

Go, Dog. Go! book describes the actions and interactions of a group of highly mobile – big and small, colorful dogs, who drives cars going to the dog party at the  top of the tree. The book introduces concepts such as color and prepositions in a simple language. There’s lots of action and repetition that makes the young readers remember the words.

Read At Home with Biff, Chip & Kipper – The Snowman Book

The Snowman book is a story about the adventure of a group of friends in building a snowman. This is level  is recommended for young readers who are starting to read – those that can recognize their own name, can match some words and can recognize some letter sounds.

Read At Home with Biff, Chip & Kipper books are from Oxford University Press. These books are designed for young readers to help build their skills while reading entertaining stories and funny illustrations. Oxford University Press books are graded from Levels 1, when children are just getting ready to read, through to Level 6, when children will be reading with confidence.

The Big Honey Hunt – The Berenstains

The Big Honey Hunt is the first in the long-running Berenstain Bears series.  The book introduces a family of bears – Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Small Bear.  The bears run out of honey and Mama Bear asked Papa Bear to go and get some more from the store. Papa Bear decides he and Small Bear will go into an adventure honey hunt, following a bee to a honey tree.

The Berenstain Bears is a series of children’s books created by Stan and Jan Berenstain and continued by their son, Mike Berenstain. The books feature a family of  bears who generally learn a moral lesson in the course of each story. We are now reading The Big Book of Berenstain Bears Beginner Books are we are having fun with the stories.

Are you Ready to Play Outside? –  Mo Willems

Are you Ready to Play Outside? is about Piggie looking forward to play, run, jump and skip outside in the sunshine with Gerald. As they are all ready to go, it begins to rain. Piggie can’t stand the rain, until she notices the worms are thoroughly enjoying the rain and realizes that they can also have fun. And just as they begin to have a great time, the rain stops. But Gerald, being the kind friend that he is, fixes it so Piggie doesn’t have to go without rain.

Elephant and Piggie is a book series for early readers by Mo Willems. It features two friends: an elephant, Gerald, and a pig, Piggie. The books often tells stories of friendship. We love the other Elephant and Piggie books too!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

 The story is about the newborn caterpillar eating until he gets bigger, fatter, and turns into a lovely big butterfly. It tells the reader the lifecycle of a butterfly – one of the first science miracles a child learns in a simple story.  The story is emphasizes numbers and a good introduction to the days of the week. It has colorful pictures and a unique book design – that their fingers can poke through the caterpillar holes on each page.

Other popular Eric Carle books to consider: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?,  The Very Busy Spider, and The Grouchy Ladybug.