Well, since I already have posts for Best Books for 2 Year-Olds and Best Books for 3 Year-Old Boys, I figured it was high time for me to put together a list of the best books for 4 year-olds. You may notice just a couple of repeats, but just because my son is a year older, doesn’t mean he no longer likes books from when he was “little”.

Without further ado, below are my 4 year-old son’s favorite books!

The Day the Babies Crawled Away
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)

Right now, this is one of my top 3 favorite books. It’s rhythm and rhyme make it fun to read and the pictures are phenomenal. If you look closely, you can see that the sun gradually sets as the story is told.

TIP: Look for the upside-down baby. There is one on almost every page!

Flotsam
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)

My sister-in-law sent this book out of the blue, and I immediately fell in love. There are no words, but Flotsam proves that a picture is worth a thousand words. The story is absolutely magical.

Gulliver Snip
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Yes, this is a repeat from my Best Books for 3 Year-Olds list, but I love it too much to not put it on this list as well. The day that I read it for the first time, I actually contacted the author and told her to write more books. I haven’t written an author since a 4th grade reading assignment. (And, yes, she responded. Double stars for Julia Kay!)

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
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Any book that involves huffing and puffing is a fun read, but I also dig the story. It is a spoof on the Three Little Pigs (duh), told from the point of view of the wolf. I am not keen on the fact that he ate the pigs (it isn’t graphic or anything), but I guess that is how it went in the original story.

Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb
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My 4 year-old son and I both love reading this book. “Rings on fingers. Rings on thumb. Drum Drum Drum Drum Drum Drum Drum.” The rhythm and rhyme make it absolutely addictive, and the pictures are too cute!

The Foot Book
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The Foot Book is classic Seuss; easy for early readers and so much fun to read. It is my go-to book whenever I want my son to practice his reading because he enjoys it so much he doesn’t even notice that he is doing all the work. (Sneaky, sneaky.)

Dinotrux
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Lord help me, but my 4 year-old loves this book. Frankly, I am a little tired of reading this one, but I have to include it in the list because my son thinks it is the bees knees. As a parent, you have to suspend all semblance of reality as you read; but just about any 4 year-old boy will love it.

Harold and the Purple Crayon
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So simple, and yet so perfect. Harold and the Purple Crayon is a sweet story about a boy who has a little adventure, armed with nothing but his imagination and a purple crayon. The drawings are simple, but still so engaging. It is a nice, calm read before bedtime.

I Broke My Trunk!
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When you read this book, you absolutely must pinch your nose when you speak for the elephant. It is a requirement. I like a lot of books by Mo Willems, but this is my favorite to read because it makes my 4 year-old laugh out loud. Always a good thing when making a life-long reader.

Where the Wild Things Are
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This book is a classic, and it is easy to see why. The story is beautifully written with wonderful rhythm. Even though it does not rhyme, it still reads like a poem. My 4 year-old is entranced by the pictures, and I love reading it.

Big Plans
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Big Plans is about a little boy who is sent to the corner in school where he thinks about his plans. This is another one of those books where the main phrase has made its way into our family vocabulary. Now, Edison will say, out of the blue, “I got big plans! Big plans, I say!” Too funny…

I Am A Leaf
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This book is such a great way to explain what leaves do to little kids. I discovered I Am A Leaf when Edison was 2 years old, and now I check it out from the library every fall. Although it is perfect for autumn, it goes through the entire life-cycle of a leaf, so it works year-round.

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For 3 years-old, my son has become quite the literary critic. He spends quite a bit of time, thoughtfully choosing the picture books he wants before bed. Some of the books inevitably get chosen time and time again…and again…and again…

Obviously, there are countless amazing picture books out there, but these are some of his absolute favorites. Check out our list of (what we consider to be) the best picture books for 3 year-old boys.

Gulliver Snip
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)

The very first time I read this book, I absolutely fell in love with it. It has everything, and I mean everything, that I look for in a great children’s book. The story is imaginative and reads like a poem without being too rhymey. The pictures are beautifully done and the idea is wonderfully unique. When my preschooler asked to read it again a few hours later, I had no complaints. I love this book!

Mungo and the Spiders from Space
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)

Little man is all about rockets right now, so this book is just perfect. It is about a little boy reads a book and gets to join in a space adventure. The pictures are interesting, the storyline is cute, and it is fun to read. (Thanks for adding this to the library, “Glandpa”.)

How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?
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This book is absolutely perfect for a 3 year-old boy. First, it is about dinosaurs. But, what I love is how I can make references to it during bed time. “Hey…”, I say when my son whines about going to bed. “Do dinosaurs do that at bedtime?” Of course they don’t. This book makes bedtime a lot nicer.

Hare and Tortoise Race to the Moon
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I actually found this book when I was pregnant. I was looking for books with high contrast images because I read that babies found them more interesting. Well, my son wasn’t really interested in it as a baby. No surprise. But, now as a 2 year old, this is one of his favorite books. This is one we have to hide or else we would have to read it every night.

Please, Puppy, Please
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I found Please, Baby, Please at a thrift store and immediately went on a hunt for more books by this incredible author/illustrator team. Both books are easy to read, great for practicing sight words, and the pictures are mesmerizing.

The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!
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I adore Mo Willems…He has a knack for writing easy-to-read books that are fun for both kids and adults. Edison is so engaged when we read this book, and that is half the battle with spirited kids.

Chicka Chicka 123
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)

Known in our home as “Chicka Chicka Number Boom Boom”, this one instantly held a number 1 ranking for our 3 year-old. It is a sequel to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (obviously). Although it focuses on the numbers 0-20, the numbers 0-100 are listed in the back. Every time we read it, my son insists on counting each number. This wouldn’t be too bad, but if he messes up, he starts again. Ugh. But, he is learning to count to 100, so it is totally worth it.

Making the Moose Out of Life
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This book makes me happy, and Edison can tell. I love the art, and I love the message. It is about a moose who goes off on an adventure and finds there is a lot more to life than he thought. My husband and I just love the message, and it is such a good thing for kids to learn when they are young. (Actually, we love a number of books by this author…see more.)

Blue Hat, Green Hat
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)

Blue Hat, Green Hat has a special place in my heart because it was the very first book that my son read cover to cover. It is so much fun to read all because the “oops” make my son laugh every time. (If you read the book or look at the Amazon preview, you will know what I mean. )

Shark VS Train
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When my husband brought this home from a book fair, I rolled my eyes. Could a book be more boy? But, when it was my turn to read it, I changed my tune. It goes through different types of challenges and whether a train or a shark would win. Silly, but it sparks some great conversations. I wouldn’t say it is my favorite book, but it is certainly one of my preschooler’s top picks.

Little Pirate: What’s in the Egg?
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I finally had to hide this book for a little while because my son picked it so often. Don’t get me wrong, I totally get why my 3 year-old loves this book. It has flaps and dials surprises and all the things that boys his age love. And it’s educational…I think I just talked myself into bringing it out of hiding.

P.S.
In case it isn’t obvious, I love picture books as much as my son. I put a lot of time into looking for books for him, and I can get a little picky. Check out my post on how I choose the best picture books for my son.

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Commercial Books Should Offer More Than Just Marketing

I try to stay away from commercial books. That doesn’t mean that I won’t pick up an early-reader book featuring the cast of Cars 2. It just means that the book has to offer more than just an opportunity for Disney or whomever to market their products to my 3 year-old.

Some of the commercial books we both enjoy include:

• Secret Agent Mater (Disney/Pixar Cars 2) (Step into Reading)
• Thomas and the Jet Engine (Thomas and Friends)

Large Print and Few Words
Books with large print and just a few words per page are great to help kids learn to read. (Think Dick and Jane…) They make it easy to spot site words and practice sounding words out.

Favorite Large Print Books:

• Hop on Pop
• Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?

Books with Lots of Repetition
I love books where a similar phrase is repeated throughout. Once my 3 year-old can read that one phrase, the rest is easy.

• Taking a Bath with the Dog and Other Things that Make Me Happy
• The Very Busy Spider

Interesting Artwork Keeps us Both Engaged
There is a reason they call them “picture books”. Talking about the pictures is half of the experience of reading a book. Our librarian suggested the books below, and now they are regulars in our check-out list.

• Imagine a Day 
• Imagine a Night

The post How I Choose the Best Books for My 3 Year-Old appeared first on Wild Edisons.

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons
(Find out more or buy through Amazon…)

This is officially my new favorite picture book, hands down, no question. There are a number of things I like about it, but I think my favorite part is that Edison WANTS to read it on his own. With some coaxing, he will read other books, but he wont even let me hold this one.

Aside from that,  I like Pete the Cat and his Four Groovy buttons because:

• It has a great voice, rhythm, and meter
• It reinforces basic match concepts
• It has content that is repeated throughout (which is always good for beginning readers)
• And, it has a great message.

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