The impromptu posts are always a hit on my blog, like my previous one. As promised, this post is about the list of books that we are reading for Adhiyan. He is 18 months old now and we have been reading these for the past 6 months.
I grew up in a very small town. As a kid, I didn’t have any rhymes or story books and they weren’t easily available in our place. I vaguely remember having one or two Tinkle books that I borrowed from my school library and the weekly supplement from the Tamil newspapers for children was the closest I got near comics/story books. And I didn’t have any idea of a baby/kid’s world until I had one. So when we ordered the first set of books for Adhiyan, I am sure I was more excited than him! I am still in awe going through his books, the illustrations and how vast is the world of books even for a 1 year old.
Before you scroll any further,
- I am not any professional who reviews books
- The list below is just to let you know what is keeping us engaged and how are they helping us learn new things
My first Library Set of Board Books
This is the first set books that we bought for Adhiyan. The size of the books is perfect for the little hands to hold. The books have real images and big fonts that are easy for them see/read.
Tips/Ideas – Apart from reading the books as such, we play with this set of books. There are pictures of the 10 books on the box. You could ask your kid to pick up the books that matches the pictures. For instance, we would point the numbers book and ask him to pick the same from the set of 10 books. Once we finish reading, we would help him to stack them inside the box.
This book is known as the Fergus Mama book in our home 😀 We have read it n number of times and we call Farmer Fergus as Fergus Mama, his daughter Freya akka, helper Harry Mama. This is a sound book so you could easily get the little ones engaged atleast for a few minutes.
Baa Baa Black Sheep Touch and Feel Book
This book has five rhymes with touch and feel images. However it took a long time for Adhiyan to know the different textures. Sing along and there is a question on each page to get the kids involved.
My first book of Trucks and Diggers
I wouldn’t say we got this book based on the gender but this was one of the 2 books that we could get during our panic shopping before the lock down at a supermarket. This tops Adhiyan’s favorites list and the guy knows this book by heart.
When the lock down was relaxed a bit in Kuwait, we were able to drive around for a couple of hours(only). We used to take him to a ground where all the trucks and diggers were parked and we would show him one by one for atleast 30 minutes everyday. He was able to relate and remember the names better. We would wait all day long for those precious few hours when we were allowed to drive around and leave to the ground to see the trucks. Would cherish those few minutes of breathing fresh air and the excitement on Adhiyan’s face for a longer time to come!
Tips/Ideas – There are repetitions of the same picture in different pages of the book and the cover. You could ask them to find out where else have they seen the same picture in the book.
These were the only books that we had until this July. I happened to find out about an online bookstore and an independent bookstore that is very close to our place and only after that our collection grew.
Spot – A Big Box of Little Books
The little books are perfect for a quick read and you can weave a story or ask them where would they want to go (the pack has Farm, Beach, Park,etc). There is a puzzle that comes along with the books which is again an interesting thing to do.
ABC I Like Me
A very colorful book of alphabets. It is not usual A for Apple book; it has interesting sentences for each alphabet that teach good habits and manners. The illustration is really pretty and this is one of our favorites too!
Fire Engine and Sparky the Truck
If your kids are crazy about anything that has wheels, books like these are perfect! Small sized board books that they can hold by themselves so that you could rest for a few minutes.
Follow Me and Jungle Lullabies
These two books has trails which you can get your little one to trace with their fingers. The Follow Me book has different themes to choose from and they are n number of ways to weave stories around each trail. Perfect for reading before nap and bedtimes.
What can you Spot?
This book is one of our recent favorites. Adhiyan didn’t even touch this for a few days and he didn’t show any interest. But now he wants to find the animals by himself, looking at the shadows given below.
Ideas/Tips – You can teach them colors, counting numbers, different landscapes and animal names.
Mix and Match Flap Books
We have mix and match flap books for Shapes and Opposites. These books come with flaps that can be interchanged so it is a little more fun than reading the normal books. You could play around with the flaps and find the right match.
Pop-up books
3D pictures with a pop-up effect is really fun! You can read the book with different modulations and I am sure your little ones will enjoy listening to it.
Guess I have covered everything from our mini library. You don’t really have to buy the exact same books that I have mentioned above. These are different kinds of books that you could look for so that there is a bit of everything in your little ones’ collection.
And, to wrap it up, below are the resources where I read about the recommended books for toddlers and how to read it to them.
- Kadhaiyugam – I might be partial but this page is by my BFF Divya. She is a trained story-teller for kids.
- momlifekw – This Instagram handle is by Sara D and it provides information on homeschooling, outdoor activities in Kuwait, book reviews and a lot more.
- vidhyashree – One pandora box of montessori method and activities for babies and toddlers. Vidhya also has a big list of books that she recommends.
- thebookishparent – Sudha Hariharan shares her genuine book reviews on her blog.
- adhium naanum – Moni Dinesh shares her list of books that she reads to her son on her Youtube Channel.
Additional information if you are in Kuwait –
There is this quaint little place is called Better Books (Google Maps has the location) in Salmiya, Block 10. They have a great collection of books for all ages. You can donate books, read them even for the whole day(it’s free!) and you can buy from them too. If you return books in a good condition, they give you a refund as well.
Redballoons.com is an online bookstore that is run by British teachers who serve in Kuwait schools. This website is a boon for parents like us who are in search for good quality books. Their service is great!
Hope you find this post useful. If you like this, do comment, share and spread the word. Thanks!
teakaapi 