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10 Highly Recommended Books by Parents of Pre-schoolers
March 29, 2021
4 min
Book list
Positive Parenting
Did you know that the 2nd of April marks a special day for children? It’s International Children’s Book Day!
At NTUC First Campus’ My First Skool, we believe that reading helps to develop children’s brains and imaginations, builds their oracy and literacy skills, increases their knowledge, and can form closer bonds between you and your child. To help you with book selections, we’ve put together a list of 10 books that are highly recommended by parents of pre-schoolers.
#1 - Baby, Find the Shapes!
Ideal for: 0 to 2 years
A fantastic introduction to books for babies, this title invites your child to find various shapes – such as triangles, circles and squares – among its colourful pages. It’s lots of fun for newborns and as a bonus, the book is also chew-proof, rip-proof and washable! (Since babies love “reading” with their eyes, hands and mouths.)
#2 - What's Up Duck?
Ideal for: 0 to 3 years
Filled with easy-to-read text, colourful illustrations and likeable characters, there’s a lot to love (and learn) in this book. The stars of the story are a duck and goose, who are opposites of each other. One is fast, the other is slow. And when one’s awake, the other is always asleep. This book teaches children the concept of “opposites” in a fun and whimsical manner.
#3 - Kindness Makes Us Strong
Ideal for: 0 to 3 years
Can children learn kindness and empathy from a book? Definitely! And this is an ideal book to get them started on this positive path. The joyful stories told within these pages illustrate children extending kindness in all sorts of situations – at the playground, during lunchbreak, around the neighbourhood, and more. You can use these examples to teach your child what to do in these situations and how to demonstrate kindness.
#4 - Ditty Bird - Nursery Rhymes
Ideal for: 0 to 3 years
Reading and singing nursery rhymes are great ways to build your child’s language skills, and that’s what this book is all about. By finding and touching the “sound dot” on each page, your children can listen to their favourite nursery rhymes and sing along! These timeless classics include “itsy bitsy spider, row row row your boat, baa baa black sheep, twinkle twinkle little star, and other familiar tunes.
#5 - Mr Panda's Feelings
Ideal for: 0 to 3 years
Let your child discover a wide range of emotions with this charming board book that features the hilarious and highly emotive Mr Panda. As you go through the pages, you can play a game of “How is Mr Panda feeling?” with your child and see if they can correctly tell you Mr Panda’s emotions on each page. You can also use this book to teach children how to identify emotions and articulate their feelings to others.
#6 - The Wonderful Things You Will Be
Ideal for: 4 to 6 years
Expand your child’s imagination and build their self-belief with positive messages and supportive statements about all the amazing things they can be in life. This heart-warming book captivates young minds with lush illustrations, and expresses all the loving thoughts that parents have when they think of their children.
#7 - The Day You Begin
Ideal for: 4 to 6 years
This delightful book teaches children about diversity, being different, and having the courage to know that it’s ok to feel like an outsider at times – and that each of us are beautiful in our unique ways. Flipping through the pages, your child will be fascinated by dazzling artwork and inspiring stories of bravery, acceptance, and being confident of yourself.
#8 - Harold and the Purple Crayon
Ideal for: 4 to 6 years
Develop your child’s sense of imagination and creativity with this imaginative title that follows the adventures of Harold and his oversized purple crayon – which he uses to magically draw a world of wonder and excitement to explore! This title opens your child’s mind to seeing beyond what’s possible, and using their creativity to create wonderful imaginary environments around them.
#9 - Its Not Easy Being a Bunny
Ideal for: 3 to 7 years
This fun title combines simple words, imaginative illustrations and a funny lead character – a bunny that doesn’t want to be a bunny anymore! Take your child on an animal-filled adventure of self-discovery, as the bunny wonders what life would be like as a bear, bird or pig… before discovering the value and joy of being his true self.
#10 - Little Blue Truck
Ideal for: 4 to 7 years
This quirky book tells a tale of a little pick-up truck that gets stuck in a muddy road. Luckily, the truck has made lots of animal friends along the way, and the adorable farm animals do their best to help their four-wheeled friend get moving again. Through this story, your child will learn about the power of friendship – and the rewarding fulfilment of helping others.
NTUC First Campus' My First Skool's approach to reading
At NTUC First Campus’ My First Skool, books are an essential part of our curriculum. Our children are captivated during storytelling sessions, which are brought to life through shadow puppets, props, role playing and many more! Storytelling time also features show-and-tell opportunities, which support children’s language and literacy development. Beyond sessions in classroom settings, we also believe in collaborating with parents to develop a culture of reading in children – which is why we enjoy sharing reading lists and recommendations with parents, who can continue this wonderful habit of reading and storytelling at home.
