Medical Info: Dr. Aguilar's Reading List

Reading aloud is the most important thing parents can do to help their children love books and begin school ready to learn. It's never too early to start - reading to infants helps stimulate brain development! Below are recommendations of what infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers like in books. Each section is followed by Dr. Aguilar's personal favorite picks (including Spanish books and stories about going to the doctor).

Please visit the American Academy of Pediatrics reading website at http://www.aap.org/family/readmeastory.htm. Also check out your local public library for more book selections. Make reading a part of your child's everyday life - and have fun!

What infants like in books:
* Board books with photos of babies
* Brightly colored board books to touch and taste
* Books with pictures of familiar objects - balls, bottles
* Small books sized for small hands

Dr. A's Picks:
Baby's Animal Friends by Phoebe Dunn
Baby's Bedtime by Nikki Grimes
Big and Little by Melanie Walsh
Busy Baby by Naomi McMillan
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day
I Love Colors by Margaret Miller
Look at Your Baby Face! by Madeline Carter
Moo, Baa, LA LA LA by Sandra Boynton
No Diapers for Baby! by Denise L. Patrick
Peekaboo, Baby! by Denise L. Patrick
Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
Smile, Baby! By Denise L. Patrick

What toddlers like in books:
* Sturdy board books they can handle and carry
* Books with photos and pictures of children doing familiar things - sleeping, eating, playing
* Rhymes, rhythms, repetitious text - books they can learn by heart
* Books about making friends, food, animals, trucks, etc.
* Goodnight books for bedtime

Dr. A's Picks:
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle
Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell
Dr. Seuss's ABC: An Amazing Book by Seuss
Early Morning in the Barn by Nancy Talfuri
Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert
Feast for 10 by Cathryn Falwell
Freight Train by Donald Crews
The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
Have You Seen My Duckling? By Nancy Talfuri
I Spy Little Book by Jean Marzollo, et al
Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino
Jonathan and His Mommy by Irene Smalls-Hector
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper, et al
Maisy's Colors by Lucy Cousins
A Pocket for Corduroy by Don Freeman
Rain Feet by Angela Johnson
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Ten, Nine, Eight by Molly Bang
This Is the Way We Go to School by Edith Baer
Thomas the Tank Engine by Christopher Moroney
Truck by Donald Crews
Where's Nicky? By Cathryn Falwell

What pre-schoolers like in books:
* Books that tell stories
* Books with simple text they can memorize
* Counting books, alphabet books, vocabulary books
* Books about different places and different ways of living

Dr. A's Picks:
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
Bedtime for Frances by Russell Hoban
A Chair for My Mother by Vera Williams
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
Curious George by Margret Rey, H.A. Rey
The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash by Trinka Hakes Noble
Eloise by Kay Thompson
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Felicia Bond
Jamaica Tag-Along by Juanita Havill
Jump Frog Jump! By Robert Kalin
Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus
Lisa's Airplane Trip by Anne Gutman, Georg Hallensleben
Love You Forever by Sheila McGraw
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
Mr. Pine's Purple House by Leonard P. Kessler
No, David! By David Shannon
Olivia by Ian Falconer
The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant by Jean De Brunhoff
The Stray Dog by Marc Simont
The Three Pigs by David Wiesner
Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert
When Sophie Gets Angry - Really, Really Angry... by Molly Garrett Bang
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Spanish books:
Abuela's Weave / El Tapiz de Abuela by Omas S. Castaneda
Bein' with You This Way / L'alegria De Ser Tu Y Yo by W. Nikola-Lisa
My Colors / Mis Colores by Rebecca Emberley
Taking a Walk / Caminado by Rebecca Emberly
With My Brother / Con Mi Hermano by Eileen Roe

Books about going to the doctor:
The Berenstain Bears Go to the Doctor by Stan Berenstain, Jan Berenstain
Chris Gets Ear Tubes by Betty Pace
Clifford Visits the Hospital by Norman Bridwell
Corduroy Goes to the Doctor by Lisa McCue, Don Freeman
Doctor Maisy by Lucy Cousing
Elmo Goes to the doctor by Sarah Albee, Tom Brannon
Franklin Goes to the Hospital by Sharon Jennings, et al
Griffy Giraffe's Accident by Jennifer E. Sheehan
Pooh Gets a Checkup by Kathleen Zoehfeld, Robbin Cuddy
Pooh Plays Doctor by Kathleen Zoehfeld, Robbin Cuddy
A Visit to the Sesame Street Hospital by Deborah Hautzig, Dan Elliott