Print Motivation and Favorite Books

Young children show their interest in books in many ways such as mouthing, following pictures and words with their eyes, or studying how others interact with books. A sure sign of a child's print motivation is the identification of a favorite book. Last week at Play & Learn we asked our participants about books that they enjoy. Here are the results, in no particular order:


Dinosaurumpus, by Tony Mitton
Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown
Fancy Nancy, by Jane O'Connor
Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? by Dr. Seuss
How to Catch an Elephant, by Amy Schwartz
Maisy, by Lucy Cousins
Thomas the Tank Engine
Frog and Toad are Friends, by Arnold Lobel
Tinkerbell
Dora the Explorer, by various authors
Little Goose, by David Mraz
The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss
Dinosaur Opposites, by Paul Strickland
Barbie: Fashion Fairytale, by Mary Man-Kong
Silly Sally, by Audrey Wood
Llama Llama Mad at Mama, by Anna Dewdney
The Little Red Hen, by Byron Barton


This list of favorites is as varied and vibrant as the children who hold these books so near and dear to their hearts. Most of the titles are, of course, available at the San Antonio Public Library.

E.L.S.I.E.

Many of us plan our storytimes around themes, but there also are a growing number of us planning around skills. The Hennepin County Public Library has a fantastic resource for identifying books related to specific pre-reading skills. Babette Reeves blogged about it earlier today, and it is definitely worth checking out!