Recommended Reading

Hi Friends,

Birth to Pre-school is an amazing time to share the love of reading with children.  “The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home” by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise states that, “The best early teaching you can give your child is to immerse them in language from birth”. 

But let’s be honest, reading to toddlers can be a real challenge.  They are often on the go and don’t have time to sit quietly in your lap and explore a book.  They feel the need for speed, the need to explore the world around them.  Fortunately, this period of loving to read can be done through osmosis.  This is a great time to introduce audio books to your child.  They may not have time to sit and read with you, but they do have time to listen to an audio book while they play with blocks, cars, puzzles, baby dolls, or other toys.  Even board books can be used as fun toys for toddlers. 

A library card is a great way to access your libraries digital resources.  If you don’t have a subscription to an audio book service like kindle or audible you might try your libraries digital service which is available for free with your library card.  I use two different audio and digital reading resources through our local library, Hoopla and Libby.  This blog shares with you some great classics in audio book form that you and your child can enjoy while you play.  No one is suggesting you read these books to your toddler.  This is just a list of enjoyable background noise that introduces language into the space while your child plays.   Some of the recommended audio books are long, but can be broken down into 10 or 20 minutes a listen depending on your child’s attention span.    

Here are 10 recommended classic audio books for toddlers.   

• Natalie Portman’s Fables (about 15 minutes) Aesop’s Fables (about 3 hours)

Natalie Portman’s Fables are classic fables read by the actress Natalie Portman and includes a musical score to enhance the audio experience of the book.  Natalie Portman’s Fables is a great starter fable audio book.  The track is only 15 minutes and will help you gage how your child responds to audio books, good, bad or indifferent.  Good or indifferent means you are on the right track. 

Aesop’s Fables is a longer audio book at about three hours, but includes the classic fables.  Some of the readings in this audio book might be a little intense for younger toddlers (The fox and the crow).   You are the best judge of what your child can handle.  The book is read rather monotone so it reduces the intensity of the stories but might also reduce the interest of your child. Maybe a good listen before nap time.    

• The Timeless Tales of Beatrix Potter (about 4 hours) 

The Timeless Tales of Beatrix Potter is the classic story of the misadventures of Peter Rabbit plus many more.  The narration by Katherine Kellgren is animated and provides great interest in the story.  The audio book includes the Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, and many more.  Each tale ranges from about six minutes to 20 minutes.  It’s a great audio book to listen to over and over again as there are so many different tales.

• Frog and Toad Audio Collection by Arnold Lobel (about 2 hours)

Frog and Toad Audio Collection is read by the author Arnold Lobel.  It contains all of the five Frog and Toad stories.  It’s a gift to hear the book read by its author.  This audio book also includes a musical score that increases the interest and intensity of the stories.  This is definitely one of my favorites.  

• A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond  (about 3 hours)

The classic tale of Paddington Bear from darkest Peru.  Paddington Bear carries his suitcase into adventures with the Brown family.  Each of the eight chapters is about 15 minutes.  The book can be spread out over multiple days to keep the interest going throughout a whole week or two depending on your child’s interest.   

• Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne (about 3 hours)

“Tut, tut it looks like rain”, is a classic line from A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh.  The narration read by Peter Dennis is calm and soothing.  Peter Dennis does all the characters in different voices.  The audio book includes a background track of the sounds of 100 acre woods including birds and bees. The book chapters range from 10 to 20 minutes each.  Many happy returns of the day.   

• Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater and Florence Atwater (about 2 hours)

Mr. Popper dreams of visiting the poles, the North Pole or the South Pole.  Although he was a house painter his heart belonged to exploring the great cold wonderlands of the poles.  Adventures begin when Mr. Popper receives a penguin from polar explorer Admiral Drake. The story is 20 chapters ranging from 6 to 12 minutes. 

• Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren (about 2 hours)

The original girl power story explores how we can use any opportunity as a learning adventure.  Pippi returns from the sea to her ancestral home in a village to discover what adventures can be had with the neighbor children.  Pippi’s lack of parental guidance provides some interesting situations as she tries her hand a school and ladies tea parties?  She even troughs a party of her own!

• Alice and Wonderland  by Lewis Carroll (about 1 hour)

The Voices in the Wind Audio Theatre version is an adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice and Wonderland.  The audio book includes a background track of the sounds of the garden and other accompaniments.  The cast of characters in this story are played by different voice actors which gives the audio book a dynamic feel that provides interest for young listeners.

• The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White (about 4 hours)

The audio book on our library app is listed as read by the Author E. B. White and is an unabridged version.  The audio book is original to the authors reading of the story prior to his death in 1985 which doesn’t include some of the other features typically found in good audio books. However, there is a calming peacefulness of the author’s monotone telling of the story.  Maybe another great nap time listen along. 

• The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbra Robinson (about 1 hour)

The Herdman Children are ones to learn things the hard way, but attempt to right wrongs with the Christmas Pageant.   This adaptation by Barbra Robinson is narrated by actress Elaine Stritch.  There is something about the strength and animation of her voice that makes this audio book a great listen.  Without any bells or whistlers Elaine Stritch’s broadway voice delivers a perfect reading. 

Remember what Gretchen Rubin says, “The days are long but the years are short”.  Spend those long days reading or listening to great audio books and those moments will never be wasted.