Picture books often make the best educational “toys” for young children. Why? One of the key concepts that children must master as part of their cognitive development and language building skills is the difference between individual things and categories of things (for example, the difference between Mom vs. woman). Pictures themselves represent two different things at the same time– the picture itself is a thing, but it also represents something else. An article I wrote on why picture books make great toys discusses the latest research showing that children may learn new words more accurately from pictures than from 3D objects, especially when part of reading time between parents and children.
So, if you are going for picture books as educational Christmas gifts, which books should you buy? The Huffington Post recently posted a picture slideshow of the ten best children’s picture books of 2009, provided in part by Greenlight Bookstore. It’s a lovely compilation, with a wide range of titles from Princess Hyacinth (The Surprising Tale of a Girl Who Floated)
Along with A Penguin Story, one of my favorites on the list is A Really Short History of Nearly Everything,
How’s this for an astounding fact that your kids and you will learn: Did you know that every atom in your body has almost certainly passed through several stars and been part of millions of organisms on its way to being you? Or what about the fact that a baby weighing 4 kilograms has about 400,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms in its body! The book is a lot of fun.
Follow the jump for the full list of the best picture books for children published in 2009 at Huffington Post.
3 replies on “The Best Picture Book of The Year – A Perfect Christmas Gift”
[…] activities. As far as inside fun goes, one of the best things you can do for your child is to read a picture book to them, particularly a preschool or prekindergarten aged child who is working on literacy. Reading […]
[…] Yet studies show that children can learn to read at an early age, even without formal instruction, when they are exposed to specific practices and activities at home that promote literacy, such as reading with your child, conversing regularly, letting them see you read, exposing them to books, and similar activities that expose them to the world of words and meaning, stimulating their natural curiosity. All of these are things that you can do with your own child to help them go from being a non-reader to a reader using children’s picture books. You can teach your child to read in an enjoyable, organic method building off your home’s existing literacy-encouraging environment, using materials you already have or can borrow from a library or purchase from a bookstore–picture books! […]
[…] of my favorite of these is the list of best children’s books that come out this time of year. Here at DestinyBaby.com, we’ve talked a lot about why […]