Night Time Reading Recommendations for My 3 Year Old

Kintarō Hattori · 09-09-2020 1:59pm #1

Hey Folks,

Each night when I put my little one to bed I read her a chapter of a book when she's lying in bed. I've read the following to her:

Sophie (the book series)

The Faraway Tree

Now we're started on the first book of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe

These are all well and good but starting on The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe made me realise that the language used is a bit too advanced for her. Do any of you have recommendations for a series of books I can read? We have lots of simpler books that I've read, Ladybird Bedtime Stories etc but we fly through these quickly and I'd like something that's small novel length so we can eke some time out of it and ideally a series so we can go from one book to the next.

Many thanks.

bee06 · 09-09-2020 2:03pm

It’s not a series but my 2 year old loves the Giraffe the Pelly and me by Roald Dahl. We started a few other ones but they were too advanced.

shesty · 09-09-2020 5:19pm

Mm, she is only 3, they are quite advanced for her to have any idea of what you are reading tbh. I have been reading these to mine from ages 2 to 6 so far....

Anything Julia Donaldson....What the Ladybird Heard, What the Ladybird Heard Next, The Gruffalo, The Cook and the King, The Smeds and the Smoos, Tabby McTat , The Ugly 5, Stick Man etc.

The Pencil and The Runaway Dinner.

Winnie the Witch...these are a series, there are loads of these.

The Princess in Black - again, a series.My 6 year old loves these, my 4 year old loses interest (both girls).

I tried Sophie on both my 6 and 4 year old and tbh, they weren't mad keen -I think they found it a bit boring!

Off the top of my head those are the few I can think of.My kids have a lot of books, and they often revisit favourites -so keep them around.Mine choose a book each at night off the shelf, if you try that you will see pretty quickly what she might like.

Loveinapril · 09-09-2020 8:07pm

At three, I would still be going for short stories to hold the attention. We read three books a night to my almost three year old and they would be short enough but they are all different stories and the little fella picks different ones (or sometimes the same ones) each night. I know you have mentioned before that your little one has a speech delay so I imagine sticking to shorter,more engaging stories and picture books will encourage conversation while reading the books. Maybe try the library to see what sorts of books she enjoys.

Kintarō Hattori · 09-09-2020 8:30pm

shesty wrote: »

Mm, she is only 3, they are quite advanced for her to have any idea of what you are reading tbh. I have been reading these to mine from ages 2 to 6 so far....

Off the top of my head those are the few I can think of.My kids have a lot of books, and they often revisit favourites -so keep them around.Mine choose a book each at night off the shelf, if you try that you will see pretty quickly what she might like.

Thanks Shesty, I'll look into those suggestions. Like your kids, she has a lot of books. Plenty of age appropriate books and then lots I've bought that I can read and re-read to her as she gets older. In the 'early' days I used to let her pick the books but now I've found it's best to just pick a book myself and run with it.

Loveinapril wrote: »

At three, I would still be going for short stories to hold the attention. We read three books a night to my almost three year old and they would be short enough but they are all different stories and the little fella picks different ones (or sometimes the same ones) each night. I know you have mentioned before that your little one has a speech delay so I imagine sticking to shorter,more engaging stories and picture books will encourage conversation while reading the books. Maybe try the library to see what sorts of books she enjoys.

Thanks Loveinapril. I used to read short stories to her and I still do on occasion. Sometimes in bed and sometimes when we're on the sofa. The reason I go for a longer book is that there's less stopping and starting. With a short story you're finished in no time and then onto another story. That gap is enough for her to get up and start messing.
I tend to favour a longer book as I think it's soothing and it certainly makes the bedtime routine a lot less messy as generally speaking once she's in bed and you're reading away to her, she's drifting off to sleep. I'd try to read a full chapter to her but will read less if it's long. Really just enough of it until the point that she's asleep.
She did/does have a speech delay but WOW the pandemic has been incredibile for her, she's come on so so much. She's yapping away now in two languages and there's what seems like new sentences each day, it's really wonderful. Sometimes she's not as clear as she should be, but we can see the improvements and she's getting there. We have lots of picture books but I try to avoid those during the bedtime routine.

She adores being read to, which is something I appreciate as it makes getting her to bed so much easier than if she didn't.

2xj3hplqgsbkym · 09-09-2020 8:31pm

Totally agree with previous posters. Think they are not too interesting for a 3 year old. I love Julia Donaldson and Oliver Jeffers

tscul32 · 09-09-2020 8:37pm

If she likes The Far Away Tree then try The Wishing Chair, there are 3 books in that series, similar type of stories.

Kintarō Hattori · 09-09-2020 8:44pm

Vivaan Salty Puffball wrote: »

Totally agree with previous posters. Think they are not too interesting for a 3 year old. I love Julia Donaldson and Oliver Jeffers

She made it through 3 Faraway books quite happily and several of the Sophie books. The only reason I've mentioned it now is that books I've started on is probably a bit too much so I was looking for something that's long, like a novel but a little simpler.

I have the likes of 'The Fox and His Socks', several M&S books such as The Princess & The Pea, The 3 Little Pigs, Goldilocks & the 3 Bears etc, then a lovely Ladybird book that has several short stories such as Snow White, The Wizard of Oz etc but stories such as this are all too short.

bee06 · 09-09-2020 8:52pm

Julia Donaldson is a big hit here as well. My 2yr 8mth old knows them off by heart. God help me if I make a mistake. He’ll correct me straight away.

Loveinapril · 09-09-2020 9:09pm

bee06 wrote: »

Julia Donaldson is a big hit here as well. My 2yr 8mth old knows them off by heart. God help me if I make a mistake. He’ll correct me straight away.

My son sometimes likes to "read" his own book and instructs me to read a different one at the same time but pulls me up on it if I skip a few lines!

shesty · 09-09-2020 9:24pm

The thing about Julia Donaldson and others is that the ryhmes are so good for their speech development too.They are well written aswell, the language is good in them.Tabby Mc Tat and Stick Man are big favourites here.I apprecaite they might look short to you on the surface, but they are surprisingly a lot wordier than you would think.

Oliver Jeffers is a big favourite here too...all of mine have loved Stuck, The Incredible Book Eating Boy, Lost and Found, among others.The Enid Blyton books you mention, I have them all in a box in the attic from when I was a child - and the Narnia series, among others - mine just wouldn't have the interest yet to sit and listen to me reading those.

She is probably enjoying the sound of you reading a book to actually fall asleep, but maybe you could start with one or two picture ones like any of the Julia Donaldson, for her interest, and then maybe switch to something longer if it is in order for her to drop off.

There is nothing wrong with what you are doing, just she might find the other books more engaging for her age.

bee06 · 09-09-2020 9:43pm

I have to admit I enjoy the Julia Donaldson stories myself as well. I got Zog for my son and had to buy the sequel straight away to see how they got on as flying doctors

coffeyt · 09-09-2020 9:47pm

My 4 year old is also a big fan of the faraway tree and wishing chair.
Sticking with that vein I found the Amelia Jane books and she loves them. Each chapter is it's own small story so ideal for that age group.

El Gato De Negocios · 09-09-2020 9:47pm

Julia Donaldson and Axel Shefflers books as mentioned above.

The "Adam" series of books by Benji Bennett are absolutely lovely.

Kintarō Hattori · 10-09-2020 9:29am

El Gato De Negocios wrote: »

Julia Donaldson and Axel Shefflers books as mentioned above.

The "Adam" series of books by Benji Bennett are absolutely lovely.

We have Before You Sleep and it is lovely alright.

Kintarō Hattori · 10-09-2020 9:32am

shesty wrote: »

She is probably enjoying the sound of you reading a book to actually fall asleep, but maybe you could start with one or two picture ones like any of the Julia Donaldson, for her interest, and then maybe switch to something longer if it is in order for her to drop off.

There is nothing wrong with what you are doing, just she might find the other books more engaging for her age.

You are right I think, it's really hearing me read which she enjoys and which helps her get off to sleep. Anyway, I've ordered The Gruffalo and another Enid Blyton book that was recommended here. I'll look into the others too. There's no such thing as too many books.

Dravokivich · 10-09-2020 9:53am

The Gruffallo is a good one. And the thing about Julia's books, it's not just the rhyming that's appealing, it's the rythym's in the narritive too. I always read the Gruffallo in a kinda bluesy/jazz spoken/song thing to my kid.

The Ugly 5 is a fun one to sing too, but I used the melody from the verses of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11gIw_6zrlI

jlm29 · 10-09-2020 10:28am

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

You are right I think, it's really hearing me read which she enjoys and which helps her get off to sleep. Anyway, I've ordered The Gruffalo and another Enid Blyton book that was recommended here. I'll look into the others too. There's no such thing as too many books.

This is it. You could probably read her the newspaper, she just likes the quiet time hanging out with you.

Redgirl82 · 10-09-2020 10:30am

Get the Adam books, Irish author

https://www.adamscloud.com/

Money gets donated to charities and my kids love them all. My 7 year old now wants them read every night for her. The author also does live readings on facebook. Highly recommend

scarepanda · 10-09-2020 10:44am

My 4 year old loves the 'ladybird heard' series as well.

I also get her books that are slightly ahead of her but something she's interested in. We got her a few pop up books last Christmas, the usborne look inside series, she especially loves the 'how things work' book. For those it's not so much about the story, but learning about whatever the books are about. She loves lifting the flaps so that keeps her interest. It's more of a 'play' book, but you would be amazed how much goes in and sticks.

xalot · 10-09-2020 12:07pm

The Gruffalo / Gruffalo's child and Room on the Broom are BIG hits in our house.

Oink · 10-09-2020 12:18pm

We go to the library once a week, get 12 different books, and that keeps us going. You should give it a go. The variety helped me figure out what kind of stories worked.

This one was a major hit, obviously:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pigeon-Poop-Elizabeth-Baguley/dp/1561487694

The Lighthouse Keeper series is good as well.

sasal · 10-09-2020 1:09pm

Might be a bit young for her but Goodnight Everyone by Chris Haughton is a lovely book for winding down.
The illustrations are lovely and there's big yawns for every animal going to sleep.

lazygal · 10-09-2020 1:13pm

The classic Miffy books are great for bedtime.

shesty · 10-09-2020 1:14pm

scarepanda wrote: »

My 4 year old loves the 'ladybird heard' series as well.

I also get her books that are slightly ahead of her but something she's interested in. We got her a few pop up books last Christmas, the usborne look inside series, she especially loves the 'how things work' book. For those it's not so much about the story, but learning about whatever the books are about. She loves lifting the flaps so that keeps her interest. It's more of a 'play' book, but you would be amazed how much goes in and sticks.

These Usborne ones are huge with my 4 year old. The Body and Space and Planet Earth ones we have, and "The Body" one in particular is excellent because they can really relate it to themselves. My only (minor) issue is that there are SO MANY flaps that as a bedtime story it can be a bit painful!! But for information - especially these days - they are incredibly well done.

shesty · 10-09-2020 1:15pm

lazygal wrote: »

The classic Miffy books are great for bedtime.

I think my 6 year old is a bit creeped out by the pictures of Miffy, she isn't a fan.

:D Littler pair love them too though.

scarepanda · 10-09-2020 1:30pm

Haha, shesty, I agree on the number of flaps alright. But being a 3/4 year old she loves trying to do everything on speed time, so on nights that going through the whole book is not ideal we'll either do it as fast as possible - where every flap has to be checked as quickly as possible -, or limit her to 2/4 pages, to return to the next night.

We have the body and space ones as well, but the how things works one is by far her favourite.

11-09-2020 1:26pm

A hit with my daugther when she was 3-5 and then later the same books worked with my son from 4 to 6 are the "Daisy" books by Kes Gray.

There are some short one story books. But the "chapter" books pretty much all have titles starting with "The trouble with - " and then the book title. Like "The Trouble with Vampires".

Pretty good books - even as an adult having to read them to the kids I did not find them unpleasant and sometimes quite funny.

11-09-2020 1:42pm

Oh to add to the above - books that were popular with my daugther but not so much my son.

- The "Princess Mirror-Belle" series. This is also Julia Donaldson I think actually.
- The Romana series. (Romona and her father - Romona are Beejus - and so on).

And of course the MOG books by Julia Donaldson are forever classics. Can't go wrong with them. And after you read them look up the Mog sainsburies Christmas Advert on youtube. Brings Mog to live and Donaldson makes a cameo too.

Kintarō Hattori · 14-09-2020 9:25am

These arrived on Saturday. The Gruffalo has been read, will try The Wishing Chair after I order a few of the other books recommended.

Redgirl82 · 14-09-2020 9:46am

I can "read" the Gruffalo without even looking at the pages :-)

I do find when it says "Knobbly knees" if you grab the kids on knees etc and tickle they love it, also they quickly pick up what their knee is etc

The other book my kids love is the name book. Not sure who makes them but more or less the boy/girl in story loses name, goes off in search and finds all the letters and at the end spells out their name. Works better if first name is longer than having to read all the pages for first/last name. :-)

El Gato De Negocios · 16-09-2020 10:37am

Slightly off topic.

There is a company called "Tall Stories" that do live action musicals / plays of the Julia Donaldson books. Think they go around the country but we've seen them in the Pavillions in Dun Laoghaire.

So far we have seen The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom. We had booked for Snail and the Whale for this Christmas but stupid covid forced it to be cancelled.

They are absolutely wonderful productions, really funny and the actors are all fantastic. Highly recommend bringing 2+ kids to them if you can, a lovely way to spend an afternoon and as enjoyable for daddy and mammy as they are for the kiddies.

xzanti · 30-09-2020 12:32pm

My 3 year old loves Stick Man. We know it nearly off by heart at this stage. Lovely little book.

We've also read Spinderella, The Gruffalo, A Squash and a Squeeze. The Snail and the Whale. All great books with lovely messages.

I think most of them are by Julia Donaldson. She seems to be pretty popular.

30-09-2020 2:55pm

^ There is a nice CD where many of those stories are re-done in song. I think Donaldson actually sings on some of it too.

stayback · 08-10-2020 9:54am

Can I jump here on this one. We have a 17 month old and I want to get into the habit of reading to her before she goes to bed. Any recommendations would be welcome . Thanks

bee06 · 08-10-2020 11:17am

stayback wrote: »

Can I jump here on this one. We have a 17 month old and I want to get into the habit of reading to her before she goes to bed. Any recommendations would be welcome . Thanks

Any Julia Donaldson, the Adams cloud books, the Duck books by Jez Alborough. I’ve been reading all of these from maybe 6/9 months and still going strong with my boy who is now almost 3.

stayback · 08-10-2020 12:23pm

bee06 wrote: »

Any Julia Donaldson, the Adams cloud books, the Duck books by Jez Alborough. I’ve been reading all of these from maybe 6/9 months and still going strong with my boy who is now almost 3.

Thanks for that

Kintarō Hattori · 08-10-2020 2:25pm

stayback wrote: »

Can I jump here on this one. We have a 17 month old and I want to get into the habit of reading to her before she goes to bed. Any recommendations would be welcome . Thanks

I used to read the classic fairy tales such as The Three Little Pigs, The Princess & the Pea, Goldilocks etc. M&S had a lovely series of books that I think have since been discontinued.
It's hard to go wrong really. Just pop into a local bookshop or have a good browse on Amazon and see what some of the top selling books are. You can search by age and it'll give lots of suggestions.

shesty · 08-10-2020 2:33pm

Another Julia Donaldson fan here, we have most of her books and they are on the third child in this house (he is just 2.5 and we started into them around 18 months).He quite likes Oliver Jeffers "Stuck" and "Lost and Found". "We're going on a Bear Hunt", "Toddle Waddle" and "Animal Music"( both very suitable for that age) and also "One Little Baby" is very good for that age.He also loves "Ten little Fingers and Ten Little Toes" and "Each, Peach, Pear,Plum". Lately he is big into "What the Ladybird Heard" and the 2 follow-on books from it aswell.

They take to different books, so try a few out.Also check out bookdepository.ie for them, a lot are not available in the usual shops.

Vetch · 08-10-2020 8:59pm

stayback wrote: »

Can I jump here on this one. We have a 17 month old and I want to get into the habit of reading to her before she goes to bed. Any recommendations would be welcome . Thanks

Time for Bed by Mem Fox; Goodnight Moon; Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See; Tales from Acorn Wood (there are four books in the series) by Julia Donaldson; Little Blue Truck; Sandra Boynton books like Barnyard Dance - although this one might be a bit energetic at bedtime!

SnowyMuckish · 09-10-2020 10:57pm

Absolutely my favorite read with my 4 yo is the “Giant Jumparee”. It’s about a mysterious jumparee that takes over a rabbit’s burrow. So many questions and conversations can be had about who this giant jumparee is, what it looks like and what it’s doing in rabbit’s burrow, my son loves it! It’s the only book that he repeatedly asks me to reread.

SnowyMuckish · 09-10-2020 11:12pm

stayback wrote: »

Can I jump here on this one. We have a 17 month old and I want to get into the habit of reading to her before she goes to bed. Any recommendations would be welcome . Thanks

I agree with the suggestions about Julia Donaldson, she has a set especially for toddlers. You can get them in Aldi. They’re specially designed for toddlers in mind, hard back and full of different vibrant patterns and colours which are supposed to help hold a toddler’s short attention. “Chocolate Mousse for Greedy Goose” and “Hippo Has a Hat” are lovely. Each page has a hint/link to the next to keep your LO guessing what’s coming next.

I’d also recommend tactile books for toddlers as it helps hold their attention. There’s a series called “That’s Not My....” that are nice, also another series called “You Must Never Touch a...” (I prefer these) my boys love the you most never touch a dinosaur!

For older toddlers I love the Sam Taplin series in Usborne books, Night sounds, jungle sounds etc. absolutely stunning books, beautifully illustrated, full of patterns and surprises, you could discover something new every time you read, very tactile and gorgeous audio sounds to accompany the stories. Well worth checking out!

Sausage dog · 12-10-2020 1:00am

Reading all the suggestions with great interest. Thanks! Rod Campbell's Dear Zoo & It's Mine are two favourites with my 2 yr old. He loves lifting the flaps. Also anything by Julia Donaldson.
Has anyone come across a series of Irish stories/ legends...Cú Chulainn, Salmon of Knowledge, etc. for same age group?

Kintarō Hattori · 19-11-2020 11:47am

We're almost at the end of the second Wishing Chair Book and I have ordered the third. Looking at some online reviews though, they aren't very favourable saying it's something of a mish mash.
She's loved them and I'll try it with her but I'm going to look for something else to read with her. I wonder would it be worth giving The BFG from Roald Dahl a go? I'm not sure what age recommendation it has. Is there anything else from Enid Blyton we could read?

Edit: I'm still looking for recommendations but have ordered The BFG and The Witches.

jlm29 · 19-11-2020 12:26pm

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

We're almost at the end of the second Wishing Chair Book and I have ordered the third. Looking at some online reviews though, they aren't very favourable saying it's something of a mish mash.
She's loved them and I'll try it with her but I'm going to look for something else to read with her. I wonder would it be worth giving The BFG from Roald Dahl a go? I'm not sure what age recommendation it has. Is there anything else from Enid Blyton we could read?

Edit: I'm still looking for recommendations but have ordered The BFG and The Witches.

I wouldn’t read her the witches or the bfg tbh. If you want to read roald Dahl, the ones geared at younger kids are much lighter- fantastic mr fox, Georges marvellous medicine, the twits, Charlie and the choc factory

Kintarō Hattori · 19-11-2020 12:39pm

jlm29 wrote: »

I wouldn’t read her the witches or the bfg tbh. If you want to read roald Dahl, the ones geared at younger kids are much lighter- fantastic mr fox, Georges marvellous medicine, the twits, Charlie and the choc factory

I bought them but have also just bought your two suggestions.

Thanks.

jlm29 · 19-11-2020 12:50pm

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

I bought them but have also just bought your two suggestions.

Thanks.

I would consider putting them away for a few years- the witches is quite dark, it would be quite scary for a three year old. The bfg is ago not that appropriate

bee06 · 19-11-2020 3:12pm

jlm29 wrote: »

I would consider putting them away for a few years- the witches is quite dark, it would be quite scary for a three year old. The bfg is ago not that appropriate

Totally agree, the BFG is about giants who eat humans.

The Giraffe, the Pelly and me is a good one for that age group.

Kintarō Hattori · 16-12-2020 4:10pm

So, George's Marvellous Medicine was alright but she seems very taken with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We've even read some chapters first thing in the morning. The nice thing with that is we'll be able to watch the original movie when we're finished. We're almost done so I have Fantastic Mr. Fox on the way.

We don't have tablets, the computer is work related to her, the PS4 under the TV she has no clue/interest in it and TV is allowed each day if she asks but it is limited. I really hope this interest in books continues for a long long time. At the moment I read to her. I wonder what she'll be like when she can read herself.

Millem · 17-12-2020 8:34am

We have read all the Roald Dahl books here to 6 and 3 year old.
They went over the 3 year old’s head.
He adores the usborne farmyard tale books. We have the individual ones but you can buy them all in one big book. I think they might be called “Poppy and Sam” now.

The other books he loves are the usual ones eg 3 little pigs etc. We got big ones in a set.

shesty · 17-12-2020 9:21am

They do keep reading Kintaro, my eldest is 6 and is starting to make a stab at reading trickier books.We read BFG to her last year and she has now discovered Matilda, so that is ongoing. You do have to be careful with the age appropriateness, Roald Dahl would pitch more to slightly older kids.

You can get kid poetry books...we have a Puffin My first book of Poems.Some are just ridiculous rhymes, but they are very good for their language.

Night Time Reading Recommendations for My 3 Year Old

Comments