Toddler Storytime - Good Books

The following books have been tested during toddler (18 months-3 years) storytimes.  I have personally tried the following books, and highly recommend them. 

Airport by Byron Barton

*Bark, George! by Jules Feiffer

Big Fat Hen by Keith Baker

Book! Book! Book! by Deborah Bruss

*Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas

Chicken Little by Ed Emberly

Dinosaur Vs. Bedtime by Bob Shea

The Farmer in the Dell by John O’Brien

From Head to Toe by Eric Carle

Good Morning, Chick by Mira Ginsburg

Hooray for Fish by Lucy Cousins

*I am the Best! by Lucy Cousins

Machines at Work by Byron Barton

My Car by Byron Barton

*Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin

*Rosies Walk by Pat Hutchins

Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort


*Denotes personal favorite.

The Developing Brain and Apps Vs. Books

I've been pondering the effect that learning to read primarily through books might have on the developing brain.  If Nicholas Carr was right, in his Atlantic Monthly article published three years ago, Google may be making us stupid.  It may be impeding our ability to think deeply, and to concentrate for long periods of time, and the act of reading from an electronic device that constantly tempts us to shift our attention from one subject to another may be decreasing brain activity that is responsible for helping us think deeply and for a sustained amount of time.  If this is the case, then it would seem to follow that learning to read from an e-reader with interactive apps may increase distractibility in the developing brain.  ADHD is already in full-on epidemic mode.  What are we doing to our brains? 

Here is an article that promotes the reading apps.