Books that Amplify Early Learning

These books use illustration to convey the range of feelings and moods:

Early learning is a term that loosely defines the preschool period and generally refers to foundational learning concepts. Some of these lessons include beginning phonics, color recognition, sensory discovery, and a growing awareness of self-identity.

Pairing the right book with your curriculum can make all the difference to a student. Books reinforce the ideas you teach and can quickly change a classroom lesson into a fond and lasting memory. At HiMama, we think these lovable children’s books are the perfect complement to your lesson plan.

Letters, Colors, and Numbers

The Hidden Alphabet by Laura Vaccaro Seeger: This fun, colorful book about letters and sounds has high contract images and pictures that transform into letters when the interactive flaps are lifted.

An Amazing Alphabet Book! by Dr. Seuss: A timeless classic, this children’s book is contains silly, metered rhyming throughout. Each page features a different letter with numerous examples of words that start with that sound.

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt: An enjoyable read about crayons that decide they have more important things to do than coloring. This book emphasizes the distinctions between colors was awarded the 2013 Best Children’s Book by Amazon.

The Five Senses

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.: Illustrated by the same artist as The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear offers eye-catching, collage style graphics that draw preschoolers in to the vivid descriptions of what each animal sees. 

Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt: This simple book was the first of its kind and introduced the concept of interactive sensory reading. Though it has just eight pages, each has a different activity to participate in, making Pat the Bunny a favorite of early learners for more than seventy years.

Emotions and Feelings

In My Heart – A Book of Feelings by Jo Witek: This story uses illustration to convey the range of feelings and moods that the narrator experiences and she navigates through her emotions and how they affect her. It is told in an engaging rhyme format with eye-catching and contrasting imagery. 

All By Myself by Mercer Mayer: A great choice preschoolers exploring their independence, the book features Little Critter learning and doing all sorts of daily activities all by himself!

Reading a book with your child, and incorporating reading into your lesson plans are common tactics to engage language with a child, and can be a great way to reduce stress in children and adults!