Children's Book Reading Guides

As book lovers and former early educators ourselves, we created these reading guides as a free resource to use with young children. Whether you’re a parent, an educator, or a fellow children’s book lover, these guides are for you!

Inside each guide, you’ll find three sections:

The first section is The Reflection Questions for Adults. This section encourages you, as the adult, to think about the story and characters and how it affects your work and life. You can answer these questions in a journal or discuss them with colleagues, families, or friends. We recommend that you read or listen to each book a few times before sharing it with children.

The Questions for Children section provides you with questions to ask children about the book before, during, and/or after you read it. Asking questions during a read-aloud supports children's language development and thinking skills. Sometimes, asking too many questions can take away from the story. In that case, feel free to choose what questions works best for your learning space.

The Activities for Children section provides you with some ideas for extending learning in your learning space. You will find activities to use in areas such as dramatic play, art, writing, math, and more. 

For a few of the books, we noticed words that may be new for the children in your care. We included some child-friendly definitions you can use during your read-alouds, too.

Have questions? Send us an email at elsi-plc@oregonstate.edu