Remember I said I’ve been worried about my son’s speech development? I consulted Olivia’s Place on the matter and was told reading helps. As a TCK and ex-lit tutor, I know reading helps, but how many books are we talking about here? He is only two years old…
As it turns out, kids need to read many, many books for language development. I was told my son should be reading at least three books per day, which equals to more than 1,000 books a year! Of course, he doesn’t have to read 1,000 different books, but that’s still a pretty daunting number.
Now, this post is not about where to buy English books for your toddler. It’s about knowing which books to buy. I don’t know about you, but other than Eric Carle’s Hungry Caterpillar and Dr. Seuss, I haven’t recognized any of the books they sell here or in Taobao bookstores. My childhood favorites, such as Miffy, Where’s Spot?, and Peter Rabbit have been nowhere in sight.
But this is not a cry of, “where can I find this book?” It’s more of a rant on how I have no idea where to begin selecting (newer) books for my son. Since he’s not in preschool or kindergarten, I don’t have a trusty librarian to consult, or a collection of age-appropriate books to flip through. Quite frankly, I don’t have time to spend hours looking for great reads; instead, I’d rather make time for reading those three books a day with my son.
Luckily, I discovered a virtual book club! The Educators’ Spin On It hosts a weekly book club with recommended books and associated activities for us to do at home with our kids. They release their schedule a month in advance so you can purchase or borrow the books, and the activities are created by different bloggers, so you know you’ll have decent variety that won’t bore your kid.
The book club begins September 12, and you can join their Facebook Group to discuss the books with other moms and find new inspiration. If you’re like me, you’re just glad to have themed books that teach your child more than where Spot is.
Here’s a sneak peek (with links to Taobao) for September-October’s books:
Sept 12- Ten Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss
Sept 19- Should I Share my Ice Cream? by Mo Willems
Sept 26- Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert
Oct 3- Five Little Pumpkins by Dan Yaccarino
Oct 10- Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle
Oct 17- The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
Oct 24- Time for Bed by Mem Fox
Oct 31- Owl Babies by Martin Waddell
I would recommend finding as many books from one online store so you won’t lose on shipping costs–that’s what I’ll be doing!
Photo: Theeducatorsspinonit.com