If you’re looking for a great book to buy a toddler, I’d highly recommend Wiggle by Doreen Cronin. My son adored this book so much that we read it every day for nearly a year between his third and fourth birthdays. I still have most of it memorized four years later.
Wiggle is told in rhyming verse and features a cute little pup who is just like your favorite antsy toddler. The book begins “Do you wake up with a wiggle? Do you wiggle out of bed? If you wiggle with your breakfast, it might wind up on your head.” The puppy proceeds to have a bunch of silly adventures, then he collapses into an exhausted heap.
Wiggle doesn’t have much of an actual plot to it, so the key to this book is being dramatic with your reading. I had a ridiculous little dance I used to do with my son when we read this book. My long hair came in handy during the “wiggle all your hair” part of the story and nothing cheered my son up quicker after a bad day than telling him to “wiggle in your underwear.”
The artwork for Wiggle is bright and colorful. The illustrations themselves are simple and without a lot of detail. So, while they are cute, it’s definitely the words that make this book a winner.
When my son was first learning to read, this was one of the books he liked to look at independently. I’d highly recommend springing for the hardcover version for this one, just because it’s a bit more durable.
What are your favorite books for toddlers?
Photo credit: Amazon
