Where Are the Toddler Books??

 

In the spirit of Festivus, I'm going to air one of my grievances with the publishing industry - Where are the books for toddlers and younger preschoolers??

I find I am having more and more trouble finding picture books suitable for storytime, particularly for toddler storytime. I currently work at a smaller library and inherited a relatively small and poorly developed picturebook collection that was missing many of my favorite storytime books. Unfortunately, I found that many of these titles were now out of print, or available only in paperback, which is not suitable for a library collection, or board book, which is too small for storytime use. In addition I found that some of my old favorites that used to work in storytime no longer did because they were too long, text-heavy, and/or sophisticated for the younger audiences I was now seeing.

So I have been on a continuous search for picturebooks that are short and simple enough for the younger and/or less-attentive audiences of today, yet still engaging, and I am finding they are very rare these days. It seems that while storytime audiences have grown younger and attention spans even shorter, picture books have paradoxically become more text heavy and sophisticated. So many of them would be great for read-alouds for a slightly older audience of kindergarten or first grade or a one-on-one lap-sit read with a caregiver, but just don't work well in storytime. It is becoming nearly impossible to find good books for toddler storytime in particular, and I've had to resort to buying used copies of older favorites. 

So publishers and authors, this is what I'm looking for in a toddler storytime book:

• No more than 32 pages, 28 would be even better.
• No more than one sentence per page.
• Repeating phrases
• A good rhythm when reading aloud is key!
• Rhyming scheme helps
• Relatable content
• Bright, bold, simple illustrations
• Cuteness or simple, obvious humor is a plus
• Motions to imitate
• Not boring, more than just identifying things or simple statements
• Fun to read out loud
• Onomatopoeia is also a plus
• Reinforces basic concepts in a fun way
• Diverse representation - skin color, body types, disabilities, families, etc.

Here are a few examples of great toddler storytime books; I'm sure there are more, but I'm struggling to come up with titles right now, especially more recent ones:

• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See and the other books in the Bear series by Bill Martin, Jr. & Eric Carle
• Wiggle, Stretch, and Bounce by Doreen Cronin & Scott Menchin
• One-osaurus, Two-osaurus by Kim Norman & Pierre Collet-Derby
• Clip-Clop and Jingle-Jingle by Nicola Smee
• There's a Dragon In Your Book and others in the series by Eric Fletcher & Greg Abbott
• Bing! Bang! Chugga! Beep! by Bill Martin, Jr., Michael Sampson, & Nathalie Beauvois
• Ten Tiny Babies and others by Karen Katz
• Hello, Baby! by Mem Fox & Steve Jenkins

And finally, a quick note on board books. I'd love to see more large-size board book formats! These are great for storytime because the pages are easy to turn, people can see the pictures, and the kids can't tear them up if they get a hold of them. And, just like with picture books, I'm seeing a trend in very text heavy board books, often board book versions of books originally published in picturebook format. We need more simple board books that are developmentally appropriate for babies and toddlers with simple, bright illustrations or photographs, and either single words or very short (2-3 word) phrases. 

So please, dear authors and publishers, please bring us some great toddler read-alouds in the new year!

And dear readers, if you know of any great books for toddler storytime that are still in print in hardback picturebook format, please leave them in the comments!

Happy Festivus!