“Animals on the Farm”

There is something extraordinarily beautiful about a toddler's enthusiasm for life.

Think about it. Literally everything is new, and because of that, everything is exciting. Each waking moment provides endless opportunities to discover, learn and grow.

As toddlers navigate their way through each day, they are fascinated by the things adults may overlook or take for granted.

Each new experience provides the toddler with another building block of understanding, and a critically important part of a toddler's day should be reading books with an adult.

Every time you read to a toddler, you expand the child's intellect. Reading builds vocabulary at an incredible rate. Reading builds comprehension, attention to detail, and an understanding of how much books have to offer. The list goes on and on.

You couldn't ask for a more receptive, enthusiastic audience than a toddler, and today's reviewed books are targeted specifically for little children.

For additional suggestions for toddlers and older children, visit this column's companion website: Greatest Books for Kids (www.greatestbooksforkids.com).

Don't underestimate the importance and power of reading aloud to children every day. Your gift of reading today and everyday will yield more benefits than can ever be measured.

Books to BorrowThe following book is available at many public libraries.

“Read To Your Bunny” written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells, Scholastic Press, 28 pages; read aloud: birth to age 3; read yourself: age 5 and olderWritten for parents as much as it is for toddlers, this outstanding little book is a must-read. Simplistic yet quite powerful, author and illustrator Rosemary Wells sums up the importance of reading to your child every day for 20 minutes.Suggesting several times and places where adults can read to their children, “Read To Your Bunny” emphasizes the endless pleasures this one single activity can bring. And by making this commitment, before you know it, your child will be reading to you and loving every minute of it!Beautifully illustrated with those famous Rosemary Wells' bunnies and colors that dance off each page, this selection is truly a gem of a book.

<B>Library:</B> North Trails Public Library, 1553 West Sunbury Road, West Sunbury<B>Library Director:</B> Kathy Kline<B>Choices this week: “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?”</B> by Bill Martin, Jr.; <B>“Good-Night, Owl!” </B>by Pat Hutchins; <B>“Owl Babies” </B>by Martin Waddell<B>Books to Buy</B>The following books are available at favorite bookstores.<B>“Animals on the Farm”</B> by Chris Hernandez, designed by Daniel Moreton, Scholastic, 2012; 12 pages, $9.99 board book; read aloud: birth to age 3; read yourself: age 6 and 7.Meet a cow, a horse, a sheep, and a pig (and a cute little yellow chick on every double-page spread). These are the animals that live on the farm.For additional fun, children can listen to the sounds each animal makes by pressing the appropriate button on the top of the book, or press the musical button and listen to the cheerful barnyard song.Full of fun and learning, “Animals on the Farm” is a great little book for the tiniest readers in your life.<B>“Things I Love About Bedtime”</B> written and illustrated by Trace Moroney, Cartwheel Books, 18 pages, $8.99 board book; read aloud: age 1 and older; read yourself: age 6 and 7.This happy little bunny loves getting ready for bedtime, and shares the favorite moments of the routine.From bath time to brushing teeth, putting on favorite pajamas and remembering the best moments of the day and the fun dreams to come, this bunny celebrates the joys of bedtime.This upbeat story is perfectly matched with adorable illustrations, and little children will identify with the bunny and the routine of getting ready for bed in a very positive way.

“Things I Love About Bedtime”