Somewhere around 2-3 years of age, my daughter was old enough to step away from board books. She could handle turning pages, and enjoyed bigger illustrations and slightly longer stories. However, she wasn’t ready to sit through long chapter books yet. It was sometimes difficult to find books that were interesting and engaging to her, and that I wouldn’t mind reading over and over again. Here are some that worked for us.

Dr. Seuss: All of these books are great! The classics, “Green Eggs and Ham,” and “Go Dog Go” are funny, and the rhyming scheme keeps kids entertained.

“Pinkalicious” (Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann): This story is about a little girl who loves the colour pink, perhaps too much sometimes. The illustrations are bright and colourful and the moral of the story (to try new things) is conveyed with humor. There are other books in this series, “Purplicious” and “Silverlious,” for you to try if this book is a hit with your child.

“Sammy The Seal” (Syd Hoff): This is a story about a seal that decides to have a holiday from his home in the zoo. Sammy explores the town, attends school and makes new friends, but eventually realizes that his home is at the zoo. This is a sweet story with lovely pictures.

“The Kissing Hand” (Audrey Penn): This is a lovely story about a young raccoon that is scared to start school. His mother makes a “kissing” hand so that her youngster can always carry it wherever they go. The illustrations are beautiful and the story can be helpful to anyone dealing with anxiety over separations or school.

“The Tiger Who Came to Tea” (Judith Kerr): In this book, a tiger invites himself over for tea. Mum and daughter try to be very polite, however, the tiger has soon eaten all their food! What will they do when Dad gets home? This is a gently silly story that will keep youngster giggling.

“The Mommy Book” (Todd Paar): The bold, bright colours and simple stick figure illustrations in this book make it charming and engaging. The message is lovely: there are all different kinds of Moms in the world, but all Moms love their babies.

“Guess How Much I Love You” (Sam McBratney): This story centers around a baby rabbit playing with his Momma rabbit and coming up with outlandish examples of how much they love each other. This book is sure to be a winner with kids and parents alike.

So if you have a child who is ready to move beyond board books (or are looking for a gift for one), check out some of the titles above. They may help the transition into chapter books, and keep everyone giggling while doing it!