Three Bears--toddler version

Our 26 month-old is right on the cusp of being ready for paperback storybooks...we're still hanging on to some favorite, longer board books, but she's ready for a bit more plot and length. This is a tricky world--finding trade books that are simple and short enough to keep her attention. Here is one of our current favorites:

I love that the book tells the story of the three bears, but the text is kept very sparse and just the necessary details are given. Here's a sample page:


The way that there is a small phrase above each illustration is a great tool for teaching text-to-picture awareness. The child begins to see that the text connected to the picture describes the illustration.

I also love the way that there is a separate illustration for each step in the story to help facilitate comprehension for little ones.

This book is a fabulous choice for toddlers who are entering the world of "real" stories and my girl just eats it up when I read this one to her! She's learning some great vocabulary--porridge, cottage, etc. She's also getting her first taste at the elements of plot in all stories--setting, characters, problem, solution....I try to briefly discuss these with her in a natural fashion--for example:
"Look, their cottage--that's another word for house--is in the woods. See how there are trees all around it?"
"Uhhh-ohhh--will the bears be happy that Goldilocks came in their house without knocking?"