Books are such great resources for teaching and reinforcing early learning concepts like shapes, colors, and numbers. But after a couple of kids (or even a couple of weeks reading the same books to one kid), we moms are ready for something a bit more interesting.
Thankfully I’ve found some out of the box shape books to read with my current toddler, and I find myself going back to the library for these again and again.
These board books about shapes think outside the box.
Squares, Circles, and Triangles by Yusuke Yonezu–While I’ve only had a chance to read Circles, I’m sure the other shape books by Yonezu show the same kind of creativity. The concept is simple but well done. Each page contains one or more die cut circles and asks, “What can a red (or another color) circle be?” Turn the page and find two suggestions. Did your child guess? This is a fun way to reinforce one shape at a time.
We Love Each Other by Yusuke Yonezu is a clever book. Each set of pages begin with a phrase like, “Owls love each other.” The owls are on opposite pages, the second of which has a die cut hole. When you turn the page, the two animals are nestled together into a shape which also appears on the page opposite. Such a sweet way to learn shapes!
Orange Triangle Fox by Sarah Jones is a shape, color, animal book rolled into one! Each page is a new animal (or animal’s face) that is also a color and a shape. This works better than you might imagine. Love the creativity in dreaming up this book. (Her book, Bunnies Near and Far, is also great for counting.)
What are your favorite books to help toddlers learn shapes?
