With these cold winter days lingering on, I’ve been relying on some interactive children’s books to help us expend a little bit of energy indoors.
If you haven’t tried some of these books with your toddlers or preschoolers yet, you can order one through the Amazon affiliate link at no extra cost to you. (Just click on the picture.) As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. See my full disclosure here. Or you can most likely find these books at your local library or bookstore. However, you get hold of a copy, your kids are sure to have a blast with them.
Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton will make the kiddos want to strut their stuff right along with the animals as each simple “dance” is called out.
Llama Llama Hoppity Hop by Anna Dewdney is just one of the many Llama Llama books we love. My daughter loves to copy the actions of Llama Llama such as clapping, jumping, and touching those toes. We “read” this book repeatedly, but it’s quick and cute, so I don’t mind.
Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury is a classic that you probably remember from your childhood. I can still remember doing the movements to it when I was in primary school (“swishy-swashy, swishy-swashy” through the tall grass). As part of the recent 25th anniversary of this book, the author has released a YouTube Video with movements to the story.
Teddy Bear Teddy Bear is a classic nursery rhyme with a few different versions. Regardless which version you read to your kids, the lyrics get them moving. This is another one we read almost daily in this house as Pooky just loves to act it out and always breaks into a fit of giggles in the process.
Five Little Monkeys by Eileen Christelow is another classic that gets kids moving. While I don’t recommend jumping on the bed to act this story out, children can certainly using their jumping and counting skills with the book. If you want to see some recommended movements to use along with the words, check out Cullen’s Abc’s YouTube video.
Press Here by Herve Tullet is not really a “get up and move” kind of book, but it is hands-on and gets the kids’ attention. Once they figure out how the book works, they want to “read” it again and again.
And there you have it:
[bctt tweet=”My quick list of interactive books that get kids moving.”]
They have been saving our sanity this long cold winter. Please share this with others.
Do you have any suggestions that should be added to the list?
You might also be interested in:
Bedtime Books for Toddlers 10 Books about Spring
For more lists of recommended children’s books and book activities, follow my Children’s Books board on Pinterest.
I’m linking this post up to the Kid Lit Blog Hop where you can find other great posts related children’s books.
Some great suggestions, we have several of these books. I would also add Doing the Animal Bop by Jan Ormerod and From Head to Toe by Eric Carle.
Hopping over from the kid lit blog hop 🙂
Thank you for the suggestions. I will look for those books.Thanks for hopping by! 😉
Catherine stole my suggestion–the Eric Carle book 🙂 Our library has a LOT of books that are settings of traditional nursery songs. That’s not exactly activity, but they can be sung, some with actions, so it helps. When we do story time at our library, we alternate books with activity songs–“Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes,” “If you’re happy and you know it,” “The Noble Duke of York,” etc. Works great to extend the attention span of preschoolers!
Thank you for these suggestions. I’m not familiar with
The Noble Duke of York.” I’ll have to check it out. Heehee
I think he’s also known as the “Grand old Duke of York.” Lots of standing up and sitting down with that one.
It’s always great to make reading fun!! 🙂
Totally agree!
I love your list Tiffiny. My kids and I love “Barnyard Dance” (and anything by Sandra Boynton, really!) I used to sing the song and we’d all dance around like the animals. Too much fun!! Pinning! Thanks for co-hosting the Kid Lit Blog Hop with us this week.
Nice list Tiffiny! We loved reading these when daughter was younger.. definitely would read them again! thanks for sharing on KidLitblogHop
Thank you and thanks for stopping by.
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