The Reading Chair
New children’ s books too good to miss
Children enjoy and benefit from reading the same books many times. A good book can include beautiful art, emotional complexity, or interesting facts— all of which can draw readers back to experience them multiple times. In this edition of The Reading Chair, we showcase books we recommend reading again and again.
Repeated reading of books like Little Chick or Our Big Book of Words: A Collection of 100 + Foundational Words for Language Development can help young children explore and remember new words, building their vocabulary and conceptual knowledge. A richly illustrated book like One Small Spark: A Tikkun Olam Story invites children to notice new details each time they look at the pictures. When children return to a story like Whale Song: The True Story of the Musician Who Talked to Orcas, they may bring new perspectives or identify with different characters’ experiences. Children may enjoy reading a book like The Man Who Didn’ t Like Animals several times and knowing in advance how the story will end.
While the world may be full of uncertainty, children can find a sense of familiarity with a favorite book.
— Isabel Baker and Miriam Baker Schiffer
Little Chick
By Petr Horáček. 2024. Candlewick Press. 16 pp. Ages birth to 2.
This sweet peek-through board book features a chick who meets several animals( a pig, a cat, a cow) as it wanders around the farm. The book includes many elements that will keep the youngest readers engaged, including simple rhyming language that is easy to follow. The colorful mixed-media illustrations have an intriguing cut-paper appearance. Children will delight in the peekaboo cutouts that provide glimpses of the next animal the chick will meet. Young readers will enjoy the last spread, which shows the chick reunited with its mother. As educators reread this book with infants and toddlers, they can pay attention to what children react to most in each retelling. From there, they can share interesting facts about one of the animals, introduce a related song or art activity, or engage in an exploration of the animals the children see in their own environments.
Young Children Summer 2025