Love You Forever by Robert Munsch is full of tenderness and affirmations for both mother and child. This is a book you will be reading to your little one for many years to come.

If you know someone who does not have a copy consider giving one out as a Mother’s Day gift. We found a lovely read-along to share with you. click here to listen.

Let’s expand our baby sign language vocabulary as we learn together the following words:

baby, food, watch, toilet, quiet, crawl, sleep, I love you, boy, bath, grandma, sleep music, clothes like, house, car, lights

If you want to review our series of sign-friendly books for babies and toddlers check out these posts:

Little Blue Truck,

Sleeping Books

Animal Books II

Animal Books I

The Little Engine That Could

The Very Busy Spider

Love You Forever is a wonderful heirloom book to pass along. If you have several kids consider pasting photos of your kids for each age group as the book is passed down from kid to kid.

Until next time!

What we like the best about The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle is the simplicity of the message and the repetitive patterns that help baby be engaged. If you have followed our series of top fifty read-along books for babies and toddlers it is likely that your little one already knows most of the baby signs we will incorporate to the reading of this book.

There are numerous versions in print but we particularly love the lift-the-flap version. It is small enough for little hands to handle and it is made of very sturdy cardboard that is easy to wipe. The weight and finish of each page is similar to our baby sign language flashcard kit.

The Very Busy Spider is a very nice book to introduce to groups of toddlers. Short enough for their attention span the book has simple illustrations that are easy to follow. We have compiled a set of signs to use in combination with your read-along activity:

Spider

Grass

Rock

Thin

Horse

Ride

Busy

Sheep

Run

Goat

Jump

Pig

Nap

If you are having a busy day and your toddler has access to a tablet consider playing this video which has the whole narration of The Very Busy Spider along with animal sounds.

Want to check out more books with baby signs?

Little Blue Truck,

Sleeping Books

Animal Books II

Animal Books I

The Little Engine That Could

The Little Engine That Could is almost 100 years old. Written during the Great Depression this lovely book embraces values such as hard work and optimism. The vocabulary is more extensive than what we learned while reading Little Blue Truck.

The version that most of us know and enjoy was written by Watty Piper but there are also older versions of a similar narrative  under the title The Pony Engine.

While reading this book we will learn to sign new objects and will be able to engage baby by engaging in sound repetition.

As you read this book with your toddler you can introduce him to these baby signs:

Clown

Doll

Bear

Toy

Train

Big

Little

Help

If you want to take a look at other favorite books with signs check out these posts:

Little Blue Truck, Sleeping Books, Animal Books II, Animal Books I

The Little Engine That Could gives us a great opportunity to utilize props we already have. Hit the toy box and pull dolls, clowns, trains etc. Let your toddler show you the toy that matches each part of the story.

Little Blue Truck encourages values such as helpfulness and friendship. The plot introduces little readers to the importance of nurturing relationships. Long enough to be read at bedtime Little Blue Truck is highly participatory and easy to memorize. Toddlers can learn to associate animal images with the corresponding sound.

We have seen it most frequently in the personal collections of little boys, but we highly recommend it for boys and girls alike. The illustrations by Jill McElmurry are charming and easy to follow. We recommend this book for 18 months and up and we have included signs for abstract concepts for the more advanced signer:

Truck

Blue

Little

Wheel

Goat

Horse

Pig

Duck

Help

Road

We love to use this book along with a set of plastic animals and a basket during road trips. As we listen to the audio book we pass along the animals and add them to the basket while practicing each sign.

This is the third post on our series of wonderful books for babies and toddlers. For most parents bedtime is a magical opportunity for discovery and bonding. Our favorite books from the sleeping & going to bed category are:

Goodnight Moon is a classic with gorgeous narrative and simple images full of rich primary colors. For parents needing to establish a bedtime routine including this wonderful read to the evening repertoire is a must. Our favorite signs to pair with this book:

Moon

Cat

Bunny

Good Night

Mouse

Ball

The Napping House

The Napping House by Audrey Wood is full of tenderness making it a wonderful bedtime story. The soft pastel illustrations set the stage for a time of calm and snuggles. For The Napping House we Have selected these signs:

Bed

Sleep

Grandmother

Dog

Cat

Mouse

Let’s continue in our reading and signing journey. To visit our posts on animal books for babies and toddlers with baby sign language selection click in the links below:

Part I Animals

Part II Animals

To enhance the bedtime routine print all the flashcards matching bedtime books and let baby select the right cards as you read-along!