These fun, interactive books are must-haves for preschool SLPs!
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I work almost entirely with preschoolers at this point, and books are a part of every single one of my speech therapy sessions. In the past few years, I have been on the hunt for the most fun, interactive, engaging books I can find that will help get my preschoolers talking (and laughing). I’ve put together this list of the seven books for preschool speech therapy that I simply could not live without!
Once Upon a Time and Pirate Pete by Nick Sharratt: These are called “Pop in the slot” or “Change the story” books, and they’re seriously so cool. On each page, you choose a cut-out (located along the sides of the pages) to put in the picture and decide how the story goes. This means that every time you read the book, it can be a different story! My preschoolers like to tell the story in a serious manner first, then we go back through and make the story as silly as we can. These books are interactive in a way that makes them so fun and engaging for young kids!
A Day At School Wimmelbook by Carolin Gortler: I recently stumbled upon Wimmelbooks and frankly, I’m stunned that I didn’t know about them before! Each page has a massive picture scene with countless things to find and describe. There are “star characters” who are introduced on the very first page, and as you go through the book you can find them all in each scene. A Day at School is my favorite Wimmelbook, because it goes through a school day starting with morning dropoff then moving to the classroom, recess, lunch, nap time, a field trip, and end of the day pick up. I also have My Busy Day and A Day at the Zoo, and they’re all great. Trust me, once you get one Wimmelbook, you’ll want them all!
That’s Silly! at the Zoo by Highlights: This fun book is loaded with 40 liftable flaps, each with something silly to describe hidden underneath. There is so much to look at and look for on each page, I usually only do 1-2 pages with a preschooler in a session. Not only is this a great book for working on descriptive language, but it’s also a good way to work on comparison skills. When the flap is down, you might see a monkey eating a banana, but when you lift the flap, the same monkey is knitting a scarf. I like to ask my clients what’s different and what’s the same.
Ketchup on Your Cornflakes? by Nick Sharratt: This fun flip book has preschool kids cracking up as they craft funny questions about food. I like to use this book to break the ice during an assessment, or to get conversation going at the start of a therapy session. The pages of the book are split down the middle, so you can mix and match food items to ask silly (or serious) questions. This author is from the UK, so I have to change some of the words (e.g., fries for “chips”), but my preschool clients never notice.
Wacky Wednesday by Dr. Seuss: This classic book starts with a shoe stuck on the wall, then gets progressively wackier as you turn the pages. On each page, there are an increasing number of silly things for readers to find. This book is great for asking and answering questions, vocabulary, describing, and expanding utterances.
Spot the Difference by Scholastic: Okay, this is more of a workbook than a real book, but I don’t let my clients mark it up. It has 23 total spot the difference scenes, and they’re all brightly colored and fun. The scenes start with only four differences to find, then gradually move up to seven. This book is great for preschoolers working on describing, vocabulary, and expanding utterances. And the price cannot be beat at under three dollars!
Have you used any of these books with your preschoolers in speech therapy? If so, let me know!