65 Books for Three-Year-Olds

Here's a list of books that are perfect for three-year-olds.  

Three can be a hard age to pick just the right books. Many simple board and picture books start to become just a little bit too babyish, while lots of picture books still have too many words per page to suit the attention span of toddlers and young preschoolers.  Although there are scores of great children's books out there, there are also many that lead parents to believe that their own three your old could have come up with a better story.  The stories on this list are not too long, not too short and better told than the average three-year-old child's tale. The list is in alphabetical order which should make them easier to find in the children's section of most libraries.  

I hope you and your little ones enjoy reading these together!

65 Stories for 3-Year-Olds

1. Monkey Do! by Allan Ahlberg
2. Duck in the Truck by Jez Alborough
3. Babies in the Bayou by Jim Arnosky
4. When I was King by Linda Ashman
5. An Orange in January by Diana Hutts Aston
6. In a Blue Room by Jim Averbeck
7. Be Gentle with the Dog, Dear! by Matthew J. Baek
8. Hickory Dickory Dock by Keith Baker
9. Little House, Little Town by Scott Beck
10. A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker
11. And the Train Goes… by William Bee
12. Annie and the Wild Animals by Jan Brett
13. Two Little Trains by Margaret Wise Brown
14. The Dark, Dark Night by M. Christina Butler
15. If You're Happy & You Know It! by Jane Cabrera
16. Holly's Red Boots by Francesca Chessa
17. Sometimes I Like to Curl Up in a Ball by Vicki Churchill
18. Pigs Love Potatoes by Anika Denise
19. Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
20. Dog's Noisy Day: a Story to Read Aloud by Emma Dodd
21. Horse by Malachy Doyle
22. Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert
23. Knitty Kitty by David Elliott
24. Bark George by Jules Fieffer
25. Beetle Bop by Denise Fleming
26. The Perfect Nest by Catharine Friend
27. Three Billy Goats Gruff by Paul Galdone
28. The Most Perfect Spot by Diane Goode
29. Ginger Bear by Mini Grey
30. Fall Leaves Fall! by Zoe Hall
31. Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
32. A Good Day by Kevin Henkes
33. It's Moving Day! by Pamela M. Hickman
34. Chickens to the Rescue by John Himmelman
35. Angelina Ballerina by Katharine Holabird
36. The Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort
37. The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins
38. Help!: a Story of Friendship by Holly Keller
39. Pearl's New Skates by Holly Keller
40. Bubble Bath Pirates by Jarrett Krosoczka
41. Green as a Bean by Karla Kuskin
42. Albert the Fix-it Man by Janet Lord
43. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin
44. The Mighty Street Sweeper by Patrick H. Moore
45. Wake Up Engines by Denise Dowling Mortensen
46. Pillow Pup by Dianne Ochiltree
47. Bobo and the New Neighbor by Gail Page
48. Mouse Mess by Linnea Asplind Riley
49. Looking for a Moose by Phyllis Root
50. Kids Like Us by Carole Lexa Schaefer
51. First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
52. Duck on a Bike by David Shannon
53. The Rain Came Down by David Shannon
54. The Stray Dog: from a True Story by Reico Sassa by Marc Simont
55. Gobble Gobble Crash!: a Barnyard Counting Bash by Julie Stiegemeyer
56. The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone
57. Winter Is the Warmest Season by Lauren Stringer
58. Big Smelly Bear by Britta Teckentrup
59. Duck at the Door by Jackie Urbanovic
60. Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington
61. Pigeon Wants a Puppy! by Mo Willems
62. Bear's New Friend by Karma Wilson
63. Every Friday by Dan Yaccarino
64. Who Likes Rain? by Wong Herbert Yee
65. How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? by Jane Yolen

"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all." Jacqueline Kennedy

Playaway View: Have you seen these yet?

The library near our house, the Abingdon Branch of the  Harford County Public Library, is a fantastic and free resource for me as a mom of two small children and it just got even better.  They recently started lending the Playaway View.  In a single word, the Playaway View is AWESOME!  At 3¾ and and almost 2 respectively, Kaylicious and Zazu absolutely love them, and so do I.


The new Playaway View is so easy and so portable.  Our library allows me to check out two Playaway Views at a time and keep them for one week each.  I can carry them in my purse and hand them to the girls, while I am running errands or doing other tasks for which toddlers only have so much patience.  I love that I can give each child her own Playaway View, especially at times when they are not sharing well or can't seem to keep their hands to themselves. The Playaway Views are the perfect little distraction to help keep my girls from fighting with each other, crying, screaming or whining while we are out in public or for long car rides!

Playaway View is the first and only pre-loaded video player. Each View can hold multiple hours of digital video content while keeping with the Playaway promise of simple, portable and durable. With the best educational and entertainment content out there,  Playaway Views are currently exclusive to libraries

• Pre-loaded with multiple videos
• Full color LCD screen with shatter-resistant acrylic screen
• Built-in speaker and optional headphone jack
• Rechargeable internal lithium-polymer battery provides over 8 hours of continuous play
• Simple 7 button functionality
• Weighs only 5.4 ounces

Who's Playaway View For?

• Toddlers/Kids: These durable devices can go wherever they go; with content from Sesame Street to Little Pim, it's a great way to learn and grow
• Teens: Shakespeare, National Geographic and more—school-work has never been so fun
• Busy parents: No downloads or internet needed; each View is pre-loaded with multiple videos from top studios across the nation

Have you tried the Playaway View Yet? If so, please leave me a comment with your or your child(ren)'s favorite titles. Sesame Beginnings and Sesame Street Numbers & ABCs are the only titles we've tried so far, but my daughters are already requesting countless other titles for the Playaway Views.  Our library has a decent-sized collection considering that they just started offering them, but I already can't wait for them to get even more titles.