If you follow me regularly, you know that I have a slight obsession with children’s books and promoting literacy. Growing up, my mom would say “Readers are Leaders” and I truly believe encouraging children to pick up a book and read is more important now than ever. That being said, I always note the importance of finding books that interest the child in order to develop their connection to wanting to read more often.
On a recent trip to the library, we picked up the kids classic book, “Yoo-Hoo, Lady Bug!” by Mem Fox. Throughout the simple story, the reader is asked “Yoo-Hoo, Lady Bug! Where are you?”. What follows is a rhyme and a picture of a scene where the ladybug can be found. The imagery and words really grab the kids attention. I swear my children have read the book at least 20 times in the last month. While my son enjoys it, what really got me is how much my 3 year old daughter responded to it. After reading it with her a couple times, I found her reciting it to herself from memory and trying to find the allusive hidden ladybug on each page.
It was really the first time I had seen her connect so well with a book. My son was always very interested in books and reading, but she has different interests such as colouring or playing with her dolls, so I have been cognizant of what keeps her interest and I think we have found it!
Also considering my children’s interaction with this book and let’s be honest, the free time this book bought me to get laundry done or dinner on the table, I started to compile a list of other storybooks with a seek and find element that we introduced at our house. I am now sharing the authors and books with you, in hopes it encourages reading or gets you a bit of spare time while your kids check them out.
Britta Teckentrup
Author Britta Teckentrup has two fabulous books that are adorable and provide pages, upon pages of cute rhymes and puzzles for the kids to sort through. The Odd One Out and Where’s the Pair? both have riddles for the kids to read, followed by a page to “spot” what is noted. For example, on a page with a number of camels drawn, she writes “Most of the camels are sporting two humps. Can you see a camel with just one bump?”. My 6 year-old son in particular loves these books, as they do provide some great look and find challenges.
Josef Anton + Lucie Brunelliere
Deep in the Forest is a beautiful book full of adventure and imagery from a number of animal habitats. Each page offers a few animals to find and even offers a flap on each page for the child to uncover even more animals and clues. And we know how much kids love the interaction of a flap! This book is one that can be read over and over and I think it is a great gift for any child to enjoy!
Elisa Cooper
Another great seek and find book is 8: An Animal Alphabet. Wonderful for young and old, it not only teaches letters, but it also has a counting element. While reading along, kids must find the one animal on each page that is pictured 8 times. You can imagine in covering the alphabet from A to Z, there are a few common and uncommon animals that are showcased in this storybook.
Sarah Kahn
In her collection of kids books, author Kahn places a hidden animal on each page, all the while sharing facts. For example, in her book, Spot the Mouse on the Move, she has a train scene where the mouse is hiding, but then states “trains used to be powered by steam but, these days, most run on diesel or electricity”. Her other stories include Spot the Mummy in the Museum and Spot the Bird on the Building Site.
Olivier Tallec
Now if you want an easy and fun read, you must check out the books by author Tallec. Who What Where and Who Done It? both feature a lineup of characters and scenes with corresponding questions. Each introduce kids to concepts like observation and expression. I feel like this is another collection of books great for gift giving or perfect for audiences young or old.
So I hope you have been inspired to head to the library or bookstore to check out one or many of these titles. As I have mentioned, you won’t regret it!
The last thing I want to share is also something I started with my daughter with a couple seek and find books I picked up at the local dollar store. I gave her mini sticky notes and had her find all the images listed at the bottom of each page. Once she did find one, she could add a sticky note over top of the picture. This activity was a hit and so simple to execute. It could easily be done with the other titles listed here, as the sticky notes can easily be placed and removed without damaging the book.
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