Visual Literacy Titles for Toddlers
Hug by Jez Alborough
Tall by Jez Alborough
Yes by Jez Alborough
Some Dogs Do by Jez Alborough
Elephants Aloft by Kathi Appelt
The Last Laugh by Jose Aruego
Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett
The Mitten by Jan Brett
Chickens to the Rescue by John Himmelman-thepictures extend the story in wonderfully detailed and comical ways.
Good Night Moon byMargaret Wise Brown has sparse text, while thepictures fill in the context and they show the "stories" of nightfalling, and the mouse traveling around the room, and the activitiesof the kittens. And you could argue a pre-reading-skills aspect in theway the illustrations alternate full page views and details extracted from those views, just as reading requires the reader to comprehend thedistinct letters and words that make up the whole text.
Bumble Bugs and the Elephant by Margaret Wise Brown
Black? White! Day? Night!: a book of opposites by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Walter Was Worried by Laura Vaccaro Seeger.
What's up, what's down (one of those where you flip it over at the end and read it the other way) by Lola Schaefer
Jumanji by Chris VanAllsburg
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick for the illustrations
Fly, Little Bird by Tina Burke
Blue Rabbit and Friends by Christopher Wormell
My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohman
Jump, Frog, Jump! by Robert Kalan
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin
Once Upon a Bananaby Jennifer Armstrong, illustrated by David Small (for older toddlers)
Freight Trainby Donald Crews is the best pre-literacy book there is, because, the book is designed beautifully to express the nature of text on a page. First we see the track, running frm left to right, just like print. Then we are introduced to the different cars of the train, each different, beginning on the left and moving to the right, just like the letters in a word and the words in a sentence. When the letters and words are assembled, they begin to move, just the way your eyes and brain move along through the words and sentences in the story.
Truck by Donald Crews (or any of his wordless books)
A Boy a Dog and a Frog by Mercer Mayer
Frog Goes Out to Dinnerby Mercer Mayer
Frog on His Ownby Mercer Mayer(these are small but I’ve used them by photocopying pages)
He's My Jumboby Claude duBois
Looking for Ginny by Claude duBois
Picnic byEmily Arnold McCully
SchoolbyEmily Arnold McCully
No, David by David Shannon (or any of the David books)
Cornelius P. Mud, Are You Ready for Bed? by Barney Saltzberg
Please, Baby, Please by Spike Lee
Please, Puppy, Please by Spike Lee
A Dog Needs a Bone by Audrey Wood
The Little Mouse, the Red, Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood
The Napping House by Audrey Wood
Silly Sallyby Audrey Wood is a good example of an appropriate toddler book of this sort(the concept of upside down becomes patently obvious in the illustrations.)
Gone Wild by David McLimans
Billy Tartle in Say Cheese! by Michael Townsend Is a graphic picture book. It is like a graphic novel for preschoolers.
I Went Walking by Sue Williams where visual clues to what comes next are given on each page. The pictures provide much to discuss as the reader "travels" through the story.
Un-Brella by Scott Fransom
Where's My Monkey by Dieter Schubert (this one is rather old, but shows how a cute little monkey is lost and found again)
Sidewalk Circus by Sid Fleishmen
Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins
Titch by PatHutchins, the size of the garden implements and toys used throughout
help emphasize the small, medium, and large siblings.
The Teeny Weeny Tadpole by Sheridan Cain
I'm the biggest thing in the ocean by Kevin Sherry
Silly Suzy Goose by Petr Horacek
Hooray for Fishby Lucy Cousins
The Little Dog Laughed byLucy Cousins
Maisy's Rainbow Dreamby Lucy Cousins
Green as a Bean by Karla Kuskin
Hurry, Hurry by Eve Bunting
Not a Box by Antoinette Portis
Where is the Green Sheep by Mem Fox
Beware of the Storybook Wolves by Lauren Child
Tail Toes Eyes Ears Nose byMarilee Robin Burton shows
the body parts of animals and the kids guess - turn the page to confirm.
Do You See a Mouse?by Bernard Waber is excellent. Everyone from
The doorman to the florist denies there is a mouse in the hotel, yet the kids will find it on each page!
Big Fat Hen by Keith Baker
Who is the Beast by Keith Baker
The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone (Grover book)
The Ball Bouncedby Nancy Tafuri, almost wordless with pictures telling the story
The Biggest Boyby Nancy Tafuri shows a boy imagining if he was the biggest boy in the world are particularly delightful.
Have You Seen My Duckling?by Nancy Tafuri, almost wordless with pictures telling the story
Jungle Walk (wordless picture book) by Nancy Tafuri and take a look ather other titles that are not wordless but age-appropriate
Across the Streamby Mirra Ginsburg, almost wordless with the pictures telling the story.
The Chick and the Duckling by Mirra Ginsberg
Good Morning, Chick! by Mirra Ginsberg
The Very Hungry Caterpillarby Eric Carle
Rabbits and Raindrops by Jim Arnosky
Bow-Wow Bugs a Bug by Mark Newgarden
The Snowman by Raymond Briggs (wordless picture book)
Home by Jeannie Baker (wordless picture book)
Windowby Jeannie Baker (worldess picture book)where just the changes out the child's window tell the passing of years (and the bush being replaced by city - she has a sequel of Belonging, more recently, where the child greens the city)
The Water Hole byGraeme Base
I Love You as Much... by Laura Krauss Melmed
Pillow Pup by Diane Ochiltree
My Bear and Me by Barbara Maitland
Kitten's First Full Moonby Kevin Henkes
The Cuddle Book by Guido Van Genechten
Dog in Cat Out by Gillian Rubinstein & Ann James with only the four words throughout but a marvelous domestic story.
Stick by Steve Breen
Busy Town by Richard Scarry
Las Aventuras de Tom - Tom's Adventures
Zoomby Istvan Banyai
Re-Zoom by Istvan Banyai where each page changes the scale of reference to the last page - like on one page, it's a picture of a beach scene, and on the next page, the beach scene is a postcard in another scene, and so on - very intriguing.
Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert with its pictures made from leaves or other books where pictures are assembled from found objects.
Where’s the Fish by Taro Gomi
A Day with Wilbur Robinsonby William Joyce (for older kids)
The Leaf Menby William Joyce
Gorillaby Anthony Browne (for older kids)
John Coltrane’s Giant Stepsby Chris Raschka
Mysterious Theloniusby Chris Raschka
Lights Outby Arthur Geisert (for older kids)
Rainstorm by Barbara Lehman. It is a wordless fantasy about a rich,lonely boy who finds a secret passage to a lighthouse island and a nicefamily with kids to play with. Visual clues like a maid and butler,fancy china in only a single place setting, provide background.
The Red Bookby Barbara Lehman
Trucks Roll! By George Ella Lyon, illustrated by Craig Fraizer
Neighborhood Mother Goose by Nina Crews
My Very First Mother Goose byIona Opie
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear byMichael Hague
Mary Had a Little Lamb by Sarah Josepha Hale and Bruce McMillan (photos)
Mary Had a Little Lamb by Iza Trapani
Mary Had a Little Lamb by Sarah Josepha Hale and Salley Mavor
Best Mother Goose Ever by Richard Scarry
Sylvia Long's Mother Goose by Sylvia Long
Mother Goose Remembers byClare Beaton
The Wheels on the Bus byPaul Zelinsky
Let's Go Walking by Linda Williams
Let's Go Visiting by Linda Williams
GoodnightGarden Gnome by Henterley
My Friend Rabbit by Rohman
The Dot by Peter Reynolds
Ish by Peter Reynolds
The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
Four Hungry Kittens by Emily Arnold McCully
Lulu's Busy Dayby Caroline Uff
Lulu's Happy Birthdayby Caroline Uff
Little Fish Lost by Nancy Van Laan
Scrubba Dubby Nancy Van Laan
Tickle Tumby Nancy Van Laan
Flotsam by Davis Wiesner
The Three Pigsby David Wiesner (for older kids)
Tuesday by David Wiesner
Sector 7 by David Wiesner
You Can't Take a Balloon into the Museum of Fine Art by Jacqueline Weitzman
Authors
Dick Bruna
Arthur Geisert for older
Eric Hill
Denise Fleming for younger children
Jamie Lee Curtis (the pictures are so detailed)
Jan Brett books.She usually does the main, action picture in the middle, with a kind of subplot in the side panels. It would be lost on a group of toddlers, but individually, it could teach patterns and sequence.
Janet Stevens
Jim Arnosky - beautiful, realistic animal illustrations geared toward a preschool/toddler audience.
John Butler - beautiful, realistic animal illustrations geared toward a preschool/toddler audience.
Mo Willems has several picture books where the illustrations are very important to understanding the story.
Nancy Tafuri for younger children
Richard Scarry
Chris Van Allsburg
Series Books
Carl books by Alexandra Day
Daisy books by Jane Simmons
Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Willems(words, but great emotion on
the face of the simply drawn characters!)
Harry books by Kim Lewis
Owlygraphic novels by Andy Runyon
Polo books by Regis Faller
Tom and Pippo books by Helen Oxenbury. The expressions on the faces of the characters convey so much about their relationship that is not stated in the narrative, not to mention that the illustrations just plain carry the story along.
Professional Titles
Stories, Pictures and Reality: Two children tellby Virginia Lowewhich demonstrates children's recognition of pictures from 3 or 4 months, having favourites at 6 months etc. It is good ammunition to show how much they can recognise when they are observed closely. There is also recognising artistic style at 2 and 3. There is a chapter on them understanding illustration conventions like perspective and noise-lines etc.
And her article on the International Journal of Eduction through Art has examples of children understanding artistic style and "reading" the pictures - 2006 v2 #2
How texts teach what children learnbyMargaret Meeks