Fall Favorites Roundup: Books
Recently, I’ve started a Friday Favorites series on Instagram where I share resources I enjoy using each week. Today, I’m sharing a roundup of the most impactful books I’ve used this fall in both my therapy sessions, as well as for parents to use with their children. For each book, I’ve listed the recommended ages provided by the author as well as a few ways in which I incorporate the book during therapy. Please note, I choose books based on both a child’s age and language level, so take the recommended age range with a grain of salt.
I hope this list inspires you to pick up a new book with your child or helps you out with your holiday shopping!
Hair Love by Matthew Cherry
Ages 4-8
How I incorporate this book in therapy: describing similarities and differences between the book and the wordless video, improving perspective taking, and addressing narrative language skills (e.g., describing story grammar elements, sequencing the main events)
Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
Ages 3-7
How I incorporate this book in therapy: making predictions, using descriptive language (e.g., spicy, mild, delicious), and making comments
The Boy with Big, Big Feelings by Britney Winn Lee
Ages 5-8
How I incorporate this book in therapy: discussing emotions and talking about our feelings in the midst of a global pandemic
The Day the Crayons Quit & The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew DayWalt
Ages 5-8
How I incorporate this book in therapy: improving perspective taking, describing emotions, and addressing divergent naming (e.g., “Name all the things that are blue”)
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
Ages 5-8
How I incorporate this book in therapy: improving perspective taking, describing picture scenes, and discussing how all our differences make us unique
Sofa Valdez, Future Prez by Andrea Beaty
Ages 5-7
How I incorporate this book in therapy: using context clues to determine unfamiliar vocabulary, improving story retell skills, identifying rhyming words, and discussing the importance of voting
Bonus tip: I’ve been asking my kiddos to develop and describe a project they’d use to run for president
Wacky Wednesday by Dr. Seuss
Ages 3-7
How I incorporate this book in therapy: describing picture absurdities, expanding utterance length, addressing goals related to vocabulary and word-finding, and using complex sentence structures
Open the Garage Door by Christopher Santoro
Ages birth - 3
How I incorporate this book in therapy: modeling “Open” with emerging Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) users or kiddos with expressive language delays
The Noisy Book by Soledad Bravi
Ages birth - 3 (I love this book for kiddos who have recently started imitating environmental sounds and words verbally modeled by adults)
How I incorporate this book in therapy: modeling playful exclamations (e.g., “Tweet,” “Boom,” “Woah”).
Secret Pizza Party by Adam Rubin
Ages 3-7
How I incorporate this book in therapy: Addressing vocabulary goals (e.g., synonyms, antonyms), comparing and contrasting, and making predictions
Bonus tip: For home practice, I’ve been asking my kids to create an invitation to their own secret pizza party with 2 to 3 sentences on surprises at their party
Saturday by Oge Mora
Ages 4-8
How I incorporate this book in therapy: sequencing events within the story, discussing problems and solutions, making predictions, and improving perspective taking
Now it’s your turn! What have been your favorite fall books?