One of the important skills for young pre readers to develop is the ability to copy and manipulate sounds they hear in their environment. That is good news for parents- kids love to play with sounds. My one and a half year old boy LOVES making animal noises. He is a much slower talker than his big sisters were, but he makes a great elephant noise! Through Kindergarten this is a great way to encourage phonemic awareness skills, and it’s fun! So be silly with your littles while you enjoying playing with onomatopoeia.
Mr Brown Can Moo, Can You? This book is great, one of my favorite Dr. Suess books. It gives great examples of all kinds of wacky noises, and encourages the reader to join in. You definitely want the full version, not just the board book.
Little Blue Truck– This book has gained a lot of popularity- for good reason! It’s a great book about friendship and teamwork, with plenty of awesome noises along the way.
Click Clack Moo, Cows that Type– This book is so great, it’s really funny and has some sweet repetitive text that kids will love. It won a Caldecott Honor back in 2000 (wow, this book is old already!), and has great illustrations. I also love the Halloween version- Click Clack Boo! It is full of fun sounds too.
A Very Busy Spider-I love Eric Carle! This one is simple, with great repetitive text and lots of different animals speaking. It also has a raised web, that slowly grows as the spider works. It is touchable and so fun.
Sandra Boynton books– She has some really fun books, like Moo, Baa, La La La, Doggies, and Barnyard Dance. Her books are short and sweet and so much fun, especially for very young readers.
When my oldest was a toddler, we asked her what sound a bird made. She made a rather hideous caw sound that cracked us up. Later we realized she was imitating the magical sound of the seagull 🤣. Our toddler son is trying to imitate the birds by learning to whistle! I’ve never seen such a young person whistling before. Enjoy imitating the sounds in your environments.
This is a fun and easy skill to work into your routine. If you are already making all kinds of animal, truck, machine, etc. noises with your kids, feel good about all the phonemic awareness skills they are developing! You are already helping them build skills they need to become a successful reader!
What other books/songs do you enjoy with your kids to play with sounds? Let me know in the comments!
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