5 Mesmerizing Picture Books for Toddlers with Short Attention Spans
by Ross Ritchell
My 2-year-old toddler is a spitting image of me. He has the same deep dimples and bright blonde hair and, unfortunately, my same short attention span and habit of anxiously milling about whilst bored. This is all fine and good when he’s happy, but when he’s not our home is a legitimate warzone: Tonka fire trucks are overturned and building-block palaces set afire while a screeching toddler-Godzilla smashes and mashes fingers and toes and any unfortunate stuffed animal that gets in his way. Okay, I admit nothing is on fire, but if we let him into the kitchen he goes right to the stove. And he knows how to light it.
So any activity that pumps our little Energizer-Bunny’s brakes is a good one and reading is our go-to. Our son pretends he’s not plotting our imminent demise for as long as it takes to turn the pages, and our daughter literally eats said pages to help her teething. Reading is a mental and physical win for our family — mind, body, and teeth. These five recommendations for kids with short attention spans should keep your toddler away from that stove and focused on the book at hand.
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Don’t Push the Button!
In this padded addition to our library (it is actually padded, so when it’s thrown at you it doesn’t hurt), Larry the purple monster tells your child not to push a red button. “Don’t push the button,” Larry says, so of course, because you have a toddler, that button gets pushed. And what happens next? Madness! Larry changes colors, Larry grows polka dots, and Larry evenly splits his genetic makeup to spawn Larry-twins and soon morphs into a whole page of Larries! It’s maddeningly brilliant and everyone laughs until it hurts. Then we all pass out in our respective cribs.
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Spoon
In this delight, Spoon, your everyday insecure eating utensil, just can’t see the good in himself — certainly not compared with the stellar accomplishments of his friends Fork, Knife, and Chopsticks. Momma-Spoon has to help Spoon realize his true potential and when he does, your child will love mealtimes. This is a cute story about being proud of yourself and realizing that friends are there to lift you up (and help you eat breakfast).
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Oh No, George!
Available from:George is such a rascal. This floppy-eared pooch just loves chasing cats, eating cake, and digging through garbage. But of course we don’t want him to do any of that, right? So naturally George does it all. This riot will tickle your toddler and introduce the concept of actions and their consequences. A great introduction to manners for your little thunderstorm of love.
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Little Owl Lost
Available from:Chris Haughton returns to our list … because who hasn’t felt like a little owl that has fallen out of its tree and lost its mommy? Little Owl searches for his mommy with the help of his less-than-helpful friend, Squirrel. Squirrel is sweet but not much of a thinker. Little Owl needs to teach him a thing or two about genetics, and toddlers will love pointing out to Squirrel that no, Little Owl is not related to a bear, turtle, or rabbit.
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Pajama Time!
Who wants to go to bed? No one, especially not toddlers. In this spin on classic bedtime lullabies we jump, hop, and jam all the way from storytime to the dream-factory. Getting toddlers to laugh about going to bed is the best way to make sure they get there. And stay there. This one’s a hit.
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