At different ages, children love to listen and watch different fairy tales. Kids prefer short stories from picture books that help them better understand the meaning. Children 3-4 years old are happy to choose longer fairy tales, with different characters. Older preschoolers prefer adventures and unusual heroes.
Sometimes children refuse to listen to fairy tales and say: “I’m not interested!” Perhaps you simply chose a fairy tale that is not appropriate for your age. On our website you will learn how to choose the right story to read before bed and you will find a whole online selection of fairy tales for children 3-4 years old and other ages.
What books do children aged 3-4 years like?
We all want to see our children and grandchildren be the very best: smart, savvy, well-mannered, positive-minded. And no gadgets or moral teachings will bring as much benefit as smart books will give them.
Scientists say that while listening to reading, the brain works more than when looking at gadget screens, since the child not only has to develop auditory receptors, but also visualize what he heard.
Engaging multiple mental processes is good training for brain development.
Why read to children at this age?
The age of 3-4 years is a sensitive (favorable) period for speech development and vocabulary replenishment. The books introduce young readers to various forms of sentence construction, the ability to conduct dialogue, and teach them to ask questions. All this will serve well in the formation of competent speech, and in the future, writing.
Reading is a good stimulant for developing a child’s cognitive interest, the desire to learn more about the world around him, and to comprehend the world of relationships in it.
The development of the emotional sphere, formed by books, at this age is not the last factor for personal development. Children already at preschool age give preference in communication to friends who are positively minded and able to clearly express their emotions. These are the people everyone wants to be friends with, play with, and share toys with. Your offspring will never be lonely.
The ability to receive aesthetic pleasure from reading is a gift for which children will be grateful to you all their lives. Give your baby a priceless gift that will stay with him for life.
How to organize reading correctly?
We can say that reading is a kind of sacrament that requires the creation of appropriate conditions. Everything is important here: place, time, mood of the child and adult, choice of book.
Place and time
Choosing a place: everyone should be comfortable and cozy. We find a quiet home corner with warm, dim lighting, sit next to the baby on a soft, comfortable sofa, almost touching each other (this creates an atmosphere of common interests and desires).
Children most often like to organize such book gatherings in the evenings, when mom or dad are no longer in a hurry, and there is still time before bed.
If the child is naughty
And if the little capricious one is not in the mood to get to know the characters of the works and cannot calm down before bed, there are two ways. You can postpone reading, saying that his book friends are very upset by the baby’s behavior and do not agree to tell their stories, or warn the fidget that you will be reading for Nastya’s doll. And for such an occasion it is better to choose your favorite fairy tales or poetic works. The melodiousness of the syllables of these genres will play the role of a “quencher” of negative emotions.
How to choose what to read?
The choice of book is at the child’s request. definitely let your child choose books himself, even if his choice does not seem very interesting or useful to you.
Recitation of the text by adults should be emotionally expressive, so that it is easier for the young reader to understand the character’s actions and mood. Only then is a feeling of empathy and compassion born, and the baby is included in the “living of events.”
What should parents pay attention to when choosing literature for this age?
The phenomenon of preschool children's reading is phenomenal. ...How correct the choice of books is, how well it coincides with the child’s age-related abilities to understand the meaning of the work, how it will be presented, determines whether the story will become a trigger for empathy with the plot, whether the child will have the effect of personal presence and what associations with reading will remain in his head.
Tatiana Savelyeva,
preschool development specialist and leading methodologist at the AST publishing house.
After three years, the child no longer considers the book only in a playful context. He is a real listener, trying to actively discuss what he heard, clarify what is unclear, and compare the text with illustrations. This dictates the expansion of genres. You can try introducing children's parables, fables, and stories about nature. But this must be done carefully, studying the child’s reaction, his ability to perceive, so as not to frighten off his first love of reading.
This does not mean that we should say goodbye to game versions of books forever. The little reader still has a visual and effective perception, which requires bright illustrations and actions with characters.
And in this regard, it is worth paying special attention to Wimmelbooks, which children really like because of the abundance of pictures and the minimum amount of text. By looking at the images, kids get acquainted with the structure of the world around them. And even if this world is populated by funny little animals, the child easily “translates” it into the “human” world.
Getting to know Wimmelbooks is a great option for expanding your vocabulary and making your first attempts at writing stories from pictures.
Tips and tricks for parents
- Read to your children as much as possible!
- Don't be fooled into buying a large number of books based on advertising. Let your bookcase contain only books that are useful and loved by your child. And the time-tested classics should occupy the most honorable place.
- Enroll your child in the library so that he can make his own choices. Make these outings a book-loving holiday.
- Be sure to discuss with your child what he wants to read and why.
- If you want your child to be able to express his opinion, give him your model of judgment. And be sure to clarify why he thinks so.
- From time to time, invite him to guess how events will develop further, what the hero will do, or invite him to come up with his own ending to the story.
Let there be more useful and kind books on your child’s development path!
list of books for children 3-4 years old
Girls, good day everyone!
I was choosing books for my child to order and then I came across an interesting selection.
I’ll share it with you in case someone finds it useful.
I will add it to my diary and will buy more based on this recommendation.
Huge list below the cut.
If you have any interesting collections, I’d be grateful to add them!!!
List of books for children 3-4 years old
Akim Ya. - Girl and lion. Song in the forest Bush Wilhelm - Plich and Plyuch
Epics. Collections of Rybnikov, Hilferdinka.
Wislander J. and T., Nordqvist Sven – Stories about Mama Mu and Raven.
Garshin V. - What did not happen. Frog traveler
Druzhkov Yuri - The Adventures of Pencil and Samodelkin (3.5 years - bestseller!)
Ezhikova Zdenka - The Mole and his friends
Ershov - The Little Humpbacked Horse. Kondratyev A.N. - Poetry
Krylov - Fables. Lebedeva Galina - The Adventures of a Cucumber Horse (3.5 years - a great success)
Marshak S. - Cheerful account. Smart things. Twelve months. Mail. Circus. Translations of English children's songs: Gloves. Nail and horseshoe. Three wise men. Visiting the Queen. Ship. King Pinin. The house that Jack built. Kittens. Three trappers. Humpty Dumpty. and others. Mayakovsky - What is good and what is bad. What do you have?
Medvedev Valery - Barankin, be human! (3.5 years - liked it very much). Adventures of sunbeams. (Swallowtail, For the little ones)
Miler Zdenek - The Mole and the Magic Flower
Malory - Death of Arthur Monk Lazarus - Forest tales for children (about a hedgehog and others)
Nekrasov. – Green noise and other children's poems. Pasternak E. – Adventures of toys in the most ordinary apartment
Petson - all books in the series. read to the gills.
Prishvin Mikhail - Floors of the forest. Pantry of the sun Zolotoy Log
Sef R. - Advice, Endless poems and translations
Skrebitsky G. - Unknown paths. Everyone in their own way. Sladkov Nikolay - Forest Tales. Under the invisible cap. Multi-colored earth. Mysterious beast. A hedgehog was running along the path. Sparrow's spring.
Snegirev G. - Restless tail. Penguin Beach. To sea. Brave little penguin.
Teleshov N. - Zorenka. Krupenichka
Tolstoy A.N. — Khavroshechka and other Russian folk tales.
Tolstoy L.N. - Children's books. Lion and dog. Bone. Bounce. Philippok. Epics processed for children. Uspensky Eduard - Crocodile Gena and Cheburashka. Uncle Fyodor, dog and cat. About Vera and Anfisa
Ustinov Lev - Forest Song (really liked 3.5 years)
Ushinsky K. - Children's tales from the book "Native Word" Kharms D. - Poems
Khodos Yuri and Svetlana – Zhuzhikov Dynasty
Tsyferov Gennady - Once upon a time there lived a baby elephant. Diary of a bear cub. Like a little frog looking for dad. Teddy bear and donkey. Black Sasha - children's poems (Passalka, Riddle, Enemies...)
Chizhikov – Petya and Potap the bear cub
Schwartz - The Absent-Minded Wizard, Two Brothers, About Lost Time and other tales Shim E. - Forest Tales
Shklovsky O., Shimanov A. - Katavasia, or Black cat with orange eyes
Russian folk tales: Vasilisa the Beautiful, Rejuvenating Apples, The Frog Princess, Sivka-Burka arr. M. Bulatova; Finist - Clear Falcon", arr. A. Platonova;
Ishchuk I.A... Reading from pictures, Kosygina V.N... “Tru-la-la”, Articulation gymnastics,
Fairy tales by C. Perrault, Brother Grimm, and G. H. Andersen “Little Red Riding Hood”, retelling by L. Kuznetsov, fig. T. Wolf.. “The Three Little Pigs”, trans. M. Tarlovsky, fig. T. Wolf. "Puss in Boots" trans. L. Yakhnina, fig. T. Wolf. “Cinderella”, translation by A. Hansen, fig. T. Wolf. “Sleeping Beauty”, retelling by L. Yakhnin, fig. T. Wolf. “The Steadfast Tin Soldier”, retelling by S. Letova, fig. T. Wolf. “The Little Mermaid”, translation by A. Hansen, fig. T. Wolf. “Flint”, retelling by L. Kuznetsov, fig. T. Wolf.
Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs, The Ugly Duckling. Thumbelina. Snow Queen and others
“New Year's Tale”, Samovar Publishing House, 1996.
series “My first encyclopedia” (Makhaon Publishing House): City, History of Transport (we are still reading!!!), Seasons, etc. series "Encyclopedia Machaon": Animals, World of the sea, Dinosaurs, Volcanoes, Myths and legends of the peoples of the world, Ancient civilizations
Acquaintance with “serious” Russian classics. Many of them have completely “childish” poems, and it is obligatory to name the author. Here is our list: Balmont K. - Autumn Blok A. - Willows, Bunny, Crow, In the meadow, The thunderstorm has passed..., Teacher, Snow and snow, Lullaby Bryusov V. - Lullaby Bunin I. - First snow.
Gorodetsky S. – Kitten.
Yesenin S. - Birch, Bird cherry
Zhukovsky. – Bird, Cat and Goat Katanov V. Grandfather’s House. (Poetry)
Ldov K. - Mister teacher Zhuk Maykov A. - Lullaby. Summer rain Minaev D... Give us the way! Nikitin I. - Meeting winter.
Pleshcheev A. -The grass is turning green, Autumn has come, My kindergarten Pushkin A.S. - The sky was already breathing in autumn... (from the novel in verse “Eugene Onegin”), Winter Evening (abbr.);
Pchelnikova A. - Bird Surikov. I. - Childhood. Morning on the shore of the lake, Here is my village Tolstoy A. - Autumn Turgenev I. - Sparrow.
Tyutchev F. - Winter is angry for a reason
Fet A. - Mom! Look from the window! The cat is singing, his eyes are squinting
Elgen E. - Bird Tsvetaeva M. - On the boulevard, So, At the crib
Here is an additional list of great books for children under 3-4 years old. With it, any apartment can easily turn into a reading room.
Domestic authors
:
T. Kryukova
“Little Hedgehog”, “Little Kangaroo Rooney”, “Little Engine Puff”, “Little Beep”, “Dinosaur Looks for Mom” - good educational books by the famous children’s writer.
A. Ivanov
“About Khoma and Suslik.”
V. Chizhikov
“Peter and Potap the Bear” - easy, understandable text, bright, lively pictures, what else is needed to make 2-3-year-olds glow with delight?
A. Usachev
“Smart Dog Sonya”, “About Baba Yaga”, etc. Usachev is one of the most popular authors in Russian children's literature, very inventive and talented.
M. Plyatskovsky
“Daisies in January”, “Diary of the Grasshopper Kuzi” and other fairy tales, poems and songs - very kind and sincere.
G. Oster
“A Kitten Named Woof”, “Bad Advice”, “38 Parrots”, “The Adventures of Pif”.
Several generations have already grown up on fairy tales, poems, and cartoons by Grigory Oster. G. Tsyferov
“The Engine from Romashkovo”, “How the Little Frog Was Looking for Dad”, “The Little Giant”, etc. Wonderful fairy tales and wonderful characters.
E. Charushin
“Tyupa, Tomka and Magpie” - funny stories about animals.
S. Kozlov
“Hedgehog in the Fog”, “Tales about the Hedgehog and the Little Bear”, “Lion Cub and Turtle”.
Touching, magical fairy tales, familiar to us from childhood. V. Krotov
series about the Worm Ignatius - stories about an extraordinary talking worm who helps his friends understand very important things.
S. Sedov
“Tales about mothers”, “Tales about kings”.
Sedov has very unusual, lively stories. S. Prokofiev
“Masha and Oika”, “The Adventures of the Yellow Suitcase”, etc.
T. Alexandrov
“Kuzka the Brownie”.
A. Kurlyandsky
“About the parrot Kesha.”
V. Postnikov
“The Adventures of Pencil and Samodelkin.”
E. Pasternak
“The Adventures of Toys in an Ordinary Apartment” is a story about toys that come to life and about the little things in the big world that adults no longer notice.
K. Ushinsky
Stories and fairy tales.
Foreign authors
:
B. Potter
“Tressie the Squirrel and His Friends”, “Peter Rabbit and His Friends”, “Johnny Mouse and His Friends”, “Tales of Tabitha the Cat” - charming stories from the life of funny animals with stunning author’s illustrations.
J. Harris
"The Tales of Uncle Remus."
Who doesn't know J. Harris and his Brother Rabbit and Brother Fox? A. Preisn
“About a kid who could count to ten”
Z. Miler, E. Petishka, G. Doskolova
series about Krotik - books based on the popular Czech animated series with Krotik in the title role.
V. Bush
“Plikh and Plyukh” is a humorous fairy tale in verse translated by D. Kharms.
E. Blyton
“The famous duckling Tim.”
M. Ketchpool “How to Move a Hippopotamus”, A. Stewart
“Bunny Ears”,
M. Marshall
“The Lion Cub is Lost!”,
L. Rankin
“Ruthie the Fox and the Untruth”,
K. Friedman
“Blame the Huge Blue Panda!”
- witty, cheerful tales with meaning. Great illustrations. Falconer Ian
Stories about Olivia the pig - “Olivia”, “Olivia Saves the Circus”, “Olivia and the Lost Toy”, “Olivia and the Real Orchestra”, “Olivia Celebrates the New Year”.
F. Matter
“The Little Wolf and the Dinosaurs”, “The Little Wolf Celebrates the New Year”.
K. Wilson, J. Chapman
“When Little Bear wakes up”, “When Little Bear sleeps”, “Bear’s New Friend”, “Bear’s Christmas” - amazing illustrations by J. Chapman and amazingly sweet, kind text by Karma Wilson translated by the poet M. Yasnov.
K. DiCamillo
“Mila Pig.
Funny stories". Kate DiCamillo is the author of stories about the mouse Despereaux, the porcelain rabbit Edward, and a mongrel named Winn-Dixie. But this is for older kids. And about Mila the pig, who loves to eat toast with butter and ride in a car - just for kids 3-4 years old. J. Yurie
“Full Moon Festival”, “The Sly Fox”, “Hurray, Let's Fly!”, “Merry Carnival”, “Drawing Lesson” - several books about a large rabbit family, with whom incredible stories constantly happen.
K. Holabird
“Angelina the Ballerina”, “Angelina’s Birthday”, “Angelina in the Palace”, “Angelina is the Star of the Show” - stories about a charming little mouse, magnificent illustrations.
D. Bisset
Tales.
E. Hogarth
“Muffin and His Merry Friends” - stories about the donkey Muffin, in which he searches for treasure, bakes pies, sings songs and reflects on the beauty of his tail.
A. Milne, B. Zakhoder
“Winnie the Pooh and all-all-all.”
T. Jansson
“Tales of the Moomin Valley” are stories familiar to us from childhood about the strange world of the Moomins, which were drawn by the author herself.
A. Balint
“Gnome Gnomych and Raisin” - fairy tale stories about Gnome Gnomych and the pig Raisin, you can find a publication with drawings by V. Suteev.
D. Urban
“All Mice Love Cheese” is a touching story about mouse Romeo and Juliet with a happy ending.
R. Munch
“At least something pretty”, “Stephanie's Ponytail”, “Thomas and the Overalls” - small funny stories from the famous Canadian children's writer with original illustrations... In a word, read - do not re-read :).
What is the difference between fairy tales for children 3-4 years old?
- Most often, the main characters of fairy tales are animals or objects, less often people. At the same time, it is immediately clear who is a positive and who is a negative hero.
- The characters' actions are simple and easily explainable. If a child generally loves fairy tales and listens to them often, it will not be difficult for him to predict how it will end, even if he himself is hearing this particular fairy tale for the first time.
- Simple sentences, an abundance of action verbs and adjectives related to color or one, main characteristic - red, kind, big, strong. At the same time, words and images may appear that were previously unfamiliar to the child, especially in folk tales.
- In children's fairy tales for this age, good always triumphs over evil, and therefore they can also be read to older children if they are sensitive to injustice or take everything to heart.
You can listen to fairy tales for children 3-4 years old in the form of audio online, 2-3 short tales at a time without a break, or one long one. Most of the classic stories are presented in good quality in the form of audio tales and performances performed by the best professional artists.
When reading aloud, long bedtime stories can be divided into 2 evenings, although this depends on how tired the child is and how long the parent can read aloud. Out of habit, this activity can be tedious.
For your convenience, we have collected the best fairy tales for children 3-4 years old online so you can start reading today!
