children's books for speech therapy

13+ Best Children’s Books for Speech Therapy

Today I am beyond excited to share my latest blog post outlining a few of my favorite children’s books for speech therapy. 

Plus learn a fun way a Speech-Language Pathologist could use one of these great books in their next speech therapy sessions to target specific goals. 

In addition, I’ve included digital versions of the following books. **Please be sure to preview the digital versions of the books prior to reading or watching with your child or student. I have previewed all the videos myself, but you know your child or student best and your/their comfort levels with different words or detailed illustrations.**

Children’s Books for Speech Therapy

Here is a list of over 13 of the best children’s books for speech therapy that are perfect for a Speech Language Pathologist or parent looking for a fun and engaged way of working on different speech sounds and language goals.

Be sure to check out the additional growing list of great activities at the bottom of this page and add some of these children’s books for speech therapy to your school supplies list this year.

1. Bear Snores On

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman is one of those favorite books of young readers that is all about a bear who sleeps through the long winter while his friends join him inside his cave inorder to find safety during a winter storm. 

BONUS: If you like these types of books then it would be worth it to check out the new books in this bear series. There are a lot of books perfect for adding to your book collection. Such as the following books: Bear’s New Friend, Bear Can’t Sleep, Bear Stays Up for Christmas, Bear Feels Scared, Bear Feels Sick, Bear’s Loose Tooth.

Articulation: 

• S- Blends- snores, sleeps, stays

Language Skills

• Sequencing – Read this book and have your stores retell the order of animals that come into the bear’s den while he is asleep to practice sequencing and order.
• Vocabulary – This book has some great elementary vocabulary. Have students describe the words heap, slurp, scuttles, tunnel up, flutter, mutter, twitter, clutter, den, lair, cave, woods, winter, and bear.
• What does bear feel like in the winter?
• What do you think bear is thinking when he wakes up? 
• What do you think bear feels when he wakes up? How do you know?
• How do the other animals feel when bear sneezes and why?
• What do you think will happen when mouse starts the fire?
• What do you think the hare will do?
• What do you think badger will do with mouse and hare?
• Do you think the animals will wake bear up?
• Who do you think will wake bear up?
• How do you think the animals will make bear feel better?
• What animal was sleeping?
• What season was it in the story?
• Why was bear sleeping?
• What are the three different animals that go into bears cave?
• What food did the animals eat?

Language Expansion

• Making Requests – A great activity to practice language expansion is to make hot cocoa or chocolate milk with your child or student. Practice correct conversational skills, following directions or have them describe how the drink tastes.

Social Skills

• During this story, bear wakes up and sees that his friends are having fun without him. He feels upset, and then his friends find a way to include him. This is a great situation to discuss with students to increase social skills.

Digital Version:

2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle is a beautiful story about a caterpillar who eats a variety of different foods before emerging as a butterfly. This book is perfect for students with a language disorder and working on new words, such as hatches, searches, days of the week, names of fruit, and more.

Articulation:

This is a great book to go on a sound hunt using all the pictures in the book! Have your students look and listen for worlds that have a specific sound. Use some of the ideas below to get started!

• /K/ sound – Caterpillar, came, cone, cake, cocoon
• /S/ Blends – started, still, strawberries, slice, stomachache, small, stayed
• /L/ Sound (initial, medial & final)  – light, little, lay, leaf, look, lollipop, caterpillar, watermelon, small, hole, apple

Language Skills:

• Basic Concepts – This book is a great tool to go over basic concepts with your student. Go over descriptive concepts by recounting topics in the book such as big vs little, and all the colors. You could also cover quantity concepts by ordering the days one through five. This book also covers temporal concepts such as days of the week, morning, day and night. 
• Vocabulary – The Hungry Caterpillar is a book filled with some great vocabulary practice words. Here are some ideas: Chrysalis, butterfly, nibbled, cocoon, metamorphosis, larva, pupa, hatch, emergy, wiggle, slice, hungry and the days of the week. 
• Grammar – Practice grammar with this story as well! Target the present and past tense verbs as you read. Also practice marking the plural nouns that are read. Have your students practice the verb actions they see in the pictures. 
• Sequencing – This is a great story to practice sequencing with. Have students retell the story while focusing on sequencing concepts such as first, then, next, when, after, last. You can also have your students sequence the order of foods the caterpillar ate. (EXAMPLE: First he ate an apple. Second he ate two pears etc). Another idea is to sequence the days of the week. (EXAMPLE: Mon – 1 apple, Tuesday – 2 pears, Wed – 3 plums etc)
• Describing – This book has some amazing illustrations that are great for providing description practice. Have your students describe a caterpillar vs a butterfly. You could also prompt your students to describe the different food in this story. Turn it into a taste testing activity and describe different fruits as juicy, sour, sweet, crunchy, the color, size and shape, or the category of food. 
• Past Tense Verbs – This story uses many irregular past tense verbs such as lay, came, ate, was, felt, built and some irregular past tense verbs such as stayed, called and started.
• Show me the butterfly and tell me your favorite color on it.
• Count the number of holes on the leaf and then turn the page.
• Point to a red piece of fruit, and then touch the orange.
• Put your finger onto the caterpillar and then slide your finger toward the sun.
• Put a finger onto the egg and tap your thumb on the moon.
• Who is this book about?
• Where is the egg on this page?
• What happened to the caterpillar when he ate all the food and then the green leaf?
• What is a caterpillar’s small home called?
• What did the caterpillar in the story turn into? 
• 2 Syllable – morning, tiny, cocoon, apple, hungry
• 3 Syllable – lollipop, butterfly, chocolate, strawberry
• 4 Syllable – Caterpillar, watermelon, stomachache
• Opposites – There are lots of opposites in this story! Look for these as you read – moon/sun, caterpillar/butterfly, junk food/healthy food, skinny/plump, small/big, and hungry/full.
• Category Ideas – Practice language expansion skills by practicing categories with your students. After reading the book, practice sorting fruits, vegetables and junk food. You could look at what the caterpillar eats and sort food vs insects. This is a great bridge into a quick discussion on if the food eaten was healthy food or junk food. 
• Comparing and Contrasting – As you read through this story, compare and contrast the food. Discuss with your students how two foods are the same and different (EXAMPLE: Both the strawberry and apple are red, but a strawberry is soft and an apple is crunchy.)

3. Happy to Be Me

Happy to Be Me by Emma Dodd is a great way to work on identifying different body parts which are functional words that might be some of your students’ first words. The story goes through each body part and thanks each of them for the amazing things that they help us do. Plus the best part is the book teaches our students to celebrate what makes them, them!

Practice TH Articulation with the “Thank You” repetition in this story.

Language Skills: 

• Body Part Vocabulary – Use this story to go over the following body parts: mouth, toes, thumbs and fingers, hands, ears, eyes, head, nose, tongue, legs, lips, teeth
• Rhyming – Practice rhyming with your student and highlight the multiple rhymes in the story as well: wiggle/giggle, to/you, hold/told, smell/well, lap/nap, chew/you, above/love.

4. Press Here

Press Here by Herve Tullet is one of those favorite interactive books that many Speech Pathologists love to use when working in the schools and is a huge hit with younger children. This is a silly book filled with verbs allowing your child to work on their language development by following directions of the action given, such as press here and then making more dots appear on the next page. 

• Colors – This book is great for your young children who need a little extra help working on identifying colors. Simply give them a simple direction, such as “Touch the red dot.”
• Following Directions – Read the story and have your student follow the 1-step directions. For example, “blow on the page” or “tap the circle.” Some of the directions do get a little more complex, such as “tap only the yellow circles” or “tilt the book to the left”.
• Basic Concepts – Descriptive Concepts (small, medium, large, colors, gently, hard), Quantity Concepts (counting, all, just, only, more, once, twice), Location Concepts (left, right, middle).
• Vocabulary Action Verbs – shake, tap, blow, rub, turn, tilt, or clap.
• Past Tense Verbs – Have the student retell you what action they or their classmate just took. For example, Sam could say, “Jason just tapped the red dot.”
• Answering WH-Questions – Ask your student’s simple questions about what they or their classmate just did. For example, “What color of dot did you just tap?” 
• Predicting – Have the child or student try to predict what will happen before you turn the page. “What do you think will happen next?” My students always loved the fun element of surprise when reading this story.
• Expressive Language – Expressive language is an important skill to work on your student’s communication skills. Start by having your student explain what happened on each page. For example, if you have them tap the red circle 5 times and the next page shows 5 red circles in a line your student could explain that when they tapped the red circle 5 times it made 5 individual circles appear on the following page. 

5. Goodnight Moon

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown is perfect for all of those language therapy goals on your caseload. The repetitive text helps children with speech disorders to anticipate what might come next in the story. 

Articulation

• B Sound – bear, bowl, balloon
• G Sound & G-Blends – goodnight, great, green
• L Sound – little, light, lady, old, telephone, balloon, bowl, full
• M Sound – mitten, mouse, mush, moon, jumping, comb, room
• Vocabulary – As you go through the story, have your child or student label the different household items, toys, animals, and clothing. (moon, light, clock, sock, star, bear, chair, red balloon, cow, telephone, mittens, toy house, comb, house, and brush).
• Prepositions – There is a mouse hidden in every picture which is great for working on prepositional phrases.
• Colors – This book is great for your young children working on identifying colors. Simply have them sort the different vocabulary words by color.
• Categorization – As you read the story, have your student category sort the different vocabulary words into one of the following categories, such as toys, clothing, animal, or furniture.

Here are a few additional ideas to expand on the book activity.

• Categorization – Give your child or student a room within their school or their house and have them say night night while naming 3-5 objects within each room. For example, if you give them the kitchen they could say, “night night refrigerator”, “night night oven”, “night night toaster”, etc. 
• Following Directions – If you have a play house or toy animals you could give the student a 1-step or 2-step direction to follow using the toy objects. For example, “put the bear on the chair.” 

6. A Bad Case of Stripes

A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon is one of the best books for student’s with a communication disorder working on different perspectives and making inferences. You could have your older students work on interpreting facial expressions and talk about how other people might feel in a given situation. 

• Why do you think Camilla got stripes?
• What do you think will happen when she goes to school?
• What could cure Camilla?
• Why did the old lady give Camilla lima beans?
• Vocabulary – There are some great vocabulary words to target while reading this story! Look for lima beans, examine, normal, experts, therapist, afraid, specialists, multi-colored.
• Sequencing – To practice sequencing, have students sequence the events in order of first, next, then, and last. 

Social Skills:

• Identify Facial Expressions – A good reason to work on facial expressions is that it helps your students interpret how others feel. 

7. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen is perfect if you’re looking for one of those repetitive books that you can use in therapy over and over again. This book follows a family getting out into nature and exploring the world before coming back home.

• B Sound – bed, beautiful, bear, big, back, bedroom, and stumble.
• S-Blends – snowstorm, stairs, splosh, splash, swishy-swashy, stumble, squelch, squelch, and scared. 
• K Sound – cave, covers, catch, can’t, back, dark, and thick.
• W Sound – wavy, wet, we’re, what, whirling, and we.
• Story Retell/Sequencing – Due to the repetitive nature of the book along with a clear sequence of events makes this story a great one for story retelling/sequencing.
• Spatial Concepts – Have the student practice putting the bear, “over”, “under”, “through”, “up”, “down”. You can grab a bear cutout here .
• Descriptive Words/Opposites – As you come across the different descriptive words throughout the text have your students identify the opposites for example, long/short, cold/hot, deep/shallow, wavy/straight, thick/thin, big/little, dark/bright, wet/dry, narrow/wide.
• Answering WH-Questions – Ask your students wh-questions. For example, “who is going on a bear hunt?”, “what animal are they hunting?”, “where are they now?”
• Vocabulary – As you go through the story, have your child or student label the different nature nouns (snowstorm, bear, mud, cave, grass, river, forest, and trees. You can grab some of these vocabulary words from this Boardmaker Board simply sign in to download your copy here .

This book is filled with different sound effects so here are a few additional ideas to expand on the book activity.

• Sound Effects – Have your child or student act out the different sound effects, such as “splashy river” or “howling snowstorm”.
• Prepositions – Have your child act out the different prepositions (over, under, and through) with hand gestures or have your child on a bear hunt by printing out some bear pictures or grab a couple of stuffed animal bears and hide them around the house. Then have your child tell you where they found the bears. For example, “the bear was under the chair”.

SEE ALSO: 430+ Free Multisyllabic Words List Activity Bundle

8. good dog, carl.

Good Dog, Carl by Alexander Day is perfect if you’re looking for wordless books. Using wordless picture books can be a great first step when introducing using books in therapy. The author has many more favorite wordless picture books. This story follows a dog named Carl who has to babysit while his Mom is away and even though the baby and Carl make a mess Carl is a good dog and makes sure to clear up before his mom comes home. 

(This digital version is 9 min and has a 4-5 min blurb before about how this is a book with very few words, but we can use the pictures to predict, make inferences etc).

• Sequencing – After reading the story, have students practice sequencing by ordering the events from first, next, then and last to show the understand the order of events.
• Describing – Practice describing by prompting your students to retell what is happening in the story.
• Predicting – Throughout the story, there are multiple chances to practice predicting by asking the question, “What might happen next?” 

9. The Little Old Lady That Wasn’t Afraid of Anything

The Little Old Lady That Wasn’t Afraid of Anything by Linda D. Williams and Megan Lloyd is one of the best children’s books out there. This story follows a little old lady who goes on a walk through the forest looking for herbs, nuts, and seeds and on her way home meets various clothing items that try to scare her, but she keeps telling them that she is not afraid of anything! This book is great for your older children who wouldn’t be afraid of scary clothing items following a lady home. 

BONUS: If you like this story then it would be worth it to check out the different old lady series of books to add to your list of great speech therapy books. Covering the following favorite topics: There Was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Clover, There Was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Bell, There Was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Rose, There Was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Chick, There Was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Turkey, etc.

• L Sound – lady, little, left, long, look, locked, old, walk, suddenly, stumbled, whistled, bravely, silly, middle, wiggle, still
• L-Blends – clomp, gloves, sliver, black, clap, closed
• S Sound – seeds, suddenly, so, safe, sat, saw, said, seemed, forest, whispered, whistled, inside, once, nuts, pants, pace, us
• S-Blends – spices, started, stopped, stop, sliver, stumbled, scary, scare
• Z Sound – closed, was, herbs, spices, seeds, shoes, gloves
• R Sound – ran, rocked, afraid, afternoon, forest, orange, early, farther, through, shirt, scary, started, sliver, herbs, dark, whispered, garden, her, far, were, hear, faster, near, door, chair, fire, answer, ear
• T Sound – time, two, talk, tall, afternoon, cottage, started, faster, nuts, pants, startled, brighten, whistled, left, not, went, forest, collect, night, shirt, white, hat, out, quite, fast, sat, quiet, next
• Clothing Vocabulary – As you go through the story, have your child or student label the different clothing items (gloves, hat, shoes, pants, shirt).
• Verbs – Have the student retell you what action each clothing item took. For example, “The pants wiggled.” To take it one step further you could have the child act out the action verb.
• Answering WH-Questions – Ask your students wh-questions. For example, “Which item goes clap, clap?”, “Why was the old lady in the forest?”, “Where was the old lady headed to after it got dark?”, or “What action does the hat do?”
• Sound Effects – Have your child or student act out the different sound effects, such as “pants wiggling” or “gloves clapping”. (Shoes – stomp your feet, Pants – wiggle your body, Shirt – shake your arms, Hat – nod your head, Gloves – clap your hands).
• Categorization – If you have some play clothes or pictures of clothing items you could have the child practice separating out the clothes into different categories. For example, you could have your child or student identify clothing that fall into summer clothes versus winter clothes. 

SEE ALSO: 21 Best Reinforcement Games for Speech Therapy

10. polar bear, polar bear, what do you hear.

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do You Hear by Bill Martin Jr. & Eric Carle is a fun and adaptive book that you can use to work on animal vocabulary, animal sounds, sequencing, and answering wh-questions. This story is similar to Brown Bear, Brown Bear in that each animal introduces the next animal and the sound it makes.

• Vocalic R – roaring, leopard, ear, snorting, snarling, hear, polar bear, boa constrictor, zookeeper
• Initial H – hear, hippopotamus, hissing
• L Sound – lion, leopard, flamingo, elephant, snarling, yelping, walrus, bellowing, whistling, children, growling, polar bear, fluting, 
• Vocabulary Animal Names – As you go through the story, have your child or student label the different animals (lion, polar bears, hippo, zebra, snake “boa constrictor”, elephant, peacock, leopard, walrus, and flamingo).
• Symbolic Noises – Have your child identify the different animal sounds as you come across each animal in the story. 
• Answering WH-Questions – Answering the question, “[animal name] what do you hear?”

Here is an additional idea to expand on the book activity.

• Categorization – If you have some play animals you could have the child practice separating out the play animals into the different categories. For example, you could have your child or student identify animals that fall in all three animal categories of pets, farm animals, and zoo animals. 

Digital Version: Ends at 3:45

11. Dear Zoo

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell is one of those highly engaging flap books about a young boy who writes to the zoo asking them to send him a pet. The illustrations along with the lifting of the flaps helps to encourage joint attention in a fun and interactive way.

• B Initial – This book is perfect for working on the b sound, because on every page you send the animal ‘back’ and each animal comes in a ‘box’.
• Basic Concepts – You can have the child or student work on the concepts ‘ open ’ and ‘ close ’ as they use the flaps. In addition, each animal is given a description, such as “the elephant is too big ” or “the giraffe is too tall ” allowing the student to work on even more concepts.
• Answering WH-Questions – This book is perfect for wh-questions. For example, after reading the story together you could ask, “Why couldn’t the boy keep the giraffe for a pet?” The child could then answer, “Because the giraffe is too tall and it couldn’t fit through the front door of my house.”
• Answering Yes/No Questions – As you go through the story you could point to an animal and then ask a yes or no question about that specific animal. For example, you could point to the elephant and ask is an elephant purple?
• Vocabulary – You can have your child or student practice filling in the blanks at the end of the repetitive sentences by naming the animal under the flaps.
• Multisyllabic Words – Another fun activity you could try would be to count or clap out the number of syllables in naming each animal. For example, el-e-phant has 3 syllables.
• Categorization – Categorization is a great vocabulary activity. Have your child or student identify animals that fall in all three animal categories of pets, farm animals, and zoo animals. If you have some play animals you could have the child practice separating out the play animals into the different categories.
• Reasoning Skills – You could also work on reasoning skills by asking your student what their favorite animal is and have them explain why it is their favorite animal.
• Nursery Rhymes – You could even throw in a nursery rhyme, such as Hey, Diddle, Diddle and categorize the animals or make their symbolic noises as well for some extra fun!

12. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day!

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst is all about a boy named Alexander who ends up having one thing after another go wrong. However, it might make these very bad days easier when you know it happens to other people as well.

• Why did the author write a story about a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day?
• Is there a lesson we can learn from the story?
• Did Alexander behave appropriately?
• Is there any time in the story when he could have behaved differently? Would this have helped make the day better?
• Did he make good choices?
• What did Alexander’s mother say to help him solve his problem?
• Could she have said something that would have helped him solve his problem?
• Sequencing – After reading the story, have students practice sequencing by ordering the events first, next, then, to last.
• What happened to Alexander’s sweater?
• What did Alexander find in his cereal box?
• What number did Alexander skip when counting at school?
• What did Alexander draw in his invisible picture?
• Vocabulary – This story is filled with some great vocabulary practice words such as cereal, sailboat, skateboard, shoestore, downstairs, carsick, crybaby, railroad, undercover, cupcakes

Language Expansion:

For language expansion, carry on from your prediction lesson and predict that Alexander wakes up the next morning to the start of a great day! Have your students write a story about his day. You could also prompt your students to write a story about a terrible, no good, very bad day in their own life. How would their day go badly from waking up to going to bed to fall asleep? Have them title their own story similarly. 

13. Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak is a fun and exciting book all about a boy named Max who dresses up in a wolf outfit and pretends to set sail to an island inhabited by Wild Things who end up naming Max king. 

• R Articulation: rolled, roared, room, forest, terrible, around, mother, year, far, supper
• R Blends Articulation: grew, private, through, trick, frightened
• When did Max sail off?
• Who called Max a wild thing first?
• Who did Max threaten to eat?
• Where did Max go in his boat?
• Why did Max’s mother send him to bed?
• What did the wild things do when they saw Max?
• Vocabulary – Practice the following vocabulary words with your students: mischief, private, wild, terrible, claws, frightened, cried, supper, lonely
• Story Retell – After reading the story, have your students retell it in a few sentences to practice retelling.
• Compare and Contrast – Have your students compare and contrast Max to the Wild Things.

SEE ALSO: 179+ Free Speech Therapy Wh Questions Printable

14. The Giving Tree

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein follows the main characters a boy and a tree about the gift of giving and the acceptance of another’s ability to love in return. This book is a great read with a great message all about love and acceptance.

• Vocabulary – Review these vocabulary words with your students as you read through this story: love, swing, eat, hide, sleep, play, carry, shake, cut, sail, sit, rest, build, speak
• What do you think Shel Silverstein wanted us to learn from reading this story?
• How did the boy treat the tree throughout the story?
• Why do you think the tree is so giving to the boy?
• What problems were solved for the boy by the tree?
• What could the tree have done differently?
• Did the tree have to give all of herself away?
• Story retell – After reading the story, have your students retell it in a few sentences to practice retelling.
• Compare and Contrast – Compare and contrast the boy vs the tree.

Great Resource List

If you want additional effective tools or resources that go along with these great stories to work on your student’s specific targets then be sure to check out the following freebies.

If you need other children’s speech therapy book lists then you will want to check out my complete list of 15+ interactive books for speech therapy .

Little Kids

Here are a few different ways to work on your child’s ability to retell past events using these fun visuals. 

• Sequencing and Retelling Short Stories FREEBIE by Speech Language Lady is a great short story for story to read and then practice retelling in sequential order. Cut and glue the story back into order to practice retelling with your young students.
• The Mitten – Retell a Story by Building a Foundation is a whole retell activity to set that accompanies a short story. Print in color or black and white!
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears Retelling Pictures and Story Cards by Courtney N is a clear, ready to go activity to help teach retelling. This includes free story cards and a pocket chart station to be used with a big group when reading the story.
• Retell Story Hands by Blue SKies with Jennifer White is an activity that uses hands to identify the setting, plot and characters to help students gather details to retell the story.

In Conclusion: Children’s Books for Speech Therapy

We hope you have found this article helpful for finding some awesome children’s books for speech therapy and the best way to use each book within your next therapy session. 

Want Even More Lesson Plans for Speech Therapy?

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A selection of some of the best children’s books for encouraging speech and language development in young children. Use the filter function to search for specific speech and language goals within these books.

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• Baby & Toddler
• Household Items
• Occupations
• Descriptive Sequence
• Action Sequence
• Reaction Sequence
• Abbreviated Episode
• Complete Episode
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• Character Flaw
• Conquering the Monster
• Finding Tale
• Journey Tale
• Losing Tale
• Meeting Tale
• Rags to Riches
• Repetitive Tale
• Tale of Fear
• Warning Tale
• Wishing Tale
• Traditional Opening
• Character Description
• Initiating Event
• Direct Character Speech
• Repetition for Emphasis
• Descriptive
• Functions of Items
• Parts of Object
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• Similarities
• Explain Means to a Goal
• Identify Obstacles to a Goal
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• Adjectives (Describing Words)
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• Copulas (Is/Are/Was/Were)
• Plurals - regular
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• Superlatives
• Tense - present progressive
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• Verbs - action
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• Copying Sounds
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100+ Children’s Books for Speech Language Development

100+ Children’s Books for Speech-Language Development

Categorized by target sounds.

Reading to your child is so important, especially if your child has a speech or language disorder. Reading aloud to your child will activate their imagination, expand their understanding of the world around them and help them develop their expressive (talking) and receptive (listening / understanding) language skills. Your child’s brain is developing each and every day from birth, so start reading to your children daily, right away.

Need help finding a book? The speech and language pathologists at Kidmunicate have compiled a growing list of 100+ Children’s books for speech language development. We arranged the list based on sounds. So if your pre-schooler or school age child is having a problem producing a particular sound then choose a book from that sound category and emphasize the sound. It’s important to note that a child practicing a sound incorrectly can be counterproductive. It’s always a good idea to work with a pediatric speech pathologist first. A good pediatric speech pathologist will teach your child how to produce the sound correctly and will also show you how to coach your child.

We also assembled a list of books that build a child’s vocabulary. We have arranged a list of books for animals, clothing, body parts, counting, colors, food, and prepositions. Check them out below.

Here are some tips for reading children’s books for speech-language development:

Tips for reading to infants and toddlers

• Read to your child daily because his or her brain is developing every day.
• It’s ok to read your child’s favorite book over and over again. The repetition will help, but continue to expose them to other great books.
• Chose books with rhymes.
• Choose books with a wide variety of vocabulary words. (Animals, colors, body parts, clothing, numbers, etc.)
• Build up their reading time tolerance. Start with shorter sessions and continually add time.
• Point to and talk about the pictures.
• Ask your child questions. Where is the dog?
• Read the story and then pause to let them fill in the words. Use real objects like plastic animals, cars or food to allow your child to see, hear and feel the objects you are reading about.
• Relate the story to them if you can. The bear is a baby just like you.
• For toddlers, follow the words spoken with your finger to connect the words with the sounds.

Tips for reading to pre-schoolers and school children

• Read to your child daily. Again his or her brain is developing every day.
• Read books that are on their reading level.
• Emphasize sounds or syllables that your child may be struggling with. We have listed the books by sounds to help you find some great books to use to practice particular sounds.
• Ask your child questions about the sounds. What sound does baby? – Pointing to it to start. What other words start with a /b/ sound?
• Relate the story to them if you can.
• Encourage them to read as much as they can. When they get tired, you can pick up where they left off.
• It is still a good idea to read to them often even after they know how to read.
• Read the story and then pause to let them fill in the words. (Emphasize trouble sounds)
• Use real objects like plastic animals, cars, or food to allow your child to see, hear, and feel the objects you are reading about.
• If you have both an infant or toddler and a school-age kid, it’s ok to read to different stages at the same time because children love stories. Read a book for the school-age child, then have the school-age child help you read a book for the infant or toddler.

The children’s books for speech-language development listed below are linked to Amazon. Full disclosure, if you purchase a book through our site we receive a small commission that we use to run the site and create more content. Thank you for supporting our site with your purchases.

One Comment

Thank you for this wonderful list!

I’ve created a FREE eBook that is perfect for October. It is targeting the “g” sound but all of my K-2 students seem to love it. I hope you’ll check it out and pass along the word: https://www.amazon.com/Ghostly-Night-Jeanette-Stickel-ebook/dp/B01MCSV4KE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1476444928&sr=8-2&keywords=jeanette+stickel

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A website dedicated to helping SLPs use PLAY-BASED speech and language therapy so they can save time and have fun!   

The best books for preschool speech therapy.

How do you teach toddlers and preschooler to love books? By making them an active part of the reading process!!

Books are a perfect speech therapy tool for targeting everything from articulation, to wh-questions, to expressive language, to apraxia of speech! Not to mention they are a great way to build vocabulary and story retell skills.

I am sharing FOUR types of books (and my favourite five of each type) that keep toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners students engaged the entire time - even the wiggly ones!

1) Lift the Flap Books: There is something about that element of surprise that children just love! You can easily build anticipation by showing just a part of what is under the flap or slowly lifting the flap.

Some of my favourites are:

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell - watch it on Youtube here

Where is Maisy by Lucy Cousins - watch it on Youtube here

Peek a Who by Nina Laden - watch it on YouTube here

Do Crocs Kiss? by Salina Yoon - watch it on YouTube

Let's Go to the Farm by Fisher Price - watch it on YouTube

2) Repetitive Books: The benefits of repetitive books are that children can predict what is going to be on the next page, making it easy for them to fill in the blanks. The familiar text also helps them comprehend the story. Some of my favourites are:

Oh No! It's a Boo Boo! by Anna Dee SLP

Dada by Jimmy Fallon - watch it on YouTube here

Everything is Mama by Jimmy Fallon- watch it on YouTube here

Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can you?- watch it on YouTube here

Who's Making that Mess? by Phillip Hawthorn - watch it on YouTube

To read all about all of the benefits of repetitive books, check out this blog post!

3) Action Books: Books that encourage kids to MOVE are perfect for little ones. Some of my favorites are:

Shake a Leg by Constance Allen - watch it on Youtube here

Repetitive Season Books by Anna Dee SLP

Dance by Matthew Van Fleet - watch it on YouTube here

We're going on a Bear Hunt by Micheal Rosen & Helen Oxenbury - watch it on YouTube here

Dancing Feet by Lindsey Craig and Marc Brown - watch it on YouTube here

4) Interactive Books: Books with moveable pieces and tasks for littles ones to complete are a serious game changer. There is something about giving a child a job to do that makes them super accountable and focused. Some of my favorites are:

Tails by Matthew Van Fleet - watch it on Youtube here

There's a Monster in Your Book - watch it on Youtube here

Hi-Five Animals by Ross Burach - watch it on YouTube here

Never touch a monster - watch it on Youtube

Poke a Dot Book Series (They are all SOO good

I hope this list helps you find some new favourite books that you can use with your little ones.

Want to grab a free repetitive and interactive book from my store?

Grab Is that your Poo for free - it's available as a BOOM card or PDF !

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Top 10 Children’s Books for Speech Therapy

Whew!  Those are my top 10!  It was really, really, really hard to make this list…so you know I have another one coming 🙂  Be on the lookout for Part 2, as well as my upcoming post on books that go with every theme I use in my theme therapy calendar !

Are any of these stories in your top 10???  What do you have that you can't live without?

Please share!

I love Brown Bear, Brown Bear! I used it all the time with my elementary groups! Great list!

You can’t be a pediatric SLP and not have that book! Thanks!

I love all your books.. especially Swimmy and The Giving Tree. I also love the Story of Ferdinand (the bull) , Caps for Sale, and Danny and the Dinosaur. The Snow Lion, Are You my Mother, and Blueberries for Sal are others I have enjoyed using throughout the years. Can’t forget Amelia Bedilia, Curious George, and Berenstein Bears…. I love books! 🙂 and love your site so much. Thank you for taking time and sharing!!

Do any of you use themes with your older students (5th-8th)? I am struggling this year for some reason with these kids. I really want to use literature but I cant seem to find book companions for this age. Any suggestions?

Hi Kira! With older students, I typically use whatever is being used in the classroom, whether its a text book or curriculum materials. I hope that helps!

Great books!!! I’ve never read Inch by Inch. Al the rest I love!

Thanks CC! I grew up reading Leo Lionni books, so I might be biased! I love his stories 🙂 Inch by Inch is so good because the worm plays a trick on the bird to get out of harms way…good inferencing! My kiddos love it!

I recently purchased “How I Became A Pirate” at one our book fairs. I am thinking about adding a Pirate theme this year. I can’t live without “Big Pumpkin”, “The Night Before…” series, and “The Rowdy Rooster”. Great Picks!

Love HOW I BECAME A PIRATE ; the Ebook version is the best. I have recently gotten into the LARRY GETS LOST series. Larry the dog gets lost in various cities across the United States. Great fun and good for learning about big cities.

I will have to check that out! Thanks, Jan!

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Spring Books for Literacy-based Speech Therapy

Reading books with children encourages a love for literature, provides multiple opportunities to build vocabulary in a meaningful way, and an engaging way to build speech and language skills.  These are a few of my favorite Spring-themed books and a short-list of targeted goals that can be addressed using the books.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Frog by Lucille Colandro

SOUND SYSTEMS: Target velars, fricatives, glides, and consonant blends easily with this adorable story!  Students can even practice carryover of their sounds (k, g, s, l, sh, th, r, blends) while targeting language concepts too.

LANGUAGE: Target identification and labeling of basic vocabulary found in the print and in the pictures, work on wh-questions and yes/no questions, description of items, irregular past tense verbs, and practice sequencing and story retell!

Too Many Carrots by Katy Hudson

SOUND SYSTEMS: Target velars, fricatives, glides, and consonant clusters (k, g, s, sh, th, l, r, clusters) easily with this cute story about a little rabbit with too many carrots and some wonderful friends.

LANGUAGE: Target semantic features (functions, part/whole, description), adjectives, answering wh-questions, and story retell!

Bear Wants More by Karma Wilson & Jane Chapman

SOUND SYSTEMS: Target velars, fricatives, glides, and consonant clusters (k, g, s, sh, th, l, r, clusters) in this story. Students can work on the generalization of their articulation skills while summarizing the story.

LANGUAGE:  Target vocabulary building for adjectives, using context clues to build vocabulary for Tier II verbs, and answering wh-questions!

If you do not want to go through the books and make your own lists, I have created an easy cheat sheet for articulation words and language concepts you can target for each book!  You can grab your free cheat sheet below.

• Read more about: Facilitate Speech and Language , Freebie , Literature , Therapy Ideas

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LEAP YEAR-THEMED ACTIVITIES AND RESOURCES for SPEECH and LANGUAGE THERAPY

I am excited that this year is a leap year and that I can incorporate leap day stories, videos, and activities into my therapy sessions.

St. Patrick’s Day Themed Activities and Resources for Speech and Language Therapy

Looking for new St. Patrick’s Day activities and resources to incorporate into your classroom or speech therapy sessions? Check out this list of ideas.

Rainbow Themed Activities and Resources for Speech and Language Therapy

Looking for rainbow-themed activities and resources to build language skills and to kick off Spring? Check out these engaging suggestions that you can incorporate into your classroom or speech therapy lesson plans.

Meet Tamatha

Tamatha Cauckwell is an ASHA certified Speech Language Pathologist with experience working in a variety of settings. Prior to obtaining her Masters in Communicative Sciences and Disorders, she was an SLP Assistant, a Self-contained Special Education Teacher, and a Preschool Teacher and Director. Her combined professional career experiences have given her a unique outlook and understanding regarding behavior management and collaborative needs when working with other professionals, colleagues, and families.

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Speech & Language Activities

Children’s Books about Speech Disorders

Books are a wonderful way to teach children about people who communicate in a way that is unfamiliar. They can also help children with a speech disorder feel less alone, knowing that others have gone through the same struggles.  Below is a list of children’s books about speech disorders. (If you have more suggestions to add, please leave a comment below!)

This post contains affiliate links, which means we could receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended.

Children’s Books about Speech Disorders:

This award-winning book describes a “bad speech day” for the narrator. His father picks him up from school and relates his talking to his favorite place (the river), including its rapids and its calm spots. This book is a beautifully written, sincere read based on the author’s experiences with stuttering.

Childhood Apraxia of Speech:

This book is about an elementary-aged boy who cannot verbally speak due to CAS. The story describes how he is treated at school and how his mother works with the school to teach the boy and the other students that being different is okay. It also highlights some of the positive outcomes from going through difficult times such as developing persistence, grit, and self-acceptance. This story is based on the author’s real-life experiences.

This story uses simple text to send a message about “listening with your heart, not just your ears” and that “friendship goes beyond words.” It is a great read for classes of younger children because it gives ideas of how to play and interact with a classmate who communicates differently. It also mentions the use of an AAC device.

Selective Mutism

Lola loves to talk until she starts school. Then her words disappear! This story follows Lola as she finds new ways to get her words to come back. This book includes techniques for anxiety management, specifically used for children with selective mutism.

The Quiet Little Clam

Articulation:

Rodney Rat cannot say his /r/ sound and tends to stay quiet rather than deal with the other rodents making fun of him. When a bully joins the class, it’s Rodney who outwits her and saves the day.

This story is about a pirate who can’t make his /r/ sound.  Barnacle Joe teaches him to make the sound (and gives helpful reminders for articulatory placement to the reader). The pirate then travels all around saying, “arrr!” This book is really more for practicing the /r/ sound, but also shows a character who works to correct his sound errors successfully.

Great to Read to Classes That Are New to Inclusion:

This story is about five children who have disabilities or complex medical conditions (not just speech disorders, but one child uses AAC). They love to read, play, tell jokes, and make friends. It teaches that it is okay to ask questions about differences – and about similarities!

RELATED: Using Visuals to Teach WH- Questions

Here is another book about being a friend with a boy who communicates in a unique way.

I hope you find some of these useful. I would love to add to this list – please post in the comments if you have any books to recommend!

Speech Therapy resources you might enjoy:

Winter Speech Therapy Activities and Ideas

Spring Speech Therapy Themes

Tianna Attends The Magical Art Show

Books are an excellent approach to teach children about people who communicate in unusual ways. They can also make youngsters with speech disorders feel less alone by letting them know that they are not alone. Thank you!

Sugarsnap The Valentine's Card Fairy

Thank you for this reliable blog, I gained a lot of tips. This article is indeed useful. Must read.

Felicia The Book Fairy

I’d go so far as to call this one a “can’t-miss” piece of writing! Great work. I adore it, and the advice is quite helpful.

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Speech Development & Practice Is Hard - These Books Make It Fun!

As seen on the 'Independent' "Best Gifts To Give a One Year Old According to Parents and Childcare Experts"

Our books are available on Amazon, or use the IndieBound link to find a local bookstore you can order them through.

Early sounds books for toddlers, 3 year olds, and 4 year olds. Later Sounds books for ages 4-7 years.

The perfect children's books for daycare centers, pre-school classrooms, kindergarten classes, and even better...home!

Please note: These books are 100% created and printed in the United States.

Created in Hawaii, these books are printed in facilities across the United States, primarily in Pennsylvania and Kentucky.

Speech and Language Skills - In a Picture Book

Speech develops through a mixture of repetition, imitation, and practice. Two key elements for learning speech are hearing how the different pieces of speech sound, and watching how those individual sounds are made.

Normal speech development varies from child to child, but the research is clear: reading to and with children helps build language comprehension and strengthen verbal expression. The purpose and goal of Phonological and Articulation Children's Books (P.A.C.B.) is to promote early language learning skills, and to provide targeted speech sound practice for children as they develop. These books are also excellent for including extra practice for children in speech therapy, or with delayed speech.

Each book provides 140-300+ opportunities for kids to see, hear, and practice the sounds specified in the subtitles.

Please check out the "Resources by Sound" tab. This section provides free specific sound resources that support fun activities, instructional sounds videos, song lyrics (based on P.A.C.B. stories) that pair with nursery rhyme melodies, and additional tips to guide parents as they help their children with sound learning.

Our sound resource tabs also provide the typical age of mastery for the sounds. Mastery essentially means that the average person can understand your child when they make that sound (e.g., for "m" "Mom" "Maybe" and "Mine" would be understandable).

Thanks for joining us here - we love to hear all about how our books and resources are being enjoyed. Please tag us in Social Media (Instagram: @p.a.c.b.speech) posts, or send a fun story or photo to [email protected] . It really makes the hard work worth it!

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10 Terrific Storybooks for Speech Therapy and How To Use Them.

What are your favorite story books for speech therapy.

That’s what I asked nine talented SLP blogger friends and I’m excited to share their favorites with you and check them out for myself!

If you’ve stopped by Speech Sprouts before, you know I think literature-based therapy is terrific. The cat’s meow. Awesome. Outstanding. The bee’s knees. Fabulous. (Maybe I like synonyms and idioms a little bit too?)

Find some new favorite story books for speech therapy in this list

There are a few books here that are new to me too. I can’t wait to head to the library to check out these adorable children’s books.

Of course I’ll share one of my favorites too. I hope you find several perfect for your own speech therapy literacy-based sessions. So here goes:

1. The Pout-Pout Fish Goes To School by Deborah Diesen

Ashley from Sweet Southern Speech shares how she uses the Pout Pout Fish in speech therapy. She writes, “ The Pout-Pout Fish series of books offer an excellent opportunity to use imagery for vocabulary building. Just look at his face on the cover!” 

2.  Aunt Isabel Tells a Good One  by Kate Duke

6. Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell

Colette from The Speech Meadow shares this favorite in her blog post on Bringing Children’s Lit Into Speech . She says Dear Zoo is not only great for teaching the names of different zoo animals, but it also uses describing words such as jumpy, fierce, grumpy and naughty which might be new to the children. Children love to act out the different descriptions!

7.  The Apple Pie Tree  by Zoee Hall

I hope you’ve discovered a couple new story book titles for your speech therapy room., now, where’s my library card  i’m going to need it.

• Read more about: Language , Storybooks

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8 spring books for speech therapy.

• Books , Easter , Language Bookmarks , Literacy-Based Speech Therapy , Seasonal

Spring Books In Speech Therapy

Although this post focuses on goals to target WHILE reading, make sure to check out my post on evidence-based, pre-reading strategies to implement before you even open the book!

Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms by Julia Rawlinson

I LOVE this author. This story is exquisitely illustrated and Fletcher is as sweet as ever trying to take care of his friends. Language goals I use it for:

-Sequencing: there is a specific order of animals he sees as he warns them about the “snow”

-Social/Emotional

-Vocabulary

-Figurative Language

Up In The Garden, Down In The Dirt by Kate Messner

Kids love crawly bugs! The vocabulary is rich and the text is full of opportunities to discuss how all living things serve a purpose to us.

Language goals I use it for:

-Story Recall

-Writing Prompts

Too Many Carrots by Katy Hudson

This cute book is great for social scenarios and a great opportunity for discussing putting others before yourself & being a good friend as well as problem/resolution topics.

-Sequencing

The Night Gardener by The Fan Brothers

Something about this book is captivating and mesmerizing. The detailed sketched illustrations throughout tell their own story and provide as much to discuss as the text itself. It’s truly like no other book I’ve seen. The opportunities to discuss setting and mood are ideal.

-Character traits/development

-Story recall

Bear Wants More by Karma Wilson

Who doesn’t love Bear books? I probably have all of them. He’s just so lovable and he has such devoted friends. I love discussing “community” with my students with these books.

-Compare/contrast

-Synonyms and Homonyms

Bee: A Peek-Through Picture Book by Britta Techentrup

Bees get a bad rap, but boy do we need them! A great “science-y” book that has phenomenal tier 2 and 3 vocabulary!

Language goals I use it for: -Vocabulary (hue, dense, trace, burs…)

When Spring Comes by Kevin Henkes

-Syntax: great use of complex sentence structure throughout

– Compare/Contrast: this book perfectly describes the differences we see/hear/feel in winter vs. spring

– Describing and EET

– Categories: sort items for winter and spring

I’d love to share these spring language bookmarks with you!

Garden by Anna Milbourne

This is a great little Usborne board book for younger kids. If you are working on positional concepts, this is your book! So many opportunities in this lift-a-flap book to work on describing skills.

language concepts I use it for:

-verbs: fluttering, scampers, buzzing, collecting, diving, pulling, nibbling, munching, clambers

-onomatopoeia: (a middle school concept!) squeak, buzz, munch, nibble – these sound words would be fun to act out!

-positional words: around, under, beside, behind, etc.

-sequencing: the order of the animals in the story that the mouse came across (use photos to review order or manipulatives like these or these ).

-categories: sort out things in a garden vs. other places (farm, ocean, etc.)

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The Best Christmas Books for Speech Therapy

12/31/2020 by Jenna 1 Comment

Are you looking for Christmas books for speech therapy? Can you tell that writing book reviews is my jam? If you aren’t already following along on instagram , I have a speech room library page that I solely use for book reviews. I created blog posts for my favorite Fall Picture Books About Leaves and the Top 17 Thanksgiving Picture Books You Need To Know for Speech and Language Therapy. So let’s keep going and discuss the best Christmas books to use during speech therapy!

First and foremost, before you work with any students, make sure to interview their parents regarding the holidays that they celebrate. My school sends home a parent questionnaire and that allows us to know exactly what each family celebrates so that we can make sure each celebration is included. 

At my school, we’ve always focused on celebrating the lights of different holidays. It’s a great way to include all holidays. You can read more about how I do this HERE? Another way that you can still have fun during the month of December and not have to worry about any religious holidays within your families is by doing a Gingerbread theme. Gingerbread is a great theme because you can use it with all students and there are SO many ways to have fun with gingerbread . Check out my favorite gingerbread toys, activities and teletherapy ideas!

I separated these Christmas books for speech therapy into two different categories-books to use for Early Intervention and books to use for Preschool/ Elementary age students. You can find most of these books on Amazon. Affiliate links are included.

Christmas Books for Early Intervention:

• Santa’s Cookie is Missing-Illustrated by Anne Passchier 

📊Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

✏️ Summary: In this Christmastime mystery, we follow the trail of Santa’s missing cookie. Where did it go? Did someone take it? In the end, readers will find out what happened to Santa’s cookie. Hint: it just might involve the family dog . . . and cat. Baby Beckett LOVES the big die cut center holes in this one! It’s an instant favorite for the baby in our house!

👄 Speech Sounds: K, S

🧠 Language: Where, Inferencing, Labeling Holiday Vocabulary, Labeling locations

📱 AAC: where, look, find, it

👑 Book Type: Picture Book, Board Book

🌳 Themes: Christmas

👦🏽 👧🏻 Ages: EI, Preschool 

• Where’s Santa Claus? Illustrated by Ingela Arrhenius

📊Publisher: @NosyCrow

✏️ Summary: I am a big fan of these felt Flap Books from @NosyCrow because they are easy for the little hands to navigate and if your student has fine motor delays, they can still participate. Five beautifully illustrated spreads show a series of friendly Christmassy creatures hiding behind bright felt flaps. With gold foil on the cover and a mirror on the final page, this is a perfect book to share with very little ones.

👄 Speech Sounds: n/a

🧠 Language: where, labeling, book skills

📱 AAC: where, there, look, find

👑 Book Type: Flap Book, Board Book, Fine Motor Book

👦🏽 👧🏻 Ages: EI

• Jingle, Jingle by Sebastien Braun

📊Publisher: Nosy Crow

✏️ Summary: Large, colorful illustrations capture the holiday season in this “Can You Say It, Too?” flip the flap book. You’ll flip the flap to see what is hidden behind Santa sleigh, a snowman, a blue door and a Christmas tree. The toddler will not only discover the name of the hidden creature but also learn to make the same sound the creature makes. 

👄 Speech Sounds: Environmental sounds, Animal noises

🧠 Language: WHO questions, 

📱 AAC: look, find, who

👑 Book Type: Board Book, Lift the Flap, Picture Book

👦🏽 👧🏻 Ages: EI, Preschool

• Click, Clack, Ho, Ho, Ho by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin 

📊Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

✏️ Summary: It’s the night before Christmas and all through the farm, not a creature is stirring, not even a…duck?

Farmer Brown is busy decorating his home in preparation for Santa’s arrival on Christmas Eve! All seems calm in the barnyard, but Farmer Brown isn’t the only one who is getting ready…

Once again, Duck has gotten the whole barnyard STUCK in quite a predicament! Will anyone be able to un-stuck Duck and save Christmas?

👄 Speech Sounds: K, R, S blends, CV and VC (Ho, Ho, Uh-oh)

🧠 Language: simple retelling, labeling nouns and verbs

📱 AAC: down, no, bad, good, help

👑 Book Type: Picture Book, Repetitive Text

👦🏽 👧🏻 Ages: EI,  Preschool, Early Elementary

• Little Blue Truck’s Christmas by Alice Schertle Illustrated by Jill McElmurry

📊Publisher: Houghton Milton Harcourt

✏️ Summary: It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Little Blue Truck is spreading cheer by delivering Christmas trees to his animal friends. Can you help count each green tree from one to five and back again? Don’t forget to save one for Blue! Beep! Beep! With the gentle rhythm and signature illustration style that made Little Blue Truck a household name, Blue’s new adventure is full of holiday warmth. Sturdy cardstock pages, a compact and child-friendly text, and flashing colored Christmas lights on the final page come together in a novelty gift book that’s sure to be the favorite treat of the season.

👄 Speech Sounds: CVC, P, B, K, R blends, 

🧠 Language: Counting, lab

📱 AAC: give, that, here, more, less

👑 Book Type: Picture book, counting book, rhyming book

🌳 Themes: Christmas 

👦🏽 👧🏻 Ages: Preschool, EI

• That’s not my Reindeer by Fiona Watt

📊Publisher: Usborne

✏️ Summary: Very young children will delight in meeting the soft and furry reindeer in this colorful touchy-feely book. With simple, repetitive text on every page, children will enjoy joining in and exploring the textures, including a fuzzy neck, velvety ears and a hairy tail.

👄 Speech Sounds: R

🧠 Language: pronoun “my”,  negation “not”, expanding MLU

📱 AAC: Not, My

👑 Book Type: Repetitive Text

Christmas Books for Preschool/ Elementary:

• Santa Claus the World’s Number One Toy Expert by Marla Frazee

✏️ Summary: How does Santa know how to match the exact right toy with the exact right kid every December? He knows because he’s the world’s number one kid and toy and gift expert, and he works long, long hours the whole year through, taking notes, compiling his research, thinking and testing and changing his mind. Then, at last, he gets it all figured out, and on Christmas morning, he makes magic happen.

👄 Speech Sounds: S, L blends

🧠 Language: Process/How to, 

📱 AAC: pick, look, think, find, give

👑 Book Type: Picture Book

👦🏽 👧🏻 Ages: Preschool, Elementary

• Santa Post by Emma Yarlett

📊Publisher: Kane Miller Publishing

✏️ Summary: It’s nearly Christmas Eve when Santa gets a letter – it’s some very late Santa Post. The only problem is, Amy wants just one thing, and Santa can’t read what it is. He asks the elves, Mr. Polar Bear, and the Chief Reindeer for help, and they all do their best, sending back gifts and letters for readers to open, but… is this really what Amy wanted?

👄 Speech Sounds: S, R blends, 3 syllable words, 

🧠 Language: Size words, predicting, perspective taking

📱 AAC: good, bad, 

👑 Book Type: picture book

👦🏽 👧🏻 Ages: Preschool, Early Elementary

• All the Colors of Christmas by Matthew Paul Turner, Illustrated by Gillian Gamble

I just love this look at Christmas! We were given this set from the publisher. For therapy, I would paperclip the section specific to religious Christmas which is just one color in the book.

📊Publisher: Convergent

✏️ Summary: In his trademark style, Matthew Paul Turner celebrates the Christmas season, particularly the colors that infuse the holiday and all the memorable sensations and experiences—including a festive market, sledding, and nativity scene—connected to those bright hues. Matthew draws his readers into a whirling ribbon of the familiar reds and greens of Christmas, as well as other festive hues, including white, gold, blue, and brown.

👄 Speech Sounds: R blends, L blends, S blends

🧠 Language: Colors, Describing, Vocabulary

📱 AAC: look, happy

👑 Book Type: Diverse Characters, Picture Book

• When Santa was a Baby by Linda Bailey & Genevieve Godbout

📊Publisher: Tundra

✏️ Summary: Santa’s parents think their little one is absolutely wonderful , even though he has a booming voice instead of a baby’s gurgle, loves to stand in front of the refrigerator, gives his birthday presents away, trains his hamsters to pull a matchbox sleigh … and has an unusual interest in chimneys. The adorably funny portrait of an oddball kid who fulfills his destiny – and two very proud parents.

👄 Speech Sounds: S, TH, S blends

🧠 Language: inferencing, compare/contrast, predicting

📱 AAC: little, one, same, 

👦🏽 👧🏻 Ages: Early Elementary, Later Elementary

• The Little Reindeer by Nicola Killen

📊Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

✏️ Summary: An enchanting Christmas story about a magical yet unlikely friendship between a little girl and a lost reindeer sure to be a Christmas classic lovingly told and illustrated with red foil highlights and interactive die cuts.

When a jingling sound wakes her from her sleep, a little girl’s dreams come true when she meets a lost reindeer in the forest. They set off on a magical adventure and it becomes a Christmas never to forget. Nicola Killen’s evocative illustrations are sure to enchant in this beautiful book with die cut pages, foil, and flashes of festive red.

👄 Speech Sounds: J, R, L

🧠 Language: figurative language, sequencing, comprehension

📱 AAC: see, look, on, go

• Pick a Pine Tree by Patricia Toht Illustrated by Jarvis

📊Publisher: Walker Books

✏️ Summary: Part of the magic of the Christmas season stems from the traditions that families and friends take part in every year: hanging up stockings; putting lights in the windows; and, one of the most important of all, picking out and taking home the Christmas tree. With style and warmth, debut author Patricia Toht and Jarvis, the author-illustrator of Alan’s Big, Scary Teeth, evoke all the rituals of decorating the tree — digging out boxes jam-packed with ornaments and tree trimmings, stringing tinsel, and, at long last, turning on those twinkling lights. Joyously drawn and rhythmically written, this celebration of family, friends, and the holiday season is as merry as the tradition it depicts.

👄 Speech Sounds: K, R blends, S blends, 

🧠 Language: descriptive adjectives (piney, sappy, scaly, spiky, short, squat, slim), Verbs, Sequencing

📱 AAC: on, off

👦🏽 👧🏻 Ages:  Preschool, Elementary

• Dasher by Matt Tavares

📊Publisher: Candlewick Press

✏️ Summary: Dasher is an adventurous young reindeer with a wish in her heart. She spends her days with her family under the hot sun in a traveling circus, but she longs for a different life — one where there is snow beneath her hooves and the North Star above her head. One day, when the opportunity arises, Dasher seizes her destiny and takes off in pursuit of the life she wants to live. It’s not long before she meets a nice man in a red suit with a horse-drawn sleigh — a man named Santa. And soon, with the help of a powerful Christmas wish, nothing will be the same.

👄 Speech Sounds: R, S, SH, S Blends, TH

🧠 Language: Inferencing, predicting, WH questions

📱 AAC: help, him, find, up

👦🏽 👧🏻 Ages: Elementary

• Little Red Sleigh by Erin Guendelsberger Pictures by Elizaveta Tretyakova

📊Publisher: Source Books

✏️ Summary: The Little Red Sleigh has one big dream―to one day become Santa’s big red sleigh! But all her life, she’s been told she’s too small, she’s too young, she can’t fly, and she certainly can’t meet Santa. Well, this Christmas, with the help of some friends, she’s determined to do the impossible. Little Red Sleigh is a heartwarming children’s Christmas book you’ll want to read again and again. Full of winter joy and Christmas magic, this Christmas book for kids will remind you that no dream is out of reach if you believe.

👄 Speech Sounds: S blends, S, R

🧠 Language: growth mindset, adjectives, sequencing, inferencing, vocabulary

📱 AAC: go, grow, away, help, in, down, find

👑 Book Type: picture book, growth mindset

👦🏽 👧🏻 Ages: preschool, elementary

• The Joyful Book by Todd Parr

📊Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company

✏️ Summary: Whether it’s celebrating a holiday, sharing a meal, or learning new things, The Joyful Book inspires readers of all ages to spread the joy near and far, to loved ones and friends. With his renowned blend of warmth, humor, and heart, Todd Parr encourages young readers to look for all the ways that joy surrounds them.

👄 Speech Sounds: J, 

🧠 Language: “is” sentences 

📱 AAC: same, different, together, happy, that

👑 Book Type:

🌳 Themes: Holidays, Traditions, Christmas

• Red & Lulu by Matt Tavares

📊Publisher: Candlewick Press 

✏️ Summary: Red and Lulu make their nest in a particularly beautiful evergreen tree. It shades them in the hot months and keeps them cozy in the cold months, and once a year the people who live nearby string lights on their tree and sing a special song: O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree. But one day, something unthinkable happens, and Red and Lulu are separated. It will take a miracle for them to find each other again. Luckily, it’s just the season for miracles. . . . From Matt Tavares comes a heart-tugging story combining the cheer of Christmas, the magic of New York City, and the real meaning of the holiday season: how important it is to be surrounded by love.

👄 Speech Sounds: L, R, R blends, 

🧠 Language: Sequencing, inferencing, perspective taking, describing, 

📱 AAC: Go, Together. 

👑 Book Type: Fiction, Picture Book

🌳 Themes: Christmas, Traditions

👦🏽 👧🏻 Ages: Preschool, Elementary, Big Kids

I would love to know -What are your favorite Christmas books for speech therapy?!

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This compendium of clinical practice guidelines and policy statements from the American Academy of Pediatrics helps equip clinicians to provide equitable and inclusive care to vulnerable and underserved pediatric populations. It offers guidance on the care of such populations as immigrant children and their families; children and families who are black, indigenous or people of color; LGBTQ+ youth and their families; and more. Additionally, the compendium covers topics such as substance use disorders, trauma informed care, and care of youth involved in the legal system. Pediatricians, family medicine physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners who care for children will find this collection useful. Available for purchase at https://www.aap.org/Equitable-and-Inclusive-Care-in-Pediatrics-A-Compendium-of-AAP-Clinical-Practice-Guidelines-and-Pol

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