Choosing Books for Your Classroom Library

It can be difficult to choose children's books for your toddler classes. While you may select some surefire 'hits', there will certainly be 'misses' along the way. A great way to focus your classroom library and story time is to ask for recommendations from other educators, parents, and librarians who work with children on a daily basis. While every child has unique interests and may respond to selections differently, the advice offers a wonderful place to start! It may be easy to strike up a conversation with other educators and the school librarian, but it might prove difficult to reach parents. If this is the case, use your student introduction packets to your advantage. Along with medical forms, student profiles, and emergency contact sheets, at the beginning of each term or school year, provide a 'book list' for parents to fill out. These certainly don't have to be in depth or take too much time, but if each parent provides you with the names of three of their child's favorite books, you'll be well on your way to a spectacular (and loved) classroom library!

If you're still having trouble, check online forums or teacher blogs for inspiration. Here are two inspiring posts from Prudent Baby!

Prudent Baby: Best Books for One Year Olds
Prudent Baby: Best books for under 2

Check out some of the classroom favorites on our shopping site. You may also want to get a couple book display stands to keep all of your books organized!