Language, reading, and writing skills begin to develop in the first three years of life. Parents who begin reading to their children early on teach the importance of this skill, and WIC Professionals can help communicate this important message.

A Few Facts:

• Children learn to love the sound of language even before they are able to recognize printed words on a page.
• Reading books aloud to children stimulates and expands their imagination, and is the single most important activity for developing their literacy skills.
• The President of the American Academy of Pediatrics strongly recommends reading daily to children beginning at the age of six months.
• For infants up to 18 months, consider a "library" that includes a collection of nursery rhymes, a bedtime book, a book of simple songs or finger plays, a tactile cloth book or one with textured pages, a simple animal picture book, and at least one "see-and-know" book that introduces common items. Offer brief but frequent read-aloud sessions each day from these books.
• Reading provides a quiet time to spend with your child, and can be a bonding experience.
• Early exposure to reading can lead to a successful start to kindergarten, and it lays the groundwork for future success in life. Storybooks can be a great way to teach your children about food.

Recommended Books from the West Virginia WIC Program

*Books marked with an asterisk were included in the West Virginia WIC Reading Book Distribution. All children under the age of five that participated in WIC, received one of these books for their birthday.

Books for Age One

• One Little Spoonful by Susan Aliki
• Eat by Scholastic (English & Spanish)*
• Baby Food*
• Scratch and Sniff Food
• In the Kitchen*
• Bear Loves Food
• Pat-A-Cake*
• It's Snacktime by Ant Parker
• Cookie Monster's Kitchen

Books for Age Two

• I Like a Snack on an Iceberg by Iris Hisley Arno
• The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear*
• Peanut Butter and Jelly: A Play Rhyme!
• Bear Loves Food
• The Cheerios Play Book
• Jamberry
• Lunch
• One Hungry Monster*
• Ice Cream Everywhere*
• Let's Eat (Spanish edition only)*

Books for Age Three

• I Like a Snack on an Iceberg by Iris Hisley Arno
• Ten Apples on Top*
• The Little Red Hen
• Peanut Butter and Jelly: A Play Rhyme!
• Jamberry
• The Crocodile and the Dentist*
• I'll Never Not Eat a Tomato*
• The Pizza That We Made
• The Best Mouse Cookie
• Hopsalot's Garden
• If You Give a Moose a Muffin
• One Hungry Monster*
• Ord Eats a Pizza
• Ice Cream Everywhere*
• Pancakes for Breakfast
• Today is Monday
• Blueberries for Sal*
• Lunch
• Feast for 10
• Everybody Cooks Rice*
• The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear*

Books for Age Four

• I Like a Snack on an Iceberg by Iris Hisley Arno
• Growing Vegetable Soup
• Scrambled Eggs Super
• The Crocodile and the Dentist*
• I'll Never Not Eat a Tomato*
• How Many Teeth by Paul Showers
• Peanut Butter and Jelly: A Play Rhyme!
• Prudence's Book of Food
• More Spaghetti, I say! (Hello Reader, Level 2)
• Pig Picnic
• Walter the Baker by Eric Carle
• Beef Stew
• Ord Eats a Pizza
• If You Give a Moose a Muffin
• Pete's A Pizza
• The Carrot Seed
• Ice Cream Everywhere*
• Gregory the Terrible Eater*
• Blue's Lunchbox
• One Hungry Monster*
• Feast for 10*
• Everybody Cooks Rice*
• Let's Eat (Spanish only)*
• The Enormous Potato
• The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin

Books for Age Five

• How Have I Grown*
• The Crocodile and the Dentist*
• I'll Never Not Eat a Tomato*
• Scrambled Eggs Super
• More Spaghetti, I say! (Hello Reader, Level 2)
• Peanut Butter and Jelly: A Play Rhyme!
• Eating the Alphabet
• Walter the Baker by Eric Carle
• Pig Picnic
• How Many Teeth by Paul Showers
• Beef Stew
• Stone Soup*
• Ord Eats a Pizza
• Prudence's Book of Food
• The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin
• Mr. Wolf's Pancakes
• Alphabet Soup by Kate Banks
• Pancakes, Pancakes by Eric Carle
• Bread and Jam for Frances
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar
• The Berenstain Bears Cook-It! Breakfast for Mamma
• Gregory the Terrible Eater*
• One Hungry Monster*
• Let's Eat (Spanish only)*
• Feast for 10
• Everybody Cooks Rice*