Educational Books For 3-Year-Olds: Imagination and Learning Fun!

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff

If you give a mouse a cookie, he’s going to ask for a glass of milk. And so the story continues in a big circle until the mouse is thirsty again. The adorable pictures and silly consequences will help your little one understand sequencing.

Why I Love This Book: I use this book in speech therapy all the time to work on sequencing and cause and effect. This is a great book to give you question prompts for your little one.
Appropriate for Ages: 2-5
Find this book in Books for a 3-Year-Old to Create a Love of Reading/ Best Books 2-Year-Old / Kids Books About Food / Animal Books

There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback

This is a hilarious and completely ridiculous story about an old lady who eats whole animals. Crazy? Absolutely but, because it is so ridiculous, the story is so much fun to read and is a perfect sequencing book. This Caldecott Honor book has amazing, die-cut illustrations that make this book interactive as well.

The Secret Life of Squirrels by Nancy Rose

The adorable photographs in this book are captivating. As you follow squirrel through his day, your little one can practice sequencing too. What is the first thing Squirrel does? This book is the perfect sequencing book for a three-year-old.

Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann

This book is hilarious and a favorite in our house to this day.  The sweet animals and the completely clueless zookeeper are laugh-out-loud funny.  One of my oldest son’s first words was “armadillo” which says something about how amusing this book is.

Why We Love This Book: This wordless picture book is perfect for making up new stories. It’s a creative exercise in storytelling that will delight over and over.
Appropriate for ages 1-3
Find this book in Zoo Books / Bedtime Stories for Kids / Best Books for 1-year-Olds / Wordless Picture Books / Animal Children’s Books

Frog Goes to Dinner by Mercer Meyer

This wordless picture book is a classic that has me laughing every time I read it. After all, frogs don’t belong in restaurants.

I absolutely love the look on the boy and frog’s faces when they are caught. Work on looking at people’s faces and try to have your child name the emotions.

Tuesday by David Wiesner

David Wiesner has so many wonderful wordless picture books it was hard to choose just one. In this book, frogs take flight with their lily pads on Tuesday night at 8:00.

The details in the picture are extraordinary and make reading this one over and over a new experience every time. Let your child name the silly places the frogs end up. David Wiesner creates amazing educational books for 3-year-olds.

Big Smelly Bear by Britta Teckentrup

This book was a favorite picture book in our house and we still have it sitting within reach to read. Big Smelly Bear is itchy and refuses to take a bath.

He needs some help and makes a friend as well. This book is a must for a three-year-old bookshelf, especially reluctant bathers.

Mother Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins

Bruce is looking for a meal. What he finds instead are three goslings who think Bruce is their mother. Bruce will do anything to be rid of the geese- or will he?

This book is one your three-year-old will want to be read on repeat. You can explore emotions in this book and what it takes to be a good parent.

Peanut Butter and Cupcake by Terry Border

Poor peanut butter is looking for someone to play with. Does peanut butter go with cupcakes?

Not only is this beginning picture book silly, but it also allows your three-year-old to learn about making friends! It’s a great rhyming book too.

Not a Box by Antoinette Portis

The bunny in this book can find amazing things to do with a box. When you read this book with your child, not only will inspire creativity but you will allow them to think “outside the box” literally and figuratively.

After you finish reading it, try setting up a creation station with boxes, paper towel rolls, scraps of paper, tinfoil, googly eyes, and more. This educational book for 3-year-olds is a winner!

I’ve Painted Everything by Scott Magoon

There is no better book to spark creativity than this book in which a painter is searching for inspiration. He learns that it is all about perspective, which is a lesson for everyone.

Grab the paints and paintbrushes and let your little Monet paint a picture of their own after reading.

If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen

When it comes to books for 3-year-olds, this is a must.

This book will spark your child’s imagination as Jack imagines what his dad’s car could do if it were not so boring and bland. Ask your child what their dream car looks like.

Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg

A good imagination book inspires creativity but also teaches a lesson. The lesson in this book? It’s OK to make mistakes.

Beautiful Oops is a 3-D book that shows a mistake, and then how the artist turns it into a masterpiece.

It’s a great book to reference when talking to your children about mistakes and how to fix them.