Two and A Half Year Olds Love Trains, Trucks, and Boats

I don't know why or where my nephew's passion for transportation and construction came from. When he was a baby, there was a construction site literally outside his window for about the entire first year (and a half) of his life. I remember standing at the window just watching and walking down the street with him always gazing at the amazement of the diggers and cranes and dump trucks work! He spent a lot of time at his grandparent's home- which over looks the loading docks of large cargo ships with a passing train off in the distance! My nephew and dad spent hours on the balcony admiring the work and noises below and in the distance.

The Toddlers in my life are obsessed with vehicles: trains, trucks, and boats- oh my! One of the first books that my nephew fell in love with was a book by Kevin Lewis called, Chugga Chugga Choo Choo. A book with heavy rhythm and rhyme. I think my nephew knew the book by heart by the age of one. Guess what the next book was that I got my nephew? That's right, Tugga Tugga Tug Boat! A similar pattern- but with boats at a loading dock.

Because my nephew loves trains so much, I nurtured this love by buying him books that go on the book shelf in the "train section". He has a Smithsonian board book about trains. He of course has the Byron Barton book, Trains (he also has Boats, Planes, and Machines At Work). Donald Crews, one of our family's favorite authors, has a great award winning book, Freight Train. Recently I just bought him a picture book called, The Goodnight Train. For two weeks straight we read and reread his book at least 5 times a night!

Dig Dig Digging and Road Work are two books that my nephew loves to have me reread many times. He too, likes to pick them up and read them on "his own". He also takes his own trucks and acts out the scenes and mimics the language from the book while he plays. If he shows an interest in a topic- I go out and find the books that go with his interests. His vocabulary alone about trucks is more advanced than most adults. Do you know the difference between a loader and a bulldozer?

Peter Sis has a little series of books, Trucks, Trucks, Trucks and Fire Truck that my nephew loves to read. These books are about a little boy named Matt- also obsessed with ...

trucks. The book shows you how he turns his home into a construction zone and into a fire fighting rescue mission. These books are a favorite of ours as well.

If the Toddler in your life loves trains, boats, and trucks- these are just a few books that you can get to feed their passion.

Kids have passions at all ages- even as early as one! Find their passion and follow them with books!

Who Are We?

Dear Member of your own Literary Family,

We are friends and relatives of children at every age! We probably have a love of both the spoken and written word. As we shower the children in our lives with love, who can help but drop pieces of literature, songs, and passion about the world into the hearts and minds of those around us.

Think about who makes up your Literary Family- your own children, nephews/nieces, grandchildren, students, babies and kids of your closet friends? You have the power to help this young person develop into a wise, wordy, intellectual from such a young age. Teach them through different literary genres how to love the world, love themselves and build loving relationships with others!

Weekly, I will try to give you different ways to connect to these kids to help build your own literary family! A family that loves to learn, loves to read, and loves to be with eachother!

Sending you literary joy!