At different ages, children love to listen and watch different fairy tales. Kids prefer short stories from picture books that help them better understand the meaning. Children 3-4 years old are happy to choose longer fairy tales, with different characters. Older preschoolers prefer adventures and unusual heroes.
Sometimes children refuse to listen to fairy tales and say: “I’m not interested!” Perhaps you simply chose a fairy tale that is not appropriate for your age. On our website you will learn how to choose the right story to read before bed and you will find a whole online selection of fairy tales for children 3-4 years old and other ages.
Content:
- What books do children aged 3-4 years like? Why read to children at this age?
- How to organize reading correctly?
- What should parents pay attention to when choosing literature for this age?
- Books about family values
What is the difference between fairy tales for children 3-4 years old?
- Most often, the main characters of fairy tales are animals or objects, less often people. At the same time, it is immediately clear who is a positive and who is a negative hero.
- The characters' actions are simple and easily explainable. If a child generally loves fairy tales and listens to them often, it will not be difficult for him to predict how it will end, even if he himself is hearing this particular fairy tale for the first time.
- Simple sentences, an abundance of action verbs and adjectives related to color or one, main characteristic - red, kind, big, strong. At the same time, words and images may appear that were previously unfamiliar to the child, especially in folk tales.
- In children's fairy tales for this age, good always triumphs over evil, and therefore they can also be read to older children if they are sensitive to injustice or take everything to heart.
You can listen to fairy tales for children 3-4 years old in the form of audio online, 2-3 short tales at a time without a break, or one long one. Most of the classic stories are presented in good quality in the form of audio tales and performances performed by the best professional artists.
When reading aloud, long bedtime stories can be divided into 2 evenings, although this depends on how tired the child is and how long the parent can read aloud. Out of habit, this activity can be tedious.
For your convenience, we have collected the best fairy tales for children 3-4 years old online so you can start reading today!
What books do children aged 3-4 years like?
We all want to see our children and grandchildren be the very best: smart, savvy, well-mannered, positive-minded. And no gadgets or moral teachings will bring as much benefit as smart books will give them.
Scientists say that while listening to reading, the brain works more than when looking at gadget screens, since the child not only has to develop auditory receptors, but also visualize what he heard.
Engaging multiple mental processes is good training for brain development.
Why read to children at this age?
The age of 3-4 years is a sensitive (favorable) period for speech development and vocabulary replenishment. The books introduce young readers to various forms of sentence construction, the ability to conduct dialogue, and teach them to ask questions. All this will serve well in the formation of competent speech, and in the future, writing.
Reading is a good stimulant for developing a child’s cognitive interest, the desire to learn more about the world around him, and to comprehend the world of relationships in it.
The development of the emotional sphere, formed by books, at this age is not the last factor for personal development. Children already at preschool age give preference in communication to friends who are positively minded and able to clearly express their emotions. These are the people everyone wants to be friends with, play with, and share toys with. Your offspring will never be lonely.
The ability to receive aesthetic pleasure from reading is a gift for which children will be grateful to you all their lives. Give your baby a priceless gift that will stay with him for life.
How to organize reading correctly?
We can say that reading is a kind of sacrament that requires the creation of appropriate conditions. Everything is important here: place, time, mood of the child and adult, choice of book.
Place and time
Choosing a place: everyone should be comfortable and cozy. We find a quiet home corner with warm, dim lighting, sit next to the baby on a soft, comfortable sofa, almost touching each other (this creates an atmosphere of common interests and desires).
Children most often like to organize such book gatherings in the evenings, when mom or dad are no longer in a hurry, and there is still time before bed.
If the child is naughty
And if the little capricious one is not in the mood to get to know the characters of the works and cannot calm down before bed, there are two ways. You can postpone reading, saying that his book friends are very upset by the baby’s behavior and do not agree to tell their stories, or warn the fidget that you will be reading for Nastya’s doll. And for such an occasion it is better to choose your favorite fairy tales or poetic works. The melodiousness of the syllables of these genres will play the role of a “quencher” of negative emotions.
How to choose what to read?
The choice of book is at the child’s request. definitely let your child choose books himself, even if his choice does not seem very interesting or useful to you.
Recitation of the text by adults should be emotionally expressive, so that it is easier for the young reader to understand the character’s actions and mood. Only then is a feeling of empathy and compassion born, and the baby is included in the “living of events.”
What should parents pay attention to when choosing literature for this age?
The phenomenon of preschool children's reading is phenomenal. ...How correct the choice of books is, how well it coincides with the child’s age-related abilities to understand the meaning of the work, how it will be presented, determines whether the story will become a trigger for empathy with the plot, whether the child will have the effect of personal presence and what associations with reading will remain in his head.
Tatiana Savelyeva,
preschool development specialist and leading methodologist at the AST publishing house.
After three years, the child no longer considers the book only in a playful context. He is a real listener, trying to actively discuss what he heard, clarify what is unclear, and compare the text with illustrations. This dictates the expansion of genres. You can try introducing children's parables, fables, and stories about nature. But this must be done carefully, studying the child’s reaction, his ability to perceive, so as not to frighten off his first love of reading.
This does not mean that we should say goodbye to game versions of books forever. The little reader still has a visual and effective perception, which requires bright illustrations and actions with characters.
And in this regard, it is worth paying special attention to Wimmelbooks, which children really like because of the abundance of pictures and the minimum amount of text. By looking at the images, kids get acquainted with the structure of the world around them. And even if this world is populated by funny little animals, the child easily “translates” it into the “human” world.
Getting to know Wimmelbooks is a great option for expanding your vocabulary and making your first attempts at writing stories from pictures.
The best books for children 3-4 years old: rating and selection
Books about family values
The problem today is the loss of close family ties. Children feel this very sensitively and experience it still on an unconscious level. Books about the warmth of the family hearth and parental love will give the child a feeling of confidence and security.
"14 Wood Mice" by Kazuo Iwamura
The book, published by Samokat publishing house in 2022, introduces us to three generations of a friendly family of mice. The pictures tell where the characters live, how their life is arranged, what they do, how they help each other. An ideal image of love and mutual understanding, happiness and harmony of a happy family life emerges.
"Postman Mouse", Marianne Dubuc
Another character of the forest kingdom-state is the postman Mouse from the Wimmelbook of the same name by another author, Marianne Dubuc, delivering mail to the houses of various birds and animals. The child, traveling with Mouse, visits the houses of forest dwellers and is imbued with a calm atmosphere of home comfort and care for family members.
"Whatever Happens" by Debi Gliori
On the same topic, you can introduce your child to the work of Debi Gliori “Whatever Happens.” The Polyandria publishing house, seeing the keen interest in the book, republished it several times.
The naughty little fox is capricious and crying. But the parents do not get annoyed about this, but accept their child with wisdom and understanding for who he is. Their philosophy: no matter what happens to the child, we love him.
We can say that this book teaches not only children, but also adults. Reading a book together brings loved ones closer together.
"Happy Birthday Bobo!", Markus Osterwalder
The Compass Guide publishing house has presented its readers with the fifth collection by Markus Osterwalder, “Happy Birthday, Bobo!”
The main character is the same age as the reader; he is turning three years old. Simple stories tell about Bobo's life: his activities, games, adventures, communication with his family. But behind this simplicity of description is hidden a life filled with peace, joy, warmth and love, family harmony.
Fairy tales in the life of a child
Psychoanalyst, child psychologist Bruno Betelheim believes that fairy tales help a child gain self-confidence and cope with problems in communication and behavior.
Many preschool teachers successfully use the “fairytale therapy” technique to correct children’s behavior. The imagery of the language of fairy tales, their accuracy and brevity are inimitable.
As always, classics come first. Let's start with the recommendations.
Stories and fairy tales, L. Tolstoy
The book was written a long time ago, but the value guidelines that Leo Tolstoy wanted to convey to the little peasant students of the Yasnaya Polyana school are still relevant today. All works in the collection are imbued with humanistic ideas.
The author's use of allegorical techniques does not complicate children's perception of the text.
An attractive feature of the story is the use of animals as the main characters, which always evokes positive emotions in children.
Fairy tales, V. Suteev
The books of Vladimir Suteev are loved by many generations of young readers. These are simple, kind, instructive tales.
The images of the characters are written vividly and are easy to remember.
The semantic content of the fascinating stories that happen with the Snowman-postman, the cowardly Hippopotamus and the capricious Cat is understandable to a child of 3-4 years of age.
The author's bright illustrations help the child visualize the events described.
“Smart Dog Sonya”, A. Usachev
How can children not fall in love with the smart, funny, inquisitive dog Sonya from Andrei Usachev’s fairy tales?
“I want to know everything” is about her. Sonya, having gone through trial and error,
He will definitely draw conclusions and teach children many useful things, answer a lot of questions that interest children.
Do you adults know how to organize a real fishing trip in the bathroom? Have you ever eaten mustard with spoons? And why do you want to do this so much? Is it possible to catch Echo?
Can't answer? Then open the book “Smart Dog Sonya” as soon as possible, she will tell you everything!
This book is a real gift for children learning behavioral skills and getting to know the world around them.
World famous fairy tales
Not a single, even modest, home children's library is complete without fairy tales by world famous authors Hans Christian Andersen and Charles Perrault.
“Little Red Riding Hood”, “Cinderella”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “Tom Thumb” are familiar to every child. How the cruel tale of Bluebeard appeared among these kind and charming works remains a mystery. It should not be read to children.
In addition to the rich, vibrant language, the fairy tales of these authors shine with entertaining plots that unobtrusively instill goodness and kindness in the child.
Books give truly aesthetic pleasure.
We develop and learn
If we want to see the baby comprehensively developed, then fiction alone will not do. Educational books are a must-have in your bookcase.
The best development for a 3-4 year old child is interactive publications with which you can act: color, solve problems, stick stickers. Completing a certain task gives the child new knowledge or reinforces it.
"Runaway Zoo. Where do the animals hide? - Lo Cole
The author of the book “The Runaway Zoo” offers a solution to two problems. Where are the animals hiding? Lo Cole. Firstly, to assist Ivan Petrovich, the zookeeper, in searching for escaped animals. Feeling like a detective agent and finding disguised animals using a magnifying glass is an interesting and exciting activity. But talking with children about what made the animals run away from the zoo and whether they are living well in captivity is not an easy task, but it’s time to have conversations on such topics at this age.
"Exploring Transport" by Nick Oakland
Everything that hides behind the door is interesting and mysterious. Knowing this secret of kids, Nick Oakland came up with the book “Studying Transport” based on the hide-and-seek principle: if you answer the question correctly, the door will open slightly. The questions are simple: what floats in the ocean? what takes off at the airport? But here adults can take a creative approach: ask the child to demonstrate exactly how a plane takes off, ask clarifying questions, for example: who is sitting on the plane? who controls it?
A book with latch doors will undoubtedly interest a child.
"The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle
The heroine of Eric Carle's book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" is a long-liver. For about 50 years, she has been living on the page of a book beloved by many generations, thanks to her mission - to teach counting, understand the names of the days of the week, the cycles of transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly, and much more.
“Everything that is important for a child to know. 3 years”, Elena Ulyeva
Author of the book “Everything that is important for a child to know. 3 years” There is no need to introduce Elena Ulyev. Everyone knows her. She is one of the best and most prolific children's writers today.
As a teacher with 20 years of experience, Elena Uleva knows and understands well a system that will help a child develop, taking into account his capabilities and abilities, from simple to complex.
365 fun games and educational tasks for every day of the year are built into the form of exciting adventure games. The child is offered tasks to develop all thought processes and speech.
The child enthusiastically gets involved in his work and easily copes with tasks, because his education is filled with his favorite fairy tales and familiar characters.
Sticker books
There are countless series of books with stickers. Demand gives rise to supply, and it is only increasing, because working with stickers is a very successful way to sit down even the most hyperactive and restless child at the table to learn counting, color names and identifying shapes. With their help, he will easily remember the names of objects, their classification, and learn to establish cause-and-effect relationships.
In addition, working with stickers develops educational and volitional qualities: perseverance, accuracy, attentiveness, independence and commitment.
And most importantly, by completing interactive game tasks, children learn to think and justify their opinions.
Tasks most often vary in the following options:
- collect pictures;
- complete the drawing;
- count and guess;
- choose correctly.
Sticker books based on the favorite cartoons “Paw Patrol”, “Be-Mi Bears”, etc. are especially popular among children.
What's new? Interesting contemporary works
It is worth paying attention to books published by children's publishing houses in 2020-2021. Among them:
- “Useful fairy tales. How we defeated the coronavirus by Elena Uleva - a book on the topic of the day. Scientific information about viruses, microbes, bacteria in a fairy-tale plot that is understandable and accessible to children. Publisher: CLEVER
- The book “Why” by Katherine Ripley will answer all the most interesting questions of your whys. Publishing house "MYTH".
- "Forest stories. New Adventures" by Rene Klock - these are good stories about funny animals and their adventures in a fairytale forest. Publisher: "Dragonfly".
- Reading the book “All the Stories” (anniversary edition) by Nikolai Nosov will bring into your home an atmosphere of good humor, sparkling fun of dreamers and pranksters with whom your child will be happy to make friends. Publisher: "Makhaon".
- How Things Work by Jones Rob Lloyd. The book broadens a child’s horizons and promotes the development of fine motor skills. Publisher: Robins.
Fairy tales play a vital role during this period! Why is this so?
- Development of fantasy. Young children do not yet know how to create from scratch; for creativity they need a basis, a foundation, something that they have seen, heard or read before. Fairy-tale characters, their actions and decisions provide the basis for rethinking and awaken their own creative motives.
- Speech development. The language of fairy tales is rich in descriptions and images, although simple. Children quickly and quietly learn new words and the context in which these words are used.
- Knowledge about the world and the rules of behavior in it. Fairy tales teach children safety rules (“Little Red Riding Hood”, “The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats”), talk about feelings and emotions (“Fear has Big Eyes”), friendship, envy and other human qualities (“The Fox and the Crane”, “Bubble” , straw and bast shoe", "Goby-tar barrel").
- Training, behavior correction, fighting fears. Fairy tales have a psychotherapeutic effect and can be used to help a child overcome difficult situations and feelings. Read more about fairy tale therapy in our separate article.
Tips and tricks for parents
- Read to your children as much as possible!
- Don't be fooled into buying a large number of books based on advertising. Let your bookcase contain only books that are useful and loved by your child. And the time-tested classics should occupy the most honorable place.
- Enroll your child in the library so that he can make his own choices. Make these outings a book-loving holiday.
- Be sure to discuss with your child what he wants to read and why.
- If you want your child to be able to express his opinion, give him your model of judgment. And be sure to clarify why he thinks so.
- From time to time, invite him to guess how events will develop further, what the hero will do, or invite him to come up with his own ending to the story.
Let there be more useful and kind books on your child’s development path!
