Physical Activity Books

This is a colorful board book based on a popular children's character on PBS. It has tabs your toddler can pull to reveal the different sights she might see outdoors. It's a good way to introduce some of the things you and your child can be on the lookout for before you take a nature walk or even just a walk around the block. ISBN: 9780763634568.

This book is illustrated with colorful and interesting characters that Eric Carle is known for creating. It encourages the reader to act out different movements with the animals and it's likely that you'll be weary of reading this one long before your toddler will tire of it. There are several versions of this book available. The Big (18 x 13 inches) version is fun because your toddler can lay it on the floor and then get up and move around with the book still visible. The board book is also a nice choice since it's durable and your toddler doesn't necessarily need your supervision to enjoy. Over and over again. On her own. Yay. Big Book ISBN: 9780061119729. Board Book ISBN: 9780694013012.

This book is a totally hilarious look at learning how to walk. It will prove long for the 1-year-old, who will mostly enjoy looking at the pictures, but 2-year-olds who are familiar with learning to walk will identify and see the humor. And so will you. You'll probably find both you and your child laughing out loud at this poor baby's experience with becoming mobile. I think this book is perfect to read to the child who might be afraid of trying new things (like swimming, riding a tricycle or catching a ball) since you can say, "But look how hard it was learning to walk. Remember? And you did it!" It's never too early to inoculate your child against giving up when things seem a little scary or difficult. ISBN: 9780152055738.

Two children start out dancing their way through the city and eventually everyone is dancing. Toddlers will love this book for its fun illustrations of children dancing, its rhyming and because, of course, they know just how it feels to want the whole world to dance with them. If your child likes this book and it gets them wanting to groove, pick up other books by Smith like Let's Play Basketball and Let's Play Baseball. All three are super sturdy picture books that will last through the toddler years to the time when your child is ready to read them on her own. ISBN: 9780763622466.

This book is from Gymboree, a company known for their involvement in getting children to be physically active. This is not a book for your toddler, but one for parents with 100 different movement activities to do with your child. That doesn't mean your toddler won't like it, however, since it's full of bright pictures of parents and toddlers demonstrating the activities. Use it as a tool to plan with your child the new things that she wants to try. It's perfect for squeezing in quick bursts of activity throughout the day. ISBN: 9780865734357.

This book is full of pictures of toddlers engaged in physical activity. It's a nice choice for younger toddlers who are just starting to put movement words together with their actions. Older toddlers will enjoy the book as well and you can extend the concepts by asking your toddler to imitate the children on the pages or by demonstrating the actions yourself as you read with your child. ISBN: 9780754813644.

This board book has a big fuzzy soccer ball on the front and clear images illustrate and introduce words related to this common sport. Soccer leagues in my area accept children as young as 2 years old so if you're thinking about starting your toddler in the sport, reading this book can help familiarize your child with all the trappings beforehand. A similar book by Yoon is titled Football and most of this author's books use some sort of tactile stimulation to expand or strengthen your child's vocabulary. ISBN: 9780689870217.