Best Books For Speech Therapy For Children

When it comes to supporting the developing communication skills in young children, especially those in speech therapy, selecting the right resources is key. Books are a fantastic and fun way to help with language development, and there are specific picture books and children’s books that speech-language pathologists often recommend. These books aren’t just great stories; they’re effective tools tailored to help with articulation targets, phonemic awareness, and vocabulary building. 

Let’s explore some of the best children’s books specifically chosen for their effectiveness in speech therapy.

From engaging picture books that capture young imaginations to interactive reads that encourage participation, each book on our list has been selected to target different aspects of speech and language growth. 

We’ll discuss why these great books are beneficial, provide suggestions for fun and educational activities that complement each read, and share tips on how to use these books to achieve specific language goals. Whether you’re a parent looking to support your child’s speech development at home or a speech therapist seeking fresh resources, these books offer a wealth of opportunities to make learning exciting and impactful.

Best Books For Speech Therapy Activities for Kids

These featured books are classic children’s favorites, cherished by kids everywhere. What makes them even more special is their universal appeal; they are not just beneficial for children with speech difficulties, but can greatly enhance language and communication skills for all children. The beauty of using these familiar and beloved books in speech therapy is that they are readily available in schools, libraries, bookstores, and many homes. 

This means that parents and therapists don’t need to seek out special, obscure titles for effective therapy. By incorporating these well-known books, we can create a comfortable and engaging learning environment that feels both fun and familiar to children, making speech therapy a more enjoyable and inclusive experience.

I’m not a speech therapist myself, but as a parent who has supported two of my kids through their speech therapy journeys, I’ve learned firsthand the critical role that parental involvement plays.

Staying engaged and actively working on speech goals outside of formal therapy sessions can truly make all the difference. It’s about reinforcing what they learn during their sessions and providing consistent, supportive practice at home. 

From reading books tailored to their developmental needs to integrating speech exercises into everyday activities, the efforts we put in as parents complement the professional therapy and help accelerate progress. This has not only supported my children’s growth in communication but also strengthened our bond as I became a part of their learning process.

Today, I’ll share some of the best books for speech therapy, detailing why they’re beneficial and suggesting activities that can make these reading sessions even more valuable. Lets get into the list of books!

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“Dear Zoo” by Rod Campbell

Why It’s Good: “Dear Zoo” is a delightful interactive book that has been a favorite in speech therapy sessions. Its simple, repetitive phrases make it an excellent choice for young children learning first words and basic sentence structures. The flaps in the book encourage interaction, which can help keep little kids engaged.

Activities: You can use “Dear Zoo” to play guessing games or create animal sound activities, which are great for teaching kids to identify and articulate different speech sounds. After reading, ask the child to recall the animals and mimic their sounds or movements, enhancing both memory and expressive skills.

“Press Here” by Hervé Tullet

Why It’s Good: This book is an interactive adventure that encourages children to follow directions and understand cause-and-effect relationships by pressing dots, shaking pages, and more. It’s especially useful for children who need to work on following step-by-step instructions.

Activities: After reading “Press Here,” you can engage children in a color-spotting game where they point out different colors they see around the room. This can be expanded into a color-naming activity to practice articulation of specific sounds.

“You Choose” by Pippa Goodhart and Nick Sharratt

Why It’s Good: “You Choose” empowers children to use their imaginations by letting them choose their preferences throughout the book—from where they would like to live to what they’d wear. This choice-driven book is perfect for fostering expressive language skills and decision-making. It’s also great for developing shared attention, and building meaningful communication even pre-verbally, by pointing at the choices. 

Activities: Create a “choice board” inspired by the book to encourage children to formulate sentences about their preferences, such as “I choose the ice cream because it’s sweet.” This helps in building language structure and improving speech clarity.

“Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” by Bill Martin Jr. & Eric Carle

Why It’s Good: The repetitive and rhythmic cadence of “Brown Bear, Brown Bear” helps children anticipate what comes next, which is great for teaching predictable text structures. It’s also excellent for teaching animal names and colors.

Activities: Use this book to create a fun matching game with color and animal flashcards. This will help reinforce the language concepts learned during reading and assist in memory retention.

“The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle

Why It’s Good: “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” is a classic that uses simple, engaging narratives to teach the days of the week, food items, and the concept of life cycles. Its rhythmic, repetitive text is ideal for young children to practice the sounds of words and begin simple counting. The beautiful illustrations also captivate young readers, making it a favorite for language development.

Activities: You can enhance the reading experience by pairing the story with a caterpillar craft activity where children can sequence the foods eaten by the caterpillar each day. This not only reinforces the story’s content but also aids in understanding sequence and quantity.

“The Gruffalo” by Julia Donaldson

Why It’s Good: Julia Donaldson’s “The Gruffalo” is renowned for its witty rhymes and clever plot, making it an engaging read for children. The rhythmic and repetitive phrases help build phonemic awareness, while the rich vocabulary aids in language development. The story also introduces children to various forest creatures, enhancing their descriptive language and imaginative skills.

Activities: Create a scavenger hunt based on the story’s characters and settings. Children can find items or pictures around the room that match descriptions from the book. This activity encourages detailed speech and comprehension as they explain why items match the characters or scenes.

“Room on the Broom” by Julia Donaldson

Why It’s Good: Another gem by Julia Donaldson, “Room on the Broom” combines humor, adventure, and friendship. Its repetitive, rhythmic text is ideal for speech development, particularly in sequencing and narrative skills. The book’s themes of teamwork and problem-solving are great for discussing social skills.

Activities: Engage children in a group activity where they can build their own ‘broom’ using craft materials. Each child adds a component to the ‘broom,’ mimicking how the characters in the book work together. This not only reinforces the storyline but also encourages expressive language as they discuss what part they are adding and why.

“We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” by Michael Rosen

Why It’s Good: “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” is perfect for interactive reading sessions. Its repetitive chant and the use of prepositions enhance both speech sounds and language skills. This book is excellent for auditory discrimination and helps in building spatial awareness and sequential memory.

Activities: Turn this book into a physical activity where children act out the adventure. Use props to represent the obstacles (like a blue fabric for the river or a box for the mud) and encourage them to articulate each step. This helps in developing motor skills, speech articulation, and sequence recollection.

“Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak

Why It’s Good: This book offers a fantastic exploration of emotions and social interactions through its rich narrative and expressive illustrations. “Where the Wild Things Are” encourages children to articulate feelings and understand social cues, making it a valuable tool for developing communication skills.

Activities: After reading the book, you can encourage children to draw their own “Wild Thing” and describe it, which helps in articulating detailed sequences and emotions. This can be extended into a role-play activity where kids act out different scenes from the book to foster deeper emotional understanding and speech practice.

“Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault

Why It’s Good: This vibrant and rhythmic alphabet book is perfect for young children learning their letters. The catchy, repetitive text of “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” not only makes it fun to read aloud but also helps in the development of phonemic awareness as children learn to recognize and articulate the different letters and sounds.

Activities: Use this book to play alphabet games where children find objects around the room that start with each letter mentioned in the book. This activity encourages letter recognition and helps improve vocabulary as they learn new words associated with each letter.

“Goodnight Moon” by Margaret Wise Brown

Why It’s Good: “Goodnight Moon” is a calming bedtime story with simple, poetic language and gentle illustrations. It’s great for teaching descriptive language and spatial concepts as it involves a little bunny saying goodnight to each object in the room. This repetitive and soothing text helps in language retention and articulation practice.

Activities: After reading, children can create their own “goodnight” room on paper, drawing and labeling items they would like to say goodnight to. This helps with word recognition and is a cozy way to reinforce the vocabulary from the book.

Other Types of Books for Speech Therapy

Books like wordless picture books or ones with real pictures of everyday items are also fantastic for speech therapy. Wordless books don’t have any text, so kids can make up their own stories just by looking at the pictures. 

This really helps them get better at telling stories, using their imagination, and talking about what’s happening, which are all important for learning how to communicate well. Books with realistic photos are great too, especially for younger kids or those who are just starting to talk. 

These books show clear images of common items, which helps children learn to point at something and say its name. You can make this more fun by turning it into a game where they not only say the names of the items but also describe them, like saying a ‘red apple’ or a ‘big truck’.

Both types of books are simple yet powerful tools in speech therapy, helping to improve children’s speaking and understanding in a very direct and enjoyable way.

Interactive books and touch and feel ranges like “never touch a shark” or “that’s not my….” not only engage children but also provide tactile stimulation that is crucial in therapy, especially for those with language delays

If you want to find books that are loaded with specific speech sounds, helping you to focus on articulating that particular sound then this is a great list of children’s books from a speech-language pathologist to help with those specific targets. 

Children’s books can be used as a gateway to better communication skills and are essential tools in speech therapy. By incorporating fun activities and focusing on interactive and repetitive books, speech therapists, or engaged parents can make each session a dynamic learning experience that keeps children engaged and excited about their language journey.

Whether you’re a professional in clinical practice or a parent looking to support your child’s language skills at home, these books are invaluable resources to have in your toolkit.

Informative Books on Speech Development for Parents

For parents looking to deepen their understanding of speech development and how to support their child’s communication skills, there are several insightful books that can serve as invaluable resources. 

I found Small Talk by Nicola Lathey a really useful book when my boys were young, and she has a newer book called What not to do when you’re child isn’t talking. These books offer practical advice and reassurance for parents of children who are speech delayed. 

“It Takes Two to Talk: A Practical Guide For Parents of Children With Language Delays” by Jan Pepper and Elaine Weitzman is another excellent choice, providing strategies and techniques that parents can use daily to enhance their child’s language skills.

These books are not only educational but also empowering, giving parents the tools they need to actively participate in their child’s speech and language development. By equipping themselves with this knowledge, parents can create a supportive environment that nurtures their child’s ability to communicate effectively.

More on Speech and Language Development 

• How To Teach My Child To Talk? 15 Tips for Speech and Language Development
• At What Age Do Most Kids Say Their First Words?
• 9 Things You Need To Know About Childhood Apraxia of Speech
• 20 Fun and Easy Mama and Baby Games for Early Bonding 
• Toddler Games with Musical Shakers, for Speech and Language Development

How To Teach My Child To Talk? 15 Tips for Speech and Language Development

More Book Lists

Looking for more book lists that will soon become your families favorite books? We have some lists for all kind of themes, that you can use in your lesson plans or just for fun reading at home. We love sharing children’s literature, and the cool books that we have found. 

• 50 Books Every Child Should Read by Age 16
• 135 Books for Toddlers
• 24 Amazing Skeleton Books For Kids
• 30 Best Ramadan Books for Kids
• 30 Best Chinese New Year Books for Kids
• 10 Gorgeous Diwali Books For Kids

If you found this post helpful, please consider pinning it or sharing it with friends and family. Spreading the word can help others who might be looking for similar resources and support for speech therapy. Sharing these insights can make a big difference in the lives of children who are working on their communication skills, and it can provide valuable guidance for parents and caregivers on their journey to support their little ones.