Supersized Toddler Books

Caution: not suitable for toddlers to use without adult intervention.

Warning: may cause head injuries if flung in wrong direction.

Please be advised: this book may require an adult to turn pages.

A recent trip to the toddler section of Barnes & Nobles, made me think that warning labels were in order for most of the titles on display. My purpose was to find some books that would engage a toddler on a long plane flight. I had already purchased a perfectly sized rainbow backpack to hold the books.

The recipient of the books would be two and a half year old, Lin. Her adoptive parents will soon make the journey to pick her up in China.  The eighteen-hour flight will be challenging for all.  Lin will surely be unsettled and frightened.  I want her to have beautiful books, to help soothe her.

When I traveled with my young children, books provided many hours of engagement and distracted their attention from the constraints of the car seats. I would fill a plastic box with books that were familiar and easy for small hands to pick up. The box was placed between their two car seats so they could select their own book. My daughters reveled in speed reading through a book, tossing it aside and choosing another book.  They loved cycling through their personal library. Of course, not all books were returned properly, some ended up on the floor. These fond memories of my children enjoying books prompted me to envision a travel bag with books for Lin.

I searched the children’s book section for books that had colorful illustrations and lyrical texts that might break the language barrier. I did find books that met those criteria. What was blatantly missing from the shelves was books sized for toddler hands and little rainbow backpacks.

Toddler books have been super-sized!

The many titles that would have been perfect for Lin were not of a manageable size for her.  A stronger and more dexterous person would need to remove the super-sized board books from her book bag. The thick and heavy books would also limit greatly, how many books that would fit in a child sized bag.

I have saved several of my children’s favorite early books.  These books are not in any condition to be passed on to another generation. They are too worn with loose pages.  I save them because they are precious reminders of how my children and I spent enjoyable time.  The tattered covers and pages make a bold statement – these books were loved.

I will continue my search for books that Lin can take from her bag and love them to tatters.