Top 10 Early Literacy Series.

Lempke, Susan Dove (author).

Each of the series listed in this Top 10 communicates information both visually and verbally to the very youngest library patrons. The authors take care to make each word count, and the result is books that inform and engage preschoolers.

Animal Board Books (Rourke)

Ages 2–4. This set of 15 board books includes titles like Good Morning, Little Python! and Gentle Giants (both 2008). They are small (six inches square), include a distinctive die-cut cover, and use color photographs of animals in their habitats.

Bilingual Picture Dictionaries (Capstone)

PreS–K. Each double-page spread features a color photograph with word bubbles labeling the picture in English, in the language of each dictionary’s focus (Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, German, or French), and offering a phonetic pronunciation. The large pages give plenty of space for identification.

How Artists See Jr. (Abbeville)

Ages 18 mos.–5 yrs. Abbeville revamps its series How Artists See very successfully in board book form. Topics (dogs, horses, trains, and babies) all have child appeal, so even little ones can be enticed into looking at the variety of artwork.

I Love … by Philemon Sturges (HarperCollins)

Ages 18 mos.–4 yrs. Sturges’ ongoing series—in which he backs up such claims as I Love Bugs! (2005)—will, by strict definition, end up in the fiction section of many libraries. However, these are exactly what preschool teachers want when they look for informational books. The illustrations are engaging, and the fictional narrator perfectly expresses the passion children feel for beloved subjects.

The Inside Story (Marshall Cavendish/Benchmark)

PreS–Gr. 2. These Bookworms readers give the inside scoop on buildings that are out of the ordinary. Titles include Igloo, Pyramid, and Log Cabin (all 2007), and each one shows the different parts of the building and explains how they are used.

Mighty Machines (ABDO/Magic Wagon)

PreS–Gr. 1. No preschool nonfiction collection is complete without a set of books about trucks, and this new series includes large, colorful pictures that capture their intimidating size. The text length gives just enough information to satisfy, and each of the major construction vehicles gets its own title.

Reptiles (Capstone)

PreS–Gr. 2. In the Reptiles series, full-bleed color photographs show physical details of the animals clearly. Text is brief but very informative, and each title focuses on just one animal. The set includes Komodo Dragons, Chameleons, Gila Monsters (all 2010) and three others.

Rookie Toddler—Sing Along Toddler (Children’s Press)

Ages 6 mos.–3 yrs. With this new offering, the long-running A Rookie Reader brand extends to board books that take familiar songs and give them twists, as with Twinkle, Twinkle Time for Bed. The illustrations use a variety of styles, and the text can be read or sung.

Shelley Rotner’s Early Childhood Library (Millbrook)

Ages 2–5. In three books in this ongoing series, Rotner focuses on the senses by photographing children being curious in different settings (for example, Senses on the Farm, 2009), masterfully conveying each place. The other three titles take on careers, religion, and the origins of food.

Spot the Difference (Heinemann)

PreS–Gr. 2. Heinemann’s Acorn line does an especially fine job of producing preschool nonfiction, and subsets tackle plants, animals, and body parts. The latter set uses four titles to define, for example, what a mouth does.