Books Literacy Global Book Day Newborn Twins Reading I Love To Read Words Horizontal
Source: TwinsyTwins

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As parents, we want to give our children every advantage possible in everything they do.

And everything they do has an affiliation with words. I don't know if you've ever thought about it, but there are a lot of words floating around out there.

Vast vocabulary

Bookshelf
Source: TwinsyTwins

According to Merriam-Webster, there are an estimated one million words in the English language vocabulary (give or take a few hundred thousand, depending on which linguist you're chatting with).

Vocabulary is the backbone of language and helps us communicate our thoughts, ideas, and emotions effectively and with clarity.

Vocabulary is the backbone of language and helps us communicate our thoughts, ideas, and emotions effectively and with clarity.

So, one million words? That's a lot. And that's approximately how many words your child can hear and be introduced to if you read them five books a day during their first five years of life.

And, we're not talking about lengthy, page-bending chronicles, here. Just your run-of-the-mill, age-appropriate books for your little ones.

Complex concepts

Book Twin Baby Toddler Reading Goodnight Sesame Street In Crib Nursery Literacy Stories
Source: TwinsyTwins

No matter the page-count, books are magnificent. They give you the opportunity to use your imagination, expand your mind, and broaden your vocabulary.

Children's books introduce complex concepts and bigger, more difficult words than likely come up in general conversation at home. Having a chance to see and hear these sorts of words and ideas on a daily basis could play a role in your children's vocabulary and reading development as they grow.

Research from a study done by an Ohio State University, in collaboration with the Columbus Metropolitan Library, and published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, showed that children whose parents or caregivers read them five books a day will have heard approximately 1.4 million more words by the time they enter Kindergarten than children who aren't read to.

Those who have even just one book a day read to them (say, as part of a bedtime routine) will hear nearly 300,000 more words by the time they turn five than those who don't have any books read to them (you can read the full story by Ohio State News, here).

Foster flourishment

Book Twin Baby Toddler Reading Wheres Spot In Crib Nursery Literacy Stories
Source: TwinsyTwins

So, snuggle up with your twins and embrace all kinds of books and all kinds of stories, whether they're from your personal library or your public library. This time together will enhance your bond, create lasting memories, and encourage your little ones' minds to flourish.

Beyond simply reading the text in the story, you can sound out words together, point out the colors on the page, or explain the objects included in the illustrations. Plus, having them help flip the pages gives them a chance to work on their hand-eye coordination and further develop their fine motor skills.

Storytime staples

Books Literacy Global Book Day Newborn Twins Reading I Love To Read Words Vertical
Source: TwinsyTwins

In our home, we have shelves stacked with boatfuls of books. When our twins grow up, there will be no shortage of reading material.

There's also no shortage when it comes to their own personal bookshelves. We rotate publications between our shelves upstairs and downstairs to keep things interesting, but there are a few staples that are among our most-treasured.

It makes me ecstatic that our twins look forward to story time every day.

Here's a list of our Top 20 Favorite Books for Storytime

It was hard to pick just 20 favorites, as each separate story is engaging and animating in its own special way. Check out the boxes below for more details on each publication.

Book Are You A Cow Sandra Boynton Baby Board Book Toddler Bedtime Reading Story

Are You a Cow?

This is Are You a Cow by Sandra Boynton. It reminds readers that no matter who you are, it's great to be yourself.

Book Corduroy Don Freeman Baby Board Book Toddler Bedtime Reading Story

Corduroy

This is Corduroy by Don Freeman. It's a heartwarming classic about a teddy bear and a child finding the friend they've longed for in one another.

Book Dinosaur Dance Sandra Boynton Baby Board Book Toddler Bedtime Reading Routine

Dinosaur Dance

This is Dinosaur Dance by Sandra Boynton. It encourages readers to groove along to the beat with dancing dinosaurs.

Book Franklin In The Dark Paulette Bourgeois Brenda Clark Baby Board Book Toddler Bedtime Reading Story

Franklin in the Dark

This is Franklin in the Dark by Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark. It teaches children that although they may be afraid of something, they can seek help and overcome their fears.

Book Goodnight Moon Margaret Wise Brown Clement Hurd Baby Board Book Toddler Bedtime Reading Story

Goodnight Moon

This is Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd. It follows a bunny's bedtime routine as it winds down for the day by saying goodnight to all of the familiar sights in its bedroom.

Book Just Go To Bed Mercer Mayer Little Critter Baby Board Book Toddler Bedtime Reading Story

Just Go to Bed

This is Just Go to Bed by Mercer Mayer. It follows Little Critter's silly antics as he uses his imagination to wiggle his way out of bedtime.

Book Little Blue Truck Alice Schertle Jill Mcelmurry Baby Board Book Toddler Bedtime Reading Story

Little Blue Truck

This is Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle and Jill McElmurry. Filled with truck sounds and animal noises, this story takes readers on a ride as they learn about kindness, respect, and the importance of coming together to help each other out.

Book Mortimer Robert Munsch Michael Martchenko Baby Board Book Toddler Bedtime Reading Story

Mortimer

This is Mortimer by Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko. It tells the story of a little boy who won't go to sleep and keeps his family up by singing his noisy (yet catchy) tune.

Book Never Touch A Dinosaur Rosie Greening Stuart Lynch Baby Board Book Toddler Bedtime Reading Story

Never Touch a Dinosaur!

This is Never Touch a Dinosaur! by Rosie Greening and Stuart Lynch. It takes readers on a sensory journey, featuring different dinosaurs with silicone patterns and colors worked into the design and artwork of each page. You can read more about why we love the "Never Touch a" books, here.

Book On The Night You Were Born Nancy Tillman Baby Board Book Toddler Bedtime Reading Story

On the Night You Were Born

This is On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman. It celebrates each reader's individuality and all of the special and unique things that make them who they are.

Book One Elephant Went Out To Play Sharon Hampson Lois Lillienstein Bram Morrison Qin Leng Baby Board Book Toddler Bedtime Reading Story

One Elephant Went Out to Play

This is One Elephant Went Out to Play by Sharon Hampson, Lois Lillienstein, Bram Morrison, and Qin Leng. It takes readers on a musical journey featuring a classic counting song and celebrates diversity and friendship.

Book The Berenstain Bears Go To The Doctor Stan Jan Berenstain Baby Board Book Toddler Bedtime Reading Story

The Berenstain Bears Go to the Doctor

This is The Berenstain Bears Go to the Doctor by Stan and Jan Berenstain. It helps introduce readers to the idea of going to the doctor by teaching them about what happens when they visit the doctor's office for a check-up.

Book The Jolly Postman Or Other Peoples Letters Janet Allan Ahlberg Baby Board Book Toddler Bedtime Reading Story

The Jolly Postman and Other People's Letters

This is The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. This beloved classic depicts letters written by characters from fairytales. Readers can interact with the book by removing the letters from the envelopes on each page to see what they say in their correspondence.

Book The Night Before Christmas Clement Clarke Moore Barbara Reid Baby Board Book Toddler Bedtime Reading Story

The Night Before Christmas

This is The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore and Barbara Reid. Moore's classic poem celebrates steadfast holiday traditions, while Reid's intricate plasticine artwork brings the illustrations to life.

Book The Three Little Wolves And The Big Bad Pig Eugene Trivizas Helen Oxenbury Baby Board Book Toddler Bedtime Reading Story

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig

This is The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas and Helen Oxenbury. This funny and delightful story offers a skewed version of the traditional tale. It follows the three, little wolves as they try to solve their frustrating encounters with the big, bad pig.

Book The Very Cranky Bear Nick Bland Baby Board Book Toddler Bedtime Reading Story

The Very Cranky Bear

This is The Very Cranky Bear by Nick Bland. It follows four friends who decide to share what they have in order to try to cheer up someone who's been misunderstood because they are having a bad day and are in a grumpy mood.

Book The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eric Carle Baby Board Book Toddler Bedtime Reading Story

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

This is The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. This childhood classic follows the food trail of a little caterpillar as it literally eats its way through the pages of the book to teach the reader about the stages of metamorphosis.

Book There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowee A Fly Lucille Colandro Jared Lee Baby Board Book Toddler Bedtime Reading Story

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly!

This is There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly! by Lucille Colandro and Jared Lee. You may never know why she swallowed that fly, but readers will certainly sing along as they make their way through page after page of catchy rhymes and silly illustrations.

Book Wheres Spot Eric Hill Baby Board Book Toddler Bedtime Reading Story

Where's Spot?

This is Where's Spot? by Eric Hill. This classic lift-the-flap board book follows Sally the Dog as she searches around the house for her loveable son, Spot.

Book Wheres The Snowman Ingela P Arrhenius Baby Board Book Toddler Bedtime Reading Story

Where's the Snowman?

This is Where's the Snowman? by Ingela P. Arrhenius. This vibrant board book encourages readers to lift the colorful flaps to find out where each character is hiding and includes a fun surprise at the end.

A million words, a million memories

These are just a few of our favorite books that keep us busy reading in our household. If you check any of these out, we hope you like them as much as we do!

No matter which books you read with your children, exploring stories with your little ones is a wonderful way to make memories together, one word at a time.

Try to make it a special part of every day and see how close you can get to giving your twins the Million Word Advantage.

Do you have a daily reading routine with your kids? Which are your favorite stories to read together? Let us know in the Comments section below.

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