Do you love reading with young children? I do! It is one of my favorite times of the day. I am grateful for the many opportunities I have had to read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, The Kissing Hand, Sleepy Bears, or the entire Pete the Cat series! OH! And my kids love the Pigeon books by Mo Willems. 

I love to share my love of literature with children. So, I thought I would share some of the children's stories with you that my children couldn't get enough of. These are entertaining and beautiful stories to sign using American Sign Language (ASL).  

Did you know signing with hearing children has multiple benefits to supporting language and literacy? It's true! Signing is multisensory, reinforcing verbal language by adding visual and kinesthetic emphasis to auditory input. PLUS provides a multilingual experience in learning a language.  

• Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman
  The focus of this book is sharing and caring for friends and gratitude. This is an excellent book for introducing the ASL word 'Thank you' and teaching about gratitude and appreciation for our friendships. 

• Just Say Please by Gina and Mercer Mayer
  Manners, manners, manners...these are essential skills for young children to learn. Using literature is a fun and supportive tool for learning and using manners. Through this entertaining story, children can begin to learn good manners. Our favorite phrase from the story is, "You dropped your good manners." said Little Sister. This book is easy to read and sign using ASL words like 'please,' 'thank you,' and 'share.'  

• 26 Big Things Small Hands Do by Coleen Paratore is a fabulous book for young children about all the beautiful things they can do. It is an alphabet book with a purpose!

•  Bear's New Friend by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman - We love the Bear series, and honestly, you can read any of the books and add ASL to them. But Bear's New Friend is an excellent book for helping a new child feel welcome. 

• Pet the Cat, Old MacDonald Had a Farm by James Dean
  Children love animals of all types, and there are many stories about farm animals, zoo animals, and more. One of my children's favorites is Pete the Cat, Old MacDonald Had a Farm by James Dean. The Pete the Cat series is popular with young children and has many books to which you can easily add ASL. For this book, our focus was on farm animals. 

• Goldie Locks and the Three Bears
  Fairy Tales are great for building phonemic awareness and sequencing skills and introducing new vocabulary for both oral development and ASL vocabulary. Children need many opportunities to listen to and read fairy tales.

• I Love It When You Smile by Sam McBratney
  This is a sweet story about a mother and her son. Her son is grumpy, and she tries many things to make him smile. In the end, she gets him to smile. It is a beautiful story to talk about feelings and add new ASL vocabulary like 'smile' and 'love.' 

• Sleepy Bears by Mem Fox
  Sleepy Bears is a beautifully written and illustrated book about the adventures of dreams. Each bear in the family has a memorable rhyme that Mama Bear tells before they fall fast asleep that expresses their individuality. It is also an excellent book for introducing hibernation. While reading this story, we focused on the ASL vocabulary, 'bear' and 'sleep.'

• Ten Little Ladybugs by Melanie Gerth
  Counting, ASL, and literature is an excellent combination. This is a fantastic book for counting backward from 10. It also emphasizes rhyming patterns and is easy to sign to. You can add ASL number vocabulary and the word 'ladybug' to enhance the story. 

• The Pigeon Needs a Bath by Mo Willems
  This is one of Mo Willems's newest books, and it is just as funny as his previous stories about pigeons. It is an excellent story about personal hygiene and the fun of bathing. Add in the ASL vocabulary word' bath' to enhance the story.  

•  Not a Box, by Antoinette Portis - this is a New York Times best-illustrated children's book and is a cute story about a bunny and a box. It is a beautiful book that promotes creativity and imagination. 

• Ten Black Dots by Donald Crew is a great book supporting the development of number sense, a critical foundation for long-term success in math. 

• Thank you, Bear by Greg Foky - what can we say about this adorable bear? This is a sweet story about friendship. It is a must-read!

• Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar? by Margaret Want and Christine Schneider - who doesn't love this story filled with rhymes and fun? This is a favorite in our classroom. 

• Cookie's Week by Cindy Ward and Tomie dePaola is a hysterical book about Cookie the Cat. He is a mischievous cat that does something each day of the week. It is a great one for helping young children make meaningful connections to the days of the week.