I am always looking for good stories that have a simple, fun story and clear illustrations to begin working on describing pictures, re-telling a story and answering questions about the content.

Some professionals who work with children with ASD asked me for book ideas so they can fill out their library of books to use with kids. I will be continuing to add to this list but here are some I have used recently (since September)  that fit my critieria:

Popcorn by Asch

Queen of Halloween by Engelbreit

Autumn Leaf by Emerson

Halloween Mice by Roberts

Aaaarrgghh Spider by Monks

Red, Red, Red by Gorbachev

Knuffle Bunny by  Mo Willems

Bobo and the New Neighbor by Page

Max Cleans Up by Rosemary Wells

Timothy Goes to School by Wells

Lucille Camps In by Dathryn Lasky

First Snow by Emily ARnold McCully

Snip, Snip…Snow by Nancy Poydar

Mrs. Armitage on Wheels by Quentin Blake

Bright Stanley by Matt Buckingham

Before I can ask a child who is language delayed to do a picture walk, I introduce stories, modelling telling the story in different ways each time, so I am not encouraging repetitive language. After several readings and talking about the story, then I ask the child to “read” the story to me. I find that kids enjoy bringing a book to “read” to me and enjoy describing the pictures. When their language is limited I simply add on a word like “so” or “and” or “then” to prompt them to continue the sentence. I also use a gesture with my hand which is like the sign language for “want” meaning, give me more language. They learn that I love more language!