10 of the Most Exciting Construction Books for Toddlers!
I was surrounded by big rigs on all sides of me. “Wow, there are a lot of big trucks on the road right now!” I exclaimed.
“Big trucks!” my 18-month-old repeated excitedly.
That was all it took to begin his obsession with “big trucks,” which included anything that was big and moved.
Naturally, as a librarian, I sought out books that included this interest. What better way to keep him interested in reading than to read about his favorite thing?
As with all my children’s book-buying expenditures, finding good books that also include trucks or construction machines wasn’t an easy task. But eventually, I was able to put together this list for you of the best construction books for toddlers.
10 of the Most Exciting Construction Books for Toddlers
Dig It! Dump It! Build It!*
Your child will love this book if they love sounds. Dig It! Dump It! Build It! includes 10 different construction sounds and identifies the items on the page as they go about their jobs. This is a great book to teach your child the names of all of the construction machines and tools. This book helps build kids’ construction vocabulary.
Not to mention, kids love pressing buttons and hearing new sounds!
Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site
This is one of the books that taught my son the specific names of the different construction trucks. It goes through each of the machines. Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site describes each machine, along with its job and tasks. Then the machine shuts down for the night and goes to sleep. This also provides a nice story for bedtime.
It has an evacuator, crane truck, cement mixer, dump truck, and bulldozer. This is a great book for kids who love construction trucks. It’s also a great way to teach kids the names and features of each machine.
Little Blue Truck
I know what you’re thinking. This book is about a truck, not construction! Hold on, there’s a dump truck in this book. Just one. But it is a key character and part of the message of how important it is to be considerate of others.
My son always gets so excited when the dump truck shows up! It’s like a nice construction surprise. Plus, Little Blue Truck is one of the few construction books that has a theme/motif. I think your construction truck-loving child will love this one as much as mine.
Lift-the-Flap Tab: Trucks
This is a lift-the-flap book that covers the trucks you see around the frame of the book cover. It names the truck, explains its role, and gives some extra details about specific items on the truck under the flaps. My son loved looking at the different types of “big trucks.”
It has an excavator and a dump truck, as far as construction trucks go. This one is fun for little ones to explore. Let your child interact with it rather than worrying about reading everything.
One possible negative to this one is that it names the excavator a “Digger.” This didn’t bother me, but if you want your child to learn the correct names, you might want to introduce this one after some others that establish the excavator as an excavator.
Where do Diggers Sleep at Night?
This, once again, goes through a lot of different types of trucks (garbage trucks, snow plows, fire trucks, monster trucks, etc.) alongside the common construction trucks.
Where do Diggers Sleep at Night? is a well-written kind of bedtime lullaby that I’m sure your child will love. Each page highlights a different type of truck and asks how they sleep at night. (This book also calls the excavator a digger.)
Hide-and-Seek at the Construction Site: A Hidden Pictures® Lift-the-Flap book (Highlights Lift-the-Flap Books)
This book has a lot going on. It introduces children to construction sites and discusses what the trucks will build. Hide-and-Seek at the Construction Site is one that can grow with your child.
Children can lift the flaps to learn what to look for on each page. The one downside to this is that the objects are random items, instead of construction-related items. For example, a slice of bread, a needle, etc. It would have been nice if the search and find aspect had kept with the construction theme, but a fun activity nonetheless.
Roadwork (Construction Crew)
This book has a nice cadence as it describes roadwork in a fun, rhymic way that is sure to keep a child’s attention. Roadwork uses words to describe the sounds the roadwork makes and has fantastic illustrations that include a large number of construction machines.
This book does not include the name of the machines for parents. I think it would have been great if each page had them labeled. Young children love to ask about and identify items. Use one of the other books on this list to build their vocabulary before reading this one.
Demolition (Construction Crew)
This is the sequel to Roadwork and comes back to tell the story of tearing down. Demolition uses the same cadence and fun, almost sign-song language as the previous book. The graphics are incredible and your construction-loving child is sure to love seeing his/her favorite machines at work in this book.
This one, again, doesn’t have the names of the machines, but if your child has read all the books on this list, at this point, they probably know them already.
B Is for Bulldozer: A Construction ABC
This is a great construction-themed ABC book. If your child loves construction, introducing the ABCs to him/her in this way might grab their attention. It’s a great option to have and a good way to learn their letters alongside something that your child is interested in.
There are a couple of ABC construction books, but the graphics and flow of B Is for Bulldozer stood out to me as the best.
Dig Dig Digging
This book includes a rhyme and action for each construction or vehicle included. It covers most of the things that move and work – road machines, rescue machines, farm machines, etc. Dig Dig Digging describes the actions they take in a fun story about all of their work.
In the end, the machines, all get to rest from the work they’ve been so busy with.
Construction Books for Toddlers
The best construction books for preschoolers from a librarian and mom.
- Dig It! Dump It! Build It!
- Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site
- Little Blue Truck
- Lift-the-Flap Tab: Trucks
- Where do Diggers Sleep at Night?
- Hide-and-Seek at the Construction Site: A Hidden Pictures® Lift-the-Flap book (Highlights Lift-the-Flap Books)
- Roadwork (Construction Crew)
- Demolition (Construction Crew)
- B Is for Bulldozer: A Construction ABC
- Dig Dig Digging
Those are the 10 best books for construction books for toddlers. I hope this list helps you if you’re looking for construction books for your toddler or if you’re looking for a way to engage your child with reading by building on his/her interests.
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References
Willingham. (2015). Raising Kids Who Read : What Parents and Teachers Can Do. (1st ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.
