Sharing books is a wonderful way to introduce young minds to a diverse range of ideas and experiences! This children’s book list features developmentally appropriate titles for infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children—all centered on the body and the many ways we move. Through playful storytelling, these books invite children to explore their bodies, movements, and senses with curiosity and joy. From wiggling fingers and bending knees to stretching like animals or dancing to a rhythm, each story encourages body awareness, confidence, and self-expression.

Reading, talking, and playing together nurtures vocabulary, comprehension, critical thinking, and self-regulation—essential kindergarten readiness skills that grow with every shared experience. Best of all, these joyful moments build confidence and strengthen loving bonds between children and caregivers.

To make each storytime even more engaging, we’ve included talking tips with conversation starters and movement ideas tailored to each title. Whether you’re reading, stretching, or dancing along, these guides help turn every book into a moment of connection, learning, and discovery.

Hello, Hands!

Written & Illustrated by Aya Khalil

A high-contrast board book that celebrates all the amazing things that little hands can do. With real photos of babies waving hello, stacking toys, holding hands, and more, this engaging book invites the youngest readers to explore movement and connection.

Age level: 0 – 2 years

Talking Tip: Gently touch your child’s hands and name them out loud. Point to and count their fingers, trace their palm, and say, “This is baby’s hand.” Then show your own hands, wiggle your fingers, and say, “These are my hands.” This simple interaction helps build body awareness and language skills.

Alma, Head to Toe / Alma, de pies a cabeza

Written & Illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal

Alma guides readers through the different parts of the body from head to toe. She names each while showing how she uses them in everyday play. Whether it’s her eyes, fingers, nose, or toes, Alma demonstrates how her body helps her explore the world, especially when interacting with her little bird.This engaging bilingual book is perfect for young children learning to identify and name their body parts in both languages while having fun.

Age level: 1 – 3 years

Talking Tip: As you read the story, encourage your child to point to each body part that’s mentioned. Use the words for these body parts in your home language, especially if you speak more than one language at home. You can also make it interactive by inviting your child to smell something with their nose, feel something with their hands, and look at something with their eyes.

I Love All of Me

Written by Lorie Ann Grover
Illustrated by Carolina Búzio

From head to toe, there’s so much to love about wild, wonderful you! These lovely babies are celebrating their bodies and all they can do, and they want you to celebrate along with them! Can your body do all the same things as the babies in the story?

Age level: 1 – 3 years

Talking Tip: Follow the character on each page to explore the five senses and parts of the face. Make it active and invite your child to run, bend their knees, wiggle their hips, or squeeze their arms. At the end, ask them to give themselves a big hug, just like in the book. 

You can ask simple questions for younger children, such as, “Can you point to your nose?” or “Where are your eyes?” For preschool and TK children, try questions that invite reflection, like, “Which part of your body do you love the most? Why?”

Yoga Bug: Simple Poses for Little Ones

Written by Sara Jane Hinder

This book introduces simple yoga poses for young children to imitate. Each pose is demonstrated by a different insect, making the movements fun, silly, and easy to copy. A great way to get kids moving and connecting with their body, while sparking their imagination through play.

Age level: 1 – 5 years

Talking Tip: Invite your child to name each insect and try copying the yoga poses shown in the book. If a pose is too challenging, model a simpler version they can try instead. Have fun exploring stretches and movements together and don’t forget to imitate the insects’ sounds or actions!

Counting to Calm: My First Self-Regulation Book

Written by Prasha Sooful
Illustrated by Betania Zacarias

This book is a step-by-step self-regulating body activity that young children can follow to calm their bodies.

Age level: 1 – 5 years

Talking Tip: Start by naming body parts and moving them one by one. Invite your child to try out the body activity prompts in the pages, afterwards ask them how it makes them feel. This book is a great activity to incorporate in a child’s day to day routine especially managing overwhelming emotions.

Stomp, Wiggle, Clap, and Tap: My First Book of Dance

Written by Rachelle Burk
Illustrated by Alyssa De Asis

This energetic book encourages young readers to explore body awareness, coordination, and rhythm through playful movement and rhyme. Perfect for circle time or movement breaks!

Age level: 1 – 5 years

Talking Tip: Encourage your child to move along with the story. Ask them to wiggle their fingers, clap their hands, open and close their hands while singing “Open, Shut Them,” shake their arms, swirl their hips, stomp their feet, and tap their knees. 

Have fun exploring all the different ways their body can move to the rhythm of the story. You can ask playful questions like “Can you stomp your feet like a big elephant?” or “Can you move like the character in the picture?”

Head to Toe

Written & Illustrated by Eric Carle

An Eric Carle classic, this fun and interactive book invites children to move their bodies just like the animals in the story. Each page features a different animal demonstrating a movement, such as bending, stomping, or turning, and asks “Can you do it?” This encourages children to try the movements themselves while building body awareness, coordination, and confidence.

Age level: 1 – 5 years

Talking Tip: Invite your child to follow along with the movements in the book, and adjust each action to match what they can do. Encourage them to try the movements more than once and celebrate their effort. For extra fun, ask them to choose another animal they know and copy its movement, for example, “Can you pounce like a cat?” or “Can you dig like a dog?”

My Brain is Magic A Sensory-Seeking Celebration

Written by Prasha Sooful
Illustrated by Geeta Ladi

This story helps children understand different sensory experiences and the beauty of neurodivergent thinking. By connecting human behaviors to familiar animal movements and traits, it encourages kids to discuss how everyone thinks, feels, and experiences the world in unique ways.

Age level: 3 – 5 years

Talking Tip: Invite your child to explore the ideas in the book by talking about how their brain helps them think, feel, and move. Point to your head and say, “This is where my brain is, can you find yours?” Ask simple questions like, “What do you think makes your brain feel happy?” or “What’s something fun your brain helps you do?” Encourage your child to celebrate what makes their brain special and unique!

Dancing the Tinikling

Written by Bobbie Peyton
Illustrated by Diobelle Cerna

When Lola invites Jojo to dance the tinikling with her, he tries, but trips over the clapping bamboo poles. As he watches Lola move between their Filipino and American worlds with grace, Jojo learns that dancing isn’t about perfection; it’s about rhythm, courage, and finding your own beat.

Age level: 3 – 5 years

Talking Tip: Invite your child to try the dance moves in the story by stepping carefully between imaginary bamboo poles. Talk about how dancing takes practice and courage, just like Jojo learns. Encourage your child to explore rhythm by clapping, tapping, or stomping along with the music or story. 

Ask playful questions like “What happens if you miss a step?” and “How can you try again?”

If You Give a Girl a Bike

Written by Hayley Diep
Illustrated by Braden Hallett

A girl on a bike discovers the joy of trying new things from skating, climbing, and surfing. Even when she falls, she keeps trying and learns to never give up. Her journey shows that trying, moving, and practicing are all part of learning something new.

Age level: 3 – 5 years

Talking Tip: Invite your child to move their body like the girl in the story. Pretend to bike, skate, climb, or surf together using your arms, legs, and whole body. As you play, celebrate how your child moves and remind them that it is okay to fall and try again. 

You can ask, “Can you show me how you skate?” or “What does your body do when you pretend to climb?”

I Got the Rhythm

Written by Connie Schofield-Morrison
Illustrated by Frank Morrison

On a simple trip to the park, a mother and her little girl are swept up by the joy of music in the world around them. The girl hears rhythms everywhere from butterflies to street performers to ice cream sellers. She sniffs, snaps, and shakes along to the beat, finally bursting into an impromptu dance that all the other kids join in.

Age level: 3 – 5 years

Talking Tip: Talk with your child about how we can use our bodies to feel and create rhythm, just like the little girl in the story. Encourage them to listen with their ears, see with their eyes, and move their bodies from head to toe. Try clapping, snapping, tapping, or stomping together to create your own rhythm. 

You can ask questions like “What was your favorite rhythm in the book? Why?” or “Can you make your own rhythm using your hands, feet, or even a drum?”