Children's Books

The Cow That Went Oink: This delightful book by Bernard Most features two characters who overcome their speech differences through perseverance and conversational recasts. It can serve as a springboard for discussion with students about difficulties with speech sounds and corresponding social consequences.

It's a Monster Party: This charming book by Tasha Pym and Charles Fuge tells the story of monsters from two different planets who come together for a party. They find that they have more similarities than differences and that their new friendship is worth celebrating. Interested SLPs may choose to use this to create a nonword story by renaming prominent characters with nonwords featuring complex targets.

Splat the Cat: This appealing book by Rob Scotton features a loveable character named Splat the Cat. Reading this with children offers several opportunities for them to practice three-element clusters in a story format. My colleague in San Diego Unified, Kelly Perry, uses this with many of her preschoolers who demonstrate phonological disorders.

Other books featuring Splat the Cat:

Love, Splat (Rob Scotton)

Merry Christmas, Splat (Rob Scotton)

Splat the Cat Sings Flat (Rob Scotton)

Scaredy-Cat, Splat! (Rob Scotton)

Splat the Cat: Where's the Easter Bunny? (Rob Scotton)

Splish Splash Spring: This whimsical book by Jan Carr tells the story of four friends exploring the great outdoors on a rainy day. Reading this with children offers several opportunities for them to practice three-element clusters in a story format. My colleague in San Diego Unified, Kelly Perry, uses this with many of her preschoolers who demonstrate phonological disorders. It may be best to have children say "splish splash" when practicing.

Mercer Mayer created captivating wordless picture books that children love. These can be a valuable way to elicit a connected speech sample during assessment so the context is shared. Here are some of his classic frog books:

A Boy, a Dog, and a Frog (Mercer Mayer)

One Frog Too Many (Mercer Mayer)

Frog Goes to Dinner (Mercer Mayer)

A Boy, a Dog, a Frog, and a Friend (Mercer Mayer)

Frog on His Own (Mercer Mayer)

Alexandra Day has created several (mostly) wordless books about the inimitable Carl, a dog who seeks out adventure with friends. Like the Mercer Mayer books referenced above, SLPs may utilize the Carl books to elicit connected speech samples from children with suspected speech sound disorders.

Carl's Sleepy Afternoon (Alexandra Day)

Good Dog, Carl (Alexandra Day)

Carl's Birthday (Alexandra Day)

Carl Goes Shopping (Alexandra Day)