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So I have a 4 year old step son. We are trying to get him interested in books. I am looking for good starter books for boys to help him learn to read.
His biggest interests are cars, boats, planes... (basically all modes of transportation)
He also loves sharks.
Any recommendations would be great, particularly if you've had luck with your own kids or know of someone who had luck with it.

Leighann-Marie,

Mo Willems' "Elephant & Piggie" books are huge hits for young readers--even those who only read train books. The speech bubble dialogue format is reminiscent of the comic book (with one frame per page) and the stories center around a single, common theme. Examples include

My New Friend is so Fun!
We're in a Book!
That Mean Kid Stole My Ball!

Pretty much all of his books are great for catching attention of young readers and are also great places to start for the to read by themselves. Other "hits" of his are his "Pigeon" books (the pigeon drives the bus, the pigeon gets a puppy...) and "Knuffle Bunny"--a tragic story of how a stuffed bunny gets left at the laundromat accidentally and the struggle of to find it again. Interesting plot twist: the child doesn't know how to talk, so much of the story is about trying to communicate that Knuffle Bunny is missing.

LEGO has also got out some good transportation-y books using LEGO characters as well as community helpers like police, fire, trains, etc.

Rainbow Fish is a children's book that is a lot like The Ugly Duckling. This fish was beautiful, with its shiny, multi-color scales. The other fish didn't see this fish as being beautiful, since they were all plain and not shiny at all. This made the fish feel left out and ugly. But he was not ugly at all, and the ending is a happy one.

I read Dr.Suess Green eggs and ham to the 4 year old I babysat and He loved it! There is a boat, a train, and a plane in this book.

The Night Worker by Katie Banks is a great one--beautifully illustrated, shows a loving father-son relationship, and has lots of big machinery!

Fire Truck and Trucks, Trucks, Trucks, both by Peter Sis, also have excellent illustrations. Because the books don't have many words, children can make up and tell stories about what's happening in the pictures.

Wordless picture books are always a go to favorite of mine for emerging readers because even a four year old can create his own story from the pictures while developing concepts about print. A favorite of mine is Wave by Suzy Lee, but there are countless others.

I would also recommend Mo Willems' Elephant & Piggie series---it's simple enough for beginning readers and ALWAYS funny. He might also enjoy the Fly Guy series by Tedd Arnold. There's also a Step into Reading boxed set of phonics books that features the Nickelodeon show Blaze and the Monster Machines (would be perfect for a little boy who is obsessed with cars, trucks, etc.). There's also Pete the Cat's Train Trip by James Dean (Pete the Cat is a whole series he would probably enjoy, beginning reader books and picture books).

Your 4 year old should like shark in the park by nick sharratt or hungry hungry sharks by Joanna cole and for transportation books maybe little blue truck leads the way.

-- 02 Oct 2016, 10:04 --

Your 4 year old should like shark in the park by nick sharratt or hungry hungry sharks by Joanna cole and for transportation books maybe little blue truck leads the way.

My kids enjoyed book from Mo Willems, Sandra Boynton, Eric Carle, and National Geographic Kids series for nonfiction. When they were Preschool ages, I would take them to the library and let them choose a few books.

Storytime with kids can be hard, especially if they're not used to reading. I wouldn't force him to read, but make it fun, quick and short. I know that's not a book recommendation, but I think it might help. Sometimes having a "storytime" where you sing and dance, then read a silly story for a couple minutes, then sing some more, might be a good way to start reading.

I had this book set called Magic Castle Readers that I loved when I was a kid. There are a bunch that might interest a little boy, like:

'Smile,' Says Little Crocodile
The Color Clown Comes to Town
A Dragon in a Wagon
A Wish-For Dinosaur
Away Went the Farmer's Hat
Little Too-Tall (Probably my favorite)
Polka-Dot Puppy (Another favorite)
What Do You Do With A Grumpy Kangaroo?

And many more. They are all educational (some teach rhyming, color mixtures, manners, etc.) Gosh I loved these books as a kid.

Another good one was The Dark at the Top of the Stares by Sam McBratney
The Toll Bridge Troll by Patricia Wolff is another good one that I think would be good for a little boy.

I recommend the following:

What to do with a box? by Chris Sheban
Dragon Was Terrible by Kelly DiPucchio with illustrations by Greg Pizzoli
Dino-Racing by Lisa Wheeler

I'm a fan of the Pete the Cat series. They are educational, entertaining and there are books where Pete is on a train, a race car and more. I encourage you to giggle a few of the books to see if you think they will appeal to your little one.

I would definitely recommend sticking to books that are shorter, and have your kiddo engaged more in reading but letting them turn the pages and pointing out silly things in the illustrations to them. The Pigeon books mentioned above are great for this. Elephant and Piggy is easy for little ones to digest. And Pete the Cat are short enough and have some fun rhymes and repeated phrases that kids love to join in the reading with.