10 Excellent Picture Books About Opposites
by Melissa Taylor
My youngest daughter used to mix up feeling hungry and feeling full. Understanding the difference between these two words is a fantastic example of why learning about opposites is essential. Opposite words give children the concepts and language to communicate what they feel and see. (Not to mention, they’ll be less likely to starve if they can express when they’re feeling hungry!)
These books introduce readers to important vocabulary words for speaking, listening, reading, writing, and math, which will prepare kids for life.
After reading each picture book, see if you can incorporate the new words into your day’s activities. You might ask, “What is high and what is low?” when you’re at the park or in the bedroom. Or query, “Is the rain inside or outside?” for some silly practice.
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Roald Dahl Opposites
Available from:Lift the flaps in this playful opposites book filled with brightly colored creatures like elephants and monkeys. Follow the big, green crocodile to learn words like empty and full, heavy and light.
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Baby's Opposites
Available from:Spend the day with an adorable interracial baby. Her adventures begin when she wakes up, and they continue throughout the day with her family, dog, and neighbors. Watercolor illustrations narrate the baby’s day alongside the simple, rhyming text.
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A Little Book About Opposites
Inspired by Leo Lionni’s classic paper collage artwork, these illustrations show playful mice helping readers learn concepts like wet and dry, up and down, and awake and asleep.
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Web Opposites
Available from:Ready for the cutest spiders you’ve ever seen? Hodgson’s clever spider illustrations will delight young readers with opposites like neat and messy, day and night, visible and invisible.
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The Opposite Zoo
Explore the zoo at night with a curious monkey who escapes his cage. Watch as he visits other vibrantly colored animals and discovers interesting opposites concepts.
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Here We Are: Book of Opposites
Available from:Inspired by the bestselling picture book, Here We Are, comes this beautifully illustrated companion title that helps introduce littles to opposites. The whole book is a delight, but the illustration depicting asleep and awake will surely give parents an appreciative giggle.
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Germany
Available from:Stunning Bavarian-style illustrations show pairs of opposites in the country and culture of Germany. Experience this country’s unique flavor in villages, clocks, pine trees, and more.
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What's Up, Duck?
Available from:Our favorite duck stars in a story that teaches essential concepts like fast and slow and asleep and awake. Simple text paired with playful pictures of Duck and friends will teach preschoolers new words and reinforce familiar ones.
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The Foot Book
Available from:A classic for a reason, this rhyming book with repetition continues to be a read-aloud favorite. Starring a silly creature with enormous feet, I promise you’ll love it as much as your kids do—and have it memorized in short order.
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The Greatest Opposites Book on Earth
Available from:Welcome to the circus with lift-the-flap, fold-down, and pull-out options for readers. The illustrations feature mid-century, modern-colored clowns, acrobats, and other circus things. Follow along as they show expected and unexpected word pairings like same and different, many and few.
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