Good Books on Child Development - Ages 3 and Up

I don't have any books to suggest because I think after age 3, it's SO dependent on the individual child (it is from birth too, but there are more definitive milestones to chart in those early years that can indicate problems). After 3 your child's personality is really out there and they can voice and choose more and more likes and dislikes. If your child goes to preschool or when she starts kindergarten (and you should ask before what she needs to know going in) -they will let you know if she is on target, below or above when it comes to knowledge.

Physically, we're all different in abilities when it comes to sports and athletic pursuits. Some kids can play soccer or tennis or ice skate REALLY well at 3 and 4 and others never can or don't develop those skills until 8 or 10. It's much harder to throw out a chart and say, "Should be able to hit a tennis ball over a net," or "Should be able to swim 2 laps in a pool," by a certain age, because nothing is wrong with you if you NEVER can do those things. You can google and find preschool milestones in regards to learning for her like, "By age ___ she should be able to: name shapes, colors, count to 10, identify 15 letters of the alphabet, etc." Your pediatrician may have some helpful handouts about that sort of thing too. In most cases, as long as she can say her full name, write at least her first name, knows her ABCs, basic shapes, colors and can count to 10 -she will be considered "on target" for most public kindergarten programs. In my opinion, she should also be able to give her address and phone number as well as parent's names, but that's not usually on the "expectations" list.

The American Association of Pediatrics makes a couple books, the first is Birth to 5 and then there is one after that. They are the best I have found and were also recommended by a good friend fo mine who is a pediatrician.

If your child is developing well, then why don't you focus on just regular reading material that can be interesting for them. My children (2 1/2 and 4 1/2) are reading: Pop-up Facts Space by Bond and Thompson. They've learned about the sun, moon, stars, etc. Nothing ridiculously detailed, but enjoyable. To connect, we've taken them to the planetarium to learn about the sun, have bought an inexpensive telescope (you can alos use binoculars) to see the stars. As long as the book encourages reading then just do a variety. That is developmental. If you rush a 3 year old to learn alphabet so soon by kindergarten she'll be too bored of everything. Don't get me wrong, I've also purchased work books with numbers and the alphabet, but I'm not pushing the eldest to do it if he's not interested. He choses to do it sometimes in the mornings and evenings. I would stick to fun and enjoyable books that your daughter will learn from. Go to Barnes and Nobles book store. Even amazon has great books for children at discount prices.
I hope I've somewhat answered your question. Take care.

T. Berry Brazelton's "Touchpoints: Three to Six" is pretty good.

"Compass" and "Preparing for Peer Pressure" both by James Stenson. available from amazon