7 Speech Therapy Books That Simplify In-Home Practice (and tips on how to use them)

Gina Britt
20 hours ago
4 min read

Updated: 2 hours ago

On days you are not feeling particularly fun or bubbly, using speech therapy books online can make in home speech speech sessions exciting, with low effort!

As a speech therapist of 14+ years, I have learned A LOT of tips and tricks. Even though the days can be long and hard there are easy ways to improve your kids communciation skills that can be incorporated into your every-day routine.

In this post, you will learn about using books in speech therapy.

Thanks for reading this post all about speech therapy books

Follow these steps to Use Books for In-Home Speech Therapy

Step 1.Consult with an SLP

Confirm what speech or language goals you're targeting.
Optional: Book a free consult to make sure you're on track.

Step 2. Read the Book with Purpose

Pause on key sounds (e.g., “S” words)
Ask WH questions (Who, What, Where, When, Why)
Make predictions and describe pictures
Encourage your child to retell the story
Add movement for engagement (e.g., animal actions)

Speech Therapy Books #1

Grumpy Monkey by Suzanne Lang

This is a hiliarous book that will help kids practice their speech goals while simultaneously processing those grumpy days! It's great to work on both :)

Discuss vocabulary like "grumpy," "angry," "frustrated," "annoyed," "sad," and "happy."
Talk about how it’s okay to have different feelings and the importance of recognizing and naming them.

Speech Therapy Books #2

Enemy Pie By Cameron Manheim

Enemy Pie is a beautifully written story that has an honarable moral lesson at the end :)

Have the child recall the story using temporal words (first, next, then, last). This helps with their ability to tell stories in their own lives.
Speech Therapy WH Questions: Who was the enemy? What was the dad's plan? How did the boy’s

feelings change?

Speech Therapy Books #3

I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll

This book is silly, fun and cute! It is available for free online through storyonline.

While reading, describe each substitute monster (e.g., “This monster has slimy green skin, long sharp claws, and a loud growl”).
Have the child create their own monster using descriptive language—focus on size, color, sound, body parts, textures.
Use sentence starters such as:
- “My monster has ___.”
- “He is ___ and ___.”
- “His claws are ___ because ___.”

Speech Therapy Books #4

Rodeo Red StoryLine Online by Maripat Perkins

This is a free & entertaining story with visual animations and a famous actress reading it and sharing her anictodes at the end.

Target Sounds: /r/, /s/, /l/, or any target sounds in themed vocabulary.
Have students practice words from the book that contain their target sounds (e.g., Red, rope, ranch, sheriff, outlaw for /r/).
Create silly sentences or mini-stories using those words to reinforce correct sound production.
Create a list of idioms from the story and have the child explain them in their own words
Example: The sheriff turned a blind eye.
Child-friendly explanation: “Her mom saw what was happening but didn’t stop it.”

Speech Therapy Books #5

Pete the Cat And His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin

This is a fantastic book available for free online with a catchy song that repeats through out the story.

Encourage the child to repeat: “Did Pete cry? Goodness, no!”
Use sentence starters with fill-in-the-blank responses:
- “Pete lost ___ button(s).”
- “He has ___ buttons left.”
- “His shirt is ___.”
Build from 2-word phrases ("blue shirt") to 3-4 word sentences ("Pete has a blue shirt")

Speech Therapy Books #6

Never Take a Shark To The Dentist (and other things not to do) by Judi Barrett

This is such a cute story with great visuals. When reviewing the book, pair each animal with a motor movement! For this story I prefer the actual book. Here's a free bookmark to help you keep your place!

Work on Reasoning, expressive language, sentence formulation, humor comprehension
Read each silly suggestion (e.g., “Never take a shark to the dentist”) and pause to ask:
- “Why is that silly?”
- “What would really happen if you did that?”
- “What should you do instead?”
Have the child explain in a complete sentence (e.g., “It’s silly because the shark has too many sharp teeth and might scare the dentist!”).
Then let them create their own funny animal rule (e.g., “Never take a giraffe on an elevator”)

Want a speech therapy bookmark?

Click Me

Speech Therapy Books #7

The Adams Family by Alexandra West and Lissy Marlin

This is a crowd pleaser that emphasizes that being different should be celebrated.

Have fun with this one!

Get creative, pick out words to practice
Re-create the Wednesday Adams dance

If you are looking for more speech therapy books online here are some tips:

These are 3 of my favorite places to get free speech therapy books to use to help improve childrens communication! They are engaging, high quality and effective to use in your speech therapy at home.

Storyline Online