Books help very young children develop their language ability. Listening to stories and talking about them is important for preschoolers' growth toward literacy. Some books that have built-in ways of participating are quite intriguing. Babies and toddlers especially benefit from books that allow identification and participation. Several criteria are available for evaluating these books. Finger rhymes and nursery songs are precursors to the Mother Goose books that form the earliest literary heritage for young children. Although there is no certain historical source for these books, they are available in varieties of editions that can be scrutinized using evaluation criteria. Collections of nursery rhymes from other lands are increasing. Concept books that teach generations are valuable for young children. These include alphabet and counting books that come in many forms. These books are used for extending concepts that children first learn through experience. Slightly more complex books that help form a bridge to information books are now being published for preschoolers. Wordless books are becoming increasingly popular. More and more books are being produced which portray the lives of preschool children. As children move to the beginning stages of reading, they benefit from predictable books that enable their early success at reading. Big books are used in many primary classes to augment early reading instruction. Controlled-vocabulary books also have value for beginning readers, but they tend to be limited in quality. The quantity of books for preschoolers is increasing.