What You Will Need

The Book - Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni

A Ruler

Gummy Worms

What To Do

Use the story as an opportunity to learn how to measure things. Choose the best way for you and your preschooler.

If this is a one-in-one activity, you could begin by inviting your preschooler to reenact the story with the worm as you read. You and your preschooler can inch your worms across the page, escaping the threats of your predators!

Or if you would rather wait to bring out the fun additions until after the story is read, that will work, too. Choose the way, which will work best for your preschooler.

When you're ready, start by measuring your worm. How long is it? Then, use the story to ask other questions:

• How long is your thumb? Can you measure it?
• How long is your song? Can you measure it?
• How long is your tail? Can you measure it?

Ask your preschooler what else they would you like to measure. Take time to let them measure other objects around the room.

Reread the story and let your preschooler measure the images on the pages as well. Is it easier to measure the tail of a pheasant, or the neck of a flamingo? Keep asking questions as you learn to measure.

After The Activity

When you're done measuring, ask your preschooler what he/she liked best about measuring. What was difficult to measure? Measure your preschooler and yourself. Who is bigger?

Use these fun comparisons to keep learning, and to keep it exciting. They will love it! When all is said and done, you can enjoy inching the gummy worms into your mouth. Make that a measuring game, too! Ask your preschooler to measure 10 inches of gummy worms to eat. Help him/her measure the right amount of worms.

Hi! I'm Molly Christensen, the Preschool Books writer at PreschoolRock.com. I have five wonderful children, ranging in age from 1 to 12. We own hundreds and hundreds of books and we all read a lot! I love playing games and reading with preschoolers and I often teach preschool classes. If you have a good book you'd like to recommend or just want to share your ideas and suggestions, please contact me.

Helpful Tips for Parents

• Audiobooks count as reading. Children who listen to audiobooks develop the same comprehension, vocabulary, and story-structure understanding as children read to by adults.

• Children's picture books are not dumbed-down literature — the best ones (Where the Wild Things Are, Charlotte's Web, Goodnight Moon) reward re-reading across decades.

• Poetry is the highest-density language exposure available in children's literature. A poem that takes 60 seconds to read delivers the vocabulary, rhythm, and craft of far longer prose.

• Diverse books — featuring characters of different backgrounds, abilities, and family structures — build both empathy in all children and recognition/pride in children from those backgrounds.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are audiobooks as beneficial as physical books read aloud?

Audiobooks develop many of the same literacy skills as adult read-alouds: vocabulary, comprehension, story structure, and phonological awareness. The primary difference: a skilled narrator or author reading their own work often delivers superior prosody (the musical rise and fall of language) compared to a tired parent reading at bedtime. The primary advantage of parent read-alouds: the social interaction — pointing, questioning, discussing — that maximizes comprehension. Both are valuable; neither should entirely replace the other.

How many books should I read to my preschooler per day?

The volume is less important than the consistency. Even one book per day, read with engagement and followed by brief conversation, delivers significant developmental benefit. Many families read 3–5 books at bedtime plus additional books throughout the day — this is excellent and associated with the strongest reading outcomes. If you can only manage one daily reading session, make it consistent, engaged, and joyful rather than perfunctory.

Related reading: See also our nursery rhymes and literacy guide and our read-aloud techniques guide for more ideas on this topic.

🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

• 🎭 Dramatic Expression — Hearing books read aloud with expression — character voices, varied pacing, dramatic pauses — models the prosody and emotional range of language that children internalize and bring to their own reading and speaking.
• 🎵 Phonological Awareness — Books with rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, and wordplay directly develop phonological awareness — the ability to hear and manipulate sounds in language — which is the strongest single predictor of reading success at school entry.
• 🗣️ Language Fluency — Exposure to the complex sentence structures, rich vocabulary, and varied grammatical patterns of written language — more complex than everyday speech — builds linguistic fluency that distinguishes strong readers and communicators.
• 💬 Vocabulary Expansion — Books deliver vocabulary 3–4x more efficiently than conversation — introducing words children would rarely encounter in everyday speech and building the word knowledge that is the single strongest predictor of reading comprehension.

Inch by Inch

Written by Leo Lionni

Inch by Inch is a wonderful book with short text and vivid pictures. Use this Measuring Activity as a guide to maximize your preschooler's learning experience. Follow up with the questions below to ensure your preschooler's understanding and interest.