I apologize for my hiatus over the past couple of weeks. Thanksgiving came and went, I shopped my heart out for Christmas gifts, and now I am recovering from the stomach flu (which, trust me, you do NOT want)!
My toddler daughter absolutely loves reading books and we have them all over the house, so it was really difficult to narrow down our favorites for this post. But I do remember being late in my pregnancy with her and thinking, “There are so many children’s books. How in the world do I know which ones to get?”
Thankfully, I got a great start on her library from shower gifts (hint: in the shower invite, we requested books with personal inscriptions rather than greeting cards and it was a great success). Therefore, my loved ones made it a lot easier on me by gifting books that they or their own children once enjoyed. Now, I feel like I’ve made it far enough in our journey to at least recommend some excellent books for baby’s first year or so. Take a look at the categories and selections below, and then comment to let me know which books your child couldn’t live without!
Softcover
What Are Little Girls Made Of? by Kids Preferred
This is the first book I really remember our daughter falling in love with. It’s so short and simple, but the textured pictures are sweet and she just wanted to chew on the teethers and crinkly pages anyway.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Let’s Count by Kids Preferred
This is another teething-friendly book that is a nice alternative to the full-length board book. It counts through the foods the caterpillar ate over the first five days. This version holds a younger infant’s attention much more easily.
My Family & Friends by Genius Baby Toys
My daughter still cannot get enough of this. It’s not technically a book, but a photo album that you can fill with familiar faces. It holds up against any rough handling and keeps photos protected. She looks through it and points and names people all day long.
Board Books
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
The rhythmic, repetitive nature of this book is a win. And Carle’s illustrations are always captivating to little eyes. I’d also like to mention here, and for every animal book that follows, that making animal sounds while reading is a must! Babies love it and some of my daughter’s first “words” ended up being animal sounds.
Barnyard Dance! by Sandra Boynton
Boynton is a clear favorite in our home, but this book was THE FAVORITE of all favorites for a very long time. Its sing-song lines about farm animals’ dance moves make you want to dance along, and the illustrations couldn’t be any cuter. Our daughter’s first birthday party theme was based on this book. Other favorites by Boynton include Moo Baa La La La!, Horns to Toes and In Between, Opposites, and Doggies.
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
I’ll be honest, despite this book’s status as a classic, I wasn’t a fan for the longest time. It wasn’t until recently that I realized its hypnotizing powers at bedtime. My daughter likes to point out the named items and it seems to calm her down after a long day.
Peek-A Who? by Nina Laden
This book takes the “peek-a boo” phrase and creates clever rhymes with bright, fun illustrations. Baby can also guess what comes next through holes in the pages. It’s not very long, but little ones seems to want to read it over and over.
Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
Our first Dewdney book was Llama Llama Wakey-Wake, another great one, but I couldn’t believe how excited my daughter was over this particular book in the series. I think the key is being really dramatic with Llama’s emotions while reading aloud. My daughter was shouting along with me every time we read it.
You Are My Sunshine by Caroline Jayne Church
Of all of the board book illustrations I’ve seen, I think Church’s are some of the sweetest. Accompany them with a lovely, timeless song and you have a hit. It’s fun to sing this to a baby (and sometimes tear up because you mean every word of it). Also check out Church’s How Do I Love You?.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star by Kate Toms
This is my current bedtime favorite to read aloud (and my little girl loves it too, of course). You can sing the entire book to the tune of the song. Toms is another illustrator I love, especially for her hand-stitched work. And the mouse’s adoration for the little star is charming.
I Love You, Good Night by Jon Buller and Susan Schade
This is my other bedtime favorite – also starring mice! A mouse tells a little mouse just how loved they are, with comparisons such as, “I love you like I love strawberry milkshakes.”
First 100 Words by Roger Priddy
This is the book my daughter carries everywhere lately. She points at the images and waits for me to name them. And because there are ONE HUNDRED WORDS, it holds her attention for a long time (in toddler minutes, that is).
On the Farm You Might See… by Flowerpot Press and Lisa M. Gardiner
Farm animals are a popular theme in board books, but most focus on their physical features or sounds. I like this book because it teaches each animal’s purpose on the farm (example: “On the farm you might see a horse. They are for riding.”).
Rhymoceros by Janik Coat
I have my local library to thank for this discovery. Each page spread features rhyming pairs of rhinoceroses, and the creativity in the illustrations makes me laugh every time. Hippopposites is another Coat book along the same lines, instead featuring pairs of opposites.
There is nothing complicated about this book that counts animals, but it’s the illustrations in bright, contrasting colors that set it apart and interest baby from the start.
Your Baby’s First Word Will Be DADA by Jimmy Fallon
Even as a Fallon fan, I was skeptical of his ability to produce a good board book. In fact, the first few times I read this one, it wasn’t clicking. But then I started getting really into the voices I was using for each animal and it all came together, earning lots of smiles from my little one whose favorite word still happens to be “DADA.”
Interactive books
Noisy Farm by Tiger Tales
Parents be warned: if your child is sensitive to sound, this book may take some time to introduce. Our toddler cried at first with this one because the loud noises startled her. After a while, she got used to it and now pushes the buttons herself! The added textures to the photographs are a nice feature.
Bright Baby Touch & Feel: On the Farm, Baby Animals, At the Zoo and Perfect Pets by Roger Priddy
Lots of our time has been spent with this boxed set. Each book has short poems about the animals shown. You may find them so catchy that you end up memorizing them like I did after many re-reads!
Ten Little Ladybugs by Melanie Gerth
I wouldn’t have guessed how popular this basic countdown book would be with my daughter. Don’t get me wrong; it’s very cute. I think she is intrigued by the little ladybugs that disappear with each page turn! It’s a fun book to read with her.
Peekaboo Sophie! by DK
Although we never had one of the Sophie teething toys, our little one really liked this lift-the-flap peekaboo book. Each page also includes different textures as you help Sophie find her friends.
Chomp! by Heather Brown
This was another great library find. The library is one of my favorite ways to find new children’s books, and it really helps with variety every couple of weeks so I’m not reading my daughter the same stories so often. Brown’s book is really fun with it’s pull-tab chomping teeth to learn about ways animals use their mouths.
Disheveled Shelf 