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It’s that time
of the year! The time when we think about our friends and family, then spend
hours scrolling through the Internet, hopelessly wondering what to buy for them.
I’m here to help with the littlest humans on your list. These are the best
books I’ve come across for babies and toddlers. My 20-month-old—Baby
Brooklyn—agrees. These are her favorite stories. The books on this list are
board books, which means they’re sturdy and will stand up to rough re-readings.
I chose a mix of classics and newer releases. Let’s get into it!
Christmas last year. Look at Brooklyn's bald head! She's not bald anymore.
👶 Best Books For
Babies And Toddlers 📚
Standalone Books
PEEK-A WHO? BY NINA LADEN
Peek-a-Who? takes
the most loved baby and toddler game and puts it in book form! Colorful
pictures and simple rhyming texts help children guess what's peeking through
the die-cut windows in this fun board book. The anticipation of what's hiding
on the next page and the bright, engaging illustrations will keep little ones
guessing and giggling all the way to the surprise ending.
Why it’s a favorite: It’s a book that encourages interaction. You peek through the holes in the pages and try to guess what’s coming next. It has colorful pictures and a simple rhyme scheme that makes guessing fun. *Spoiler alert!* The “surprise ending” is a mirror, which pleases Baby Brooklyn because she’s a tiny narcissist who enjoys staring at herself.
Yummy Yucky by Leslie Patricelli
“Spaghetti is
yummy, worms are yucky. Sandwiches are yummy, sand is yucky.” With bold
illustrations, Leslie Patricelli humorously introduces concepts to very young
children. The book also has a double spread section featuring “more yummy
things” and “more yucky things.”
Why it’s a favorite: We’ve read a ton of Leslie Patricelli’s hilarious board books and loved them all, but Yummy Yucky is Brooklyn’s current favorite. It contrasts yummy foods with yucky non-foods. (“Soup is yummy; soap is yucky.”) I think Brooklyn likes it because it’s repetitive and interactive. She loves pointing at the illustrations and saying, “Yummy, yummy, yummy,” or “Yucky, yucky, yucky.” My only complaint about the book is that it puts hot sauce in the yucky category. Um, excuse me? I live on hot sauce. I can see why you wouldn’t want your baby eating it, though.
WHERE’S SPOT? BY ERIC HILL
The simple text and colorful pictures will engage
a whole new generation of pre-readers as they lift the picture flaps in search
of Spot. A number 1 bestseller since it was first published in 1980, this
interactive favorite has stayed in the charts ever since.
Why it’s a favorite: Another interactive book. And a classic. Brooklyn understood the lift-the-flap concept instantly and grabs the flaps before I can finish reading the page. She owns a few flap books, but Spot seems to be her favorite, especially at bedtime. We once had a minor crisis when she lost the book. We literally had to find Spot before she would take a nap. Clearly, this is an important work of literature.
I WANT MY HAT BACK BY JON KLASSEN
The bear’s hat is gone, and he wants it back.
Patiently and politely, he asks the animals he comes across, one by one,
whether they have seen it. Each animal says no, some more elaborately than
others. But just as the bear begins to despond, a deer comes by and asks a
simple question that sparks the bear’s memory and renews his search with a
vengeance.
Why it’s a favorite: This book might appeal more to adults than to young children. I laughed really hard at the end. Brooklyn is too young to understand the humor, but she still loves the book. I suspect she likes it because the main character is a bear. She loves her teddy bears and the cartoon Masha And The Bear.
FIRST 100 WORDS BY ROGER PRIDDY
Features 100 everyday words for children to learn
and help build their vocabulary. Beautiful color photographs. Simple design in a sturdy format.
Why it’s a favorite: The book is a photo dictionary of objects that babies encounter in their daily lives. The pictures are simple and colorful, which makes it easy for uncoordinated kids to find objects and point to them. Brooklyn doesn’t talk much, but I know she’s learning words because she can find them in the book. First 100 Words and Where’s Spot? are the books she wants to read most often.
SHEEP IN A JEEP BY NANCY SHAW & MARGOT APPLE
A flock of hapless sheep drive through the
country in this rhyming picture book.
Why it’s a favorite: Baby Brooklyn is a little too young to understand the humor, but the plot made me smile. It has charming illustrations and a fun rhyme scheme. It also contains an important life lesson: Never loan your Jeep to a sheep.
ALL THE WORLD BY LIZ GARTON SCANLON & MARLA FRAZEE
Following a circle of family and friends through
the course of a day from morning till night, this book affirms the importance
of all things great and small in our world, from the tiniest shell on the
beach, to warm family connections, to the widest sunset sky.
Why it’s a favorite: The illustrations are gorgeous. I don’t know where this story is set, but I want to live there. Everything about this book is cozy. The characters are loving and happy. Even the rhythm of the sentences is soothing. It’s the perfect book to read at bedtime.
Pet The Pets:
A Lift-The-Flap Book by Sarah Lynne Reul
This
interactive novelty board book encourages readers to help and play with
different pets by lifting the sturdy flaps on each spread. Scratch the dog’s ear,
help the hamster’s wheel spin around, and feed the hungry fish in this
inventive and engaging book that teaches little ones how to be good pet owners.
What it’s a favorite: It’s a book with flaps to lift, which means Baby Brooklyn is obsessed with it. I like this book because it has more purpose than the other flap books we’ve read together. It teaches kids empathy and how to observe pets to figure out what they need. It’s short and interactive enough to keep young children entertained, even if they don’t understand the message. Plus, the illustrations are adorable.
Lift,
Pull, Slide, Find ABC by Scott Barker
Lift,
pull, slide, and find your way through this exciting ABC board book! With flaps, pop-ups, and sliders
on every spread, there's plenty to keep little ones entertained!
Why it’s a favorite: This is a flap book on steroids. So many
flaps! Like the (ultra-creative) title suggests, it’s full of stuff to “lift,
pull, slide, and find.” There are even pop-ups and pages to unfold. Baby
Brooklyn adores it. She quickly mastered the flaps, slides, and unfolds. I like
the book, too. The design of it is aesthetically pleasing. It’s definitely the
most beautifully illustrated flap book on this list.
Hello,
Bugs! by Smriti Prasadam-Halls & Emily Bolam
A
charming introduction to 10 beautiful little bugs, featuring high contrast
black-and-white patterns. A glittering burst of colored foil brings a vivid
splash of color to every page.
Why it’s a favorite: Like many kids, Brooklyn is fascinated by
bugs. This book uses bold illustrations to introduce kids to 10 bugs and the
sounds they make. It’s a visually striking book that will grab the readers’
attention. The artwork uses a mixture of black-and-white patterns and shiny
foil.
Never
Touch A Monster by Rosie Greening & Stuart Lynch
This
monster-themed, touch-and-feel book is perfect for young children! Children
will love reading the funny rhyme that tells them the dangers of touching a
monster and then ignoring the advice!
Why it’s a favorite: Definitely the cute, colorful, smiling monsters. The book has clever rhymes and silly illustrations with rubbery textures for kids to pet. You can’t help touching these monsters. Brooklyn has adored this book for most of her life. She loves “touchable” books and shows no signs of growing out of them anytime soon.
Go, Dog. Go! by P.D. Eastman
Whether by
foot, boat, car, or unicycle, P. D. Eastman's lovable dogs demonstrate the many
ways one can travel.
Why it’s a favorite: No
list of board books would be complete without Go, Dog. Go! It was my childhood favorite, and it’s one of
Brooklyn’s favorites too. The simple story and colorful dogs teach kids about different
kinds of transportation and contrasting words (Tall/Short, Stop/Go, etc.). This
book is a classic for a reason! It’s memorable.
Barnyard
Dance! by Sandra Boynton
Everybody
sing along—because it's time to do-si-do in the barnyard with a high-spirited
animal crew! Twirling pigs, fiddle-playing cows, and other unforgettable
animals. Extra-big, extra-fat, and extra-fun, Barnyard Dance features lively rhyming text and a die-cut cover
that reveals the wacky characters inside. Guaranteed to get kids and adults
stomping their feet.
Why it’s a favorite: How many books can make you dance? This one
can! Baby Brooklyn and I had too much fun with this story. It’s written like a
song that describes how each animal is dancing. Why are the animals dancing? I
have no idea, but we danced along with them. Be grateful you weren’t around to
see that. It was probably mortifying. If you’re looking for a book to get you
moving, please pick this one up.
Boxset
Do
you want to make holiday shopping easy and buy a whole bunch of books at once?
That’s where boxsets come in handy. You can buy an entire series of books. To
make life even sweeter, they come in a box for easy storage. Here’s my current
favorite set:
Once Upon A World Collection by Chloe Perkins
Read along as Snow White flees her castle in Japan and meets
seven mysterious dwarves and Cinderella attends a ball in Mexico and loses her
glass slipper. And delight as Rapunzel escapes her tower in India and a
princess in Russia proves herself with one tiny pea.
This delightful collection includes:
Snow White
Cinderella
Rapunzel
The Princess and the Pea
Why it’s a favorite: The boxset includes 4 books. These
are the classic stories that kids already know, plus beautiful illustrations of
Mexico, Japan, India, and Russia. I love the mixture of familiar stories and
new settings. It’s a great way to introduce kids to different countries.
Book Subscription Service
If you want a completely hands-off approach to book shopping, you could always gift a book subscription box. New books will show up on your little one’s doorstep every month. It’s an easy way to keep a flow of new books coming into the house. I can tell you from experience that reading the same book over and over gets really boring. I’m always grateful when a new one shows up.
I recommend LillyPost! They deliver books for kids ages newborn to 7. Every month, you get 4 board books, 3 picture books, or a mixture of both delivered to your mailbox. The books are yours to keep. LillyPost is run by parents who are passionate about books, so you know they’ll pick the best stories for your kids. The company also donates books. For every box sold, they gift a book to an underprivileged child. So far, they’ve donated 140,000 books. That’s amazing.
That’s my giant holiday gift guide!
What books are you giving as gifts this year?
It's nice to see what's out there, though my child is waaaaay past this. I can't even really recall any of the baby/toddler books we read together.
ReplyDeleteI love board books that have different elements, like flaps or different textures. It just adds something extra to the book when the kiddos are too young for words!
ReplyDeleteThis is great AJ. We have quite a few of the board books you mentioned. Dr. Seuss is perfect for earlier readers as they contain many of their first sight words.
ReplyDeleteI read so many of these to many littles years ago! And out of this list I think their top favorite was Sheep in a Jeep. We loved, loved, loved that book! Ohhh mine were also Obsessed with The Little Blue Truck. It's super duper cute, if you haven't checked it out yet, and I can still recite it from memory HA!
ReplyDeleteJen @ Star-Crossed Book Blog
I remember loving Where's Spot? And those Once Upon a World book sound - and look - absolutely beautiful! I hadn't heard of those. Another great subscription service is BookRoo.
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
That's when you remind me of all the stories I used to read to my kids!
ReplyDeleteThis is great! I love to buy books for babies so I will definitely be using this. I ADORE the boxed set, that is absolutely lovely! Sammy always enjoyed Go Dog Go! and Never Touch a Dragon (which is the same idea as the Monster book you shared!) Thanks for the recommendations!
ReplyDeleteGreat list, AJ. Go Dog Go! was one of my son's favorite books when he was younger. He's 13 now and actually still has it on his bookshelf, lol.
ReplyDeleteWonderful list! That Fairy Tale box set is amazing looking!
ReplyDeleteNever Touch a Monster looks absolutely adorable! If I had a baby or toddler to buy for, I'd definitely pick up that one!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction