Favorite Books for Baby and Toddlers

I received three birth announcements just in the last week! And I have several friends and relatives that are expecting. I guess the next baby boom is on. :) I always give a few good books as part of a baby shower gift or gift for a new baby.

Here are a few of our favorite baby and toddler books:

 
Look, Look! By Peter Linenthal – This small board book is great for newborns. In fact, we received this book in a gift package from the hospital where we delivered our son. The images in the Look, Look book offer a striking contrast between black and white, since newborns are most sensitive to contrast and red.



 

Happy Baby 1 2 3 by Roger Priddy – I love the size of this book. It’s small enough to stash in a diaper bag for entertainment on the go. It’s also chock full of great pictures with simple text and numbers for counting make it a great first book.  We have the bilingual edition that includes both English and Spanish.




B is for Bear by Roger Priddy – Can you tell that we love Roger Priddy books and we have a bookshelf full of them?! This book was my son’s very favorite book during his first year. Each page features a big colorful picture representing a letter and rhyming verse as you coast through the alphabet. I’ve read this book so many times that I definitely have it completely memorized. My son’s very favorite letter in this book is Y with a mirror where he would look at himself and flash the biggest smile!



My First Mother Goose by Lisa McCue – No list of books would be complete without a book on classic nursery rhymes. I remember my mother reading nursery rhymes to me as a child. My son has several nursery rhyme books and I still remember reading to my son as I actually felt and heard him laughing for the very first time while sitting in my lap as I read the E-I-E-I-O part of Old MacDonald Had A Farm!




Tails by Matthew Van Fleet – My son received this book as a gift from Grandma and he just loves it! It’s a fun read featuring cute, friendly animals with interactive touch and feel tails. It’s really creative with all sorts of tails even wagging tails and a scratch and sniff tail! This book is well made and definitely gets a workout at our house as my son requests that we read this one all the time.

F is for Farm (Baby Touch and Feel) by Roger Priddy – We love, love, love this interactive board book. In fact, my son loved it to pieces literally. There are a lot of moving parts for little ones to explore and use for interactive learning. This book is sturdy and well constructed, but if your kids are as curious as my son, eventually some of the moving parts may be torn. Of course, that’s what’s great about having your own books. Just save the pieces and use packing tape to piece it back together. With fun text, bright photographs, and lots of moving parts (a spinning wheel, pull tabs, an opening door) it’s a wonderful interactive book that babies will grow into. This book is meant for ages 1+, but we started using it a lot earlier and now at 20 months it’s still a favorite we read time and time again.

Over the Moon: A Collection of First Books: Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny, and My World by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd – Although I didn’t read Goodnight Moon as a child, it really is a classic and a great bedtime story! Grandma bought this hardcover book and since it includes three books it is a great value at only around $1 more than just purchasing the hardcover edition of Goodnight Moon.



I started reading to my son while I was pregnant and continue reading with him every day. At 1 year old, he is really active and into absolutely everything. Reading books is the one time he happily sits still with me and that definitely works for me! We love books and story time! I’m always on the hunt for great books to share with my son. Do you have any favorite baby or children's books?