The Best Books for Toddlers

I have always enjoyed reading. I am a former teacher and during my undergraduate course work we had a required course where we learned how to read books to children. We learned how to select books and how to read them with voice and dictation. It was one of my favorite classes ever! On this blog post today I am sharing some of my favorites and best books for toddlers. I keep what I learned in my undergrad in mind when I picked them.

Creating a Library of Books For your Child

My mom saved a lot of books that I grew up reading, which I am grateful for since I now get to read those special and memorable books with my son. I also had many books that I saved from my teaching days, a lot of which are chapter books that I created unit plans for with the fifth grade students I taught. I am excited to share the chapter books with my son in the future. Also at my baby shower, my cousin added a note to bring books instead of a card. This helped build the sweetest little library for my son. I try to do this for other parents to be or family members with children.

I’ve mentioned in my blog post about book and toy rotations here that another good way to get access to children’s books and board books are to check them out from the library and to shop second hand at Goodwill. Last time I went to Goodwill they had an amazing selection of gently used children’s books that could easily be the best books for toddlers.

The gift of literacy, learning, and exposure to all the beauty that reading has to offer is a priceless gift! Reading is special, because it takes you to mystical places, or alternate realities, or tugs on your heart strings. This is the case for most books I read with my son.

Exposure to Reading from the Start

We started reading to my son Luka when he was in my belly. Then, when he was born, we would read during tummy time or before a nap when he was laying in his crib. We moved to reading together as he grew and now sometimes he tries to read books on his own. He turns the pages and looks at the pictures and identities things in the pictures. It’s all good practice for him to become a little reader. We plan to continue reading with him and have some chapter books in mind to read out loud with him when he gets older. It’s fun and amazing bonding time.

Our Favorite and Best Toddler Books

Here is my favorite books so far in Luka’s first two years of life. This is a personal and unique list to what we have found. Note, that your child may have different interests and your best books for toddlers will look different. The whole point is to expose literacy with your little one. You do not have to be a teacher or former teacher to teach your child. We all have skills and strengths that are gifts that we can share with our children.

Favorite Books For Younger Toddlers and Babies

“If I were a puppy” (Amazon) by Jellycat was one of my favorites with Luka. The contrast of textures, simple colors, and words was a perfect way for us to read to Luka when he was younger. Plus the board books are more durable for a baby who is drooling and spitting up. We still read this one together and enjoy the simplicity of it.

Other books that we loved for our baby were the Jelly Cat soft books. We have the “I am an Avocado” and “Zoom to the moon” (These are not affiliate links for the two Jelly cat soft books linked to the Jelly cat website). These are soft material, indestructible, washable, and have words, and interactive components for babies and young toddlers These are also great for on the go in the diaper bag and perfect for tummy time and free play with your toddler.

Favorite Classic Children’s books

I have my original copy of Love You Forever (Amazon) from when I was a child. Luka was gifted a new copy too. This one is an emotional one about a mother and her son’s journey through life together. I’ve always remembered this one growing up. My husband Matt and I cry on this book every time! But it’s a timeless classic that I believe our son will enjoy for years to come.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Amazon) is one that I remember so fondly from kindergarten. It’s about a hungry little caterpillar’s journey to becoming a butterfly. It’s a fun one to read with children and there are many activities or crafts you can do along with it. It has a board book version too which is perfect.

Good Night Moon (Amazon) is another classic book. It is simple and light and the perfect book to share together before a good nights sleep. We read this one a lot with Luka starting around six months. It’s a beautiful classic and a simple book.

Eggbert: The Slightly Cracked Egg (Amazon) is a beautiful story that teaches that teaches individuality. I have my original copy from childhood and I love reading this with my son Luka. The illustrations are beautiful and the message is so sweet.

Favorite New Age Children’s books

The Little Blue truck Series

By new age, I am referring to books that were not around when I was a young child in the 90’s. My sister in law gave Luka the original Little Blue Truck Books (Amazon) for Luka’s first birthday. It is a special story about a brave and kind blue truck and his animal friends. I love this book because it teaches so many sweet lessons and helped Luka start to identify and name animals early on. Plus they have the option for the durable board book, perfect for a toddler. The series has spin offs for almost every holiday like Valentines Day, Christmas, Halloween, and other selections. I think we have all of them at this point. They are worth the investment, fun, light hearted, and age appropriate from baby up to early elementary.

Mind Body Baby

If you are looking for something a little more unique on the lines of crystals, astrology, meditation, etc. for your babe, then the Mind Body Baby selection of books are right up your alley. Learning about these things in my late 20’s have helped guide me to where I am today. I felt it was important to expose my son to learning how to breath when he is overwhelmed, or how his zodiac sign can help him understand who he is and beyond.

I understand these books may not be for everyone, but they have been an extremally helpful tool. The meditation book in particular helped Matt and I teach Luka how to do deep calming breaths and how to meditate. Granted he is a toddler and we do about 2 minutes of breathing at night, but it’s a cool tool. If we give the space for our children to learn, they will pick up on things that can help them in their life. The Mind Body Baby series has books for “Chakras“, “Mediation“, “Astrology“, and “Crystals” (Amazon).

I am Human

Also, the I am Human, a Book of Empathy (Amazon) is another special and unique book that we have. It is not a board book, but it teaches the beauty of being an imperfect Human. This author has many other options Like “I am love”, “I am courage”, “I am Peace” that I hope to get one day. The “I am Human Book” is so good and uplifting. I believe that this one in particular is one of the best books for toddlers and may be one of my favorites of all.

Reading and Practicing Yoga

On that note, this is not exactly a book but we recently got these MOLLYBEE KIDS Preschool Yoga Cards (Amazon). My son and I love to do yoga poses together. I am not a yoga teacher by any means. But I have practiced yoga for many years. Simple stretching and breathing techniques I have learned in my yoga journey are things that my son now enjoys. Before we got the cards we would do all the normal poses and stretch.

We also taught Luka Lions breathe and deep breathing to help calm in the challenging moments or relax before bed. We even made up an “elephant breathe” because he loves elephants so much. He now leads me in yoga stretching and breathing most nights. These cards make it easy for him to pick a pose and to try it out with the picture and keeping it light and simple by referencing an animal to help show the pose. They are adorable and are a learning tool of not just yoga but also of animals.

Lovevery Practical Life Skill Books

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It’s no surprise that we love Lovevery. Lovevery is a Montessori style age appropriate play kit subscription that has helped our son’s development and learning so much. Each play kit usually comes with a book. They are the sturdy board books and teach practical age appropriate lessons. The words are simple, the pictures are actual pictures of parents and children to help your child model and learn. They have so much practical real world value. Read more about why we love Lovevery here and here and click here for free shipping on your first order.

Tying Up the Best Books for Toddlers

I hope you enjoyed this list of the best books for toddlers. It is special and very personal. But any way I can help another parent is a win for me! There are so many books out there, but what I resort back to is what brought me joy growing up, and ultimately learning what brings my son joy now. He really engaged with the first “Little Blue Truck” book and so that is why we made a point to get the others. Books are special and an important part of our children’s development. Keep up the great work parents!