Favorite Books for Babies and Toddlers
All the best books and book tips for reading to your little one!
These are all of my favorite books for little ones, organized by age!
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First Words Library - Farm: This book has only one picture on each page and light and bright colors to draw baby’s attention. It’s short and sweet and perfect for repetition.
Peek-a-WHO?: This is one of my absolute favorites! It’s repetitive with a surprise on every page, so it’s great for language building and engagement while reading.
Baby’s Very First Noisy Nursery Rhymes: Soothing sounds that keep baby’s attention, each page has a corresponding button that plays a short tune! This book has been a favorite for both of my kids in their first year especially.
Never Touch a Koala!: Another “Never Touch” book - this series of sensory books is fun to collect and makes a great gift!
Crinkle Jungle: A fold-out crinkle book that’s PERFECT for tummy time! I love that this book has black and white images on both sides and it’s easy for baby to hold. Read with baby in tummy time, on your lap, or lay the book on their chest in the play gym and let them explore the crinkly sounds!
That’s Not My Monkey: Touch and feel books are the way to go! Once baby starts reaching (3-4 months of age), bring these books out and prop baby on your lap facing you. Model how to touch all the soft and scratchy parts and see if baby will imitate you! Model the functional words in the book and keep reading as your baby gets older!
Don’t Tickle the Pig!: We love these books! They’re simple yet engaging - not too many words per page, but touch & feel AND sound aspects!
Baby’s Very First Touchy Feely Book: Black and white images paired with touch-and-feel components are the perfect pair! One picture on each page keeps things simple and makes it easy for baby to learn names of items! The different touch-and-feel spots motivate reaching and page turning to see what’s next!
Lift-the-flap Peek-a-Boo at Bedtime: Large flaps are great for little ones who are just learning how to reach and grasp! This short and sweet book is colorful and motivates baby to wait and see what’s hiding behind each flap. Model “peek-a-boo, I see you” on each page!
Crinkle Rainbow Fish: This is the cutest book that doubles as toy and a teether too! Baby can first run their hand over the scales of the fish and later sit up and pinch and pull them to look at the pictures underneath, and then label what they find in toddlerhood!
The Hungry Caterpillar Crinkle Book: Great for sensory experience while reading to baby. Crinkle the book, look at the picture on each page, let baby teethe on the corner, etc.!
Hello, Baby Animals: We love the simple wording and clear shapes of this book! The rounded corners and sturdy pages make this one great for little hands.
Brown Bear Slide & See: We love this book! Have your little one open the book by themselves and start the story on the page they open to. Practice using their pointer finger as they slide the small flaps on each page back and forth.
B is for Bear: One of my favorite books for sensory engagement and communication! We love this book and Jenna has it, too! You can continue reading it as your child grows.
Slide and See - Under the Sea: These books are fun for the baby who is reaching and touching! Moving parts in the book motivate baby to engage and keep looking for the next piece!
Splish Splash Seahorse: This book incorporates ocean sounds and the seahorse can move with your help!
Jump Around: THIS IS MY ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOK. It prompts imitation through body movements and baby has SO much fun trying to imitate the stomping, wiggling, and more!
Don’t Tickle the Hippo!: Touch-and-feel mixed with sound books are great for this age, as baby can imitate by touching the spots you touch AND by trying to imitate the sound on each page! There are several books in this series and this is one of my faves!
Where’s The Dog?: Your little one can help find the animals on every page by lifting the felt flaps!
Goodnight, Chameleon: Felt flaps, need I say more? Baby can’t rip them! I only wish there were more! Goodnight, Owl is another option, and each book is filled with colorful pages, big flaps for easy grasping, and fun animals hid beneath each flap. Perfect to introduce around 6 months and continue into toddlerhood!
Are You There Little Owl?: This cute peek-a-boo book keeps baby’s attention as they look for where the animal is hiding on each page. They find other animals along the way and can touch the cut-outs! Pages are easy to turn and motivate baby to look for what’s next!
Do Crocs Kiss?: We love this one! With lift the flaps, fun rhyming, and animal sounds, it’s perfect for practicing imitation while your little one is engaged in reading!
See, Touch, Feel: One of my favorite books for incorporating sensory play. It has raised textures, finger trails, and more. Take turns scratching the ribs on the xylophone or banging the drum. Super interactive!
Where is Baby’s Belly Button: This is a classic book that is so well-loved! The flaps are large and your little one can engage on every page.
What’s in my Truck?: With sliders and flaps on every page, find out what’s in every type of truck with your little one!
See, Touch, Feel - Animals: We love all of these books! This one is great because there aren’t many words on each page, but there ARE many ways to engage with your little one! Model movements, imitate, touch and feel the pages and more!
Where is Baby’s Belly Button: This is a classic book that is so well-loved! The flaps are large and your little one can engage on every page.
Noisy Farm: An interactive touch & feel book with sounds, too!
What Sound Do You Make?: I love this book for imitating and practicing sounds with your little one!
Panda Bear, Panda Bear What Do You See?: Similar to Brown Bear, Brown Bear - but focusing on animals and verbs!
Never Touch a Monster: The “Never Touch” series is so popular with my kids. If you have a baby or young toddler who has trouble paying attention to books, give this one a try! The bright colors and fun textures make for an exciting storytime experience.
Poke a Dot - What’s in the Ocean?: These books are great for practicing finger isolation (15 month milestone) and always a hit!
Barnyard Dance!: Get up and dance! Spin with the chickens, trot with the turkey, and more. This is one of Jenna’s favorite books to read with her littles.
Slide & Seek - Cheep Cheep!: This one is so cute! We know finger isolation should develop around 15 months of age, and this book has sliders to isolate pointer fingers! Engage with the sounds in the book and wait for your little one to imitate as you look to find the chick on each page.
That’s Not My Sloth: Those touch and feel books that baby enjoyed are ready to be taken up a notch! Modeling the functional descriptive words repeatedly and pausing to let your little one try and imitate is key!
Llama Llama Hide & Seek: With lift the flaps and Llama Llama, you can’t go wrong! Jenna’s kids LOVE these books.
Belly Button Book: A silly, rhyming book about hippos and their belly buttons!
Goodnight Gorilla: A great book to bring into your bedtime routines. Say goodnight to all of the animals at the zoo!
Things That Go - Sound Book: All the sounds of vehicles everywhere! Perfect for a transportation lover, this book has lots of pictures that you can narrate as you discover the sounds.
Where’s Spot?: Find Spot so he can eat his dinner! A short and simple book that includes prepositions. Is he behind the door? Under the bed? Can you find him?!
Wild Animals Sound Book: Another motivating book for littles with lots of buttons to push! Your little one can imitate the sounds each animal makes and you can talk about where they live and what they are doing.
Press Here: This is a book that allows you and your little one to interact with every page! Tap, shake, blow, etc. and watch the dots move and dance on every page! Jenna’s son enjoys this one a lot.
Pizza!: A fun and interactive book about making pizza - with no food required! You can use the recipe in the book to actually prepare and make the pizza, too!
Each Peach Pear Plum: It has a storyline, but only contains short phrases and rhyming words that keep your little one engaged. The pictures tease what comes next, making it fun to read!
Steady Sloth: Toddlers are notorious for going TOO fast. This book talks about how if you go SLOW you can do it AND do it with less frustration. Also in the series are Scaredy Cat, Grumpy Tortoise, and Cautious Chameleon).
The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Another classic with colorful illustrations. Use some of your play food and eat along with the caterpillar through the book to make it more interactive!
Boop The Snoot: One that babies and toddlers will love. Demonstrate how to boop the animal noses, and have your little one imitate you!
1, 2, 3 Do The Shark: Another fun book that encourages imitation of sounds and movement! Clap, open wide, swish, and boogie as you swim with the shark.
What’s in my House?: An interactive book where you can slide and find items in different rooms of the house!
Down by the Station: We love this book! Throughout the book is a catchy song melody that’s fun to sing along to.
Oh My, Oh My, Oh Dinosaurs!: This fun book is about opposites!
Noisy Things That Go: All the sounds of vehicles everywhere! Perfect for a transportation lover, this book has lots of pictures that you can narrate as you discover the sounds.
Goodnight Moon: This is an absolute classic and the perfect book to read before winding down for bedtime.
Stir, Crack, Whisk, Bake: We absolutely love this book! It engages toddlers the whole way through as you “make cupcakes” together. Great for working on functional language and would be perfect to read through as you make real cupcakes in the kitchen!
Chef: This little flap book takes your toddler through the day of being a chef! Little flaps and help the chef get dressed, flip pancakes, and more. Then you can get some pretend play food afterwards and reenact what you read!
How to Feed Your Cheeky Monkey: This one is another favorite and goes through mealtime routines.
Trashy Town: A fun and rhythmic book about the trash truck and others cleaning up the town. Great for modeling sounds and verbs, too!
Little Helpers - Picnic Day Sort & Play: These felt piece books are my favorite! Gather the felt pieces and get ready for a picnic day!
Mix It Up: Every page gets your toddler involved and engaged - tap your finger, close your eyes, count to 5, etc.!
Feed The Animals: Paul loved this book. It comes with 5 food pieces that your toddler can feed the animals with on each page!
There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly: This book series is so fun! Incorporate singing and reading into this rhythmic book!
I’m a Dirty Dinosaur: This is a traditional book with pages, but they have a coating on them that makes it almost impossible to rip! So, for littles who are transitioning to paper books, this is a great one to start with! Imitate the movements and repetitive nature of the book for a lot of fun!
Time to Brush: Love this reusable sticker book (just wet the pieces if they stop sticking and let them dry- they will stick great again!) And I love that it talks about a routine that littles might not love, so it can help teethbrushing go much better!
It’s Time To…Fix It!: This super cute book has sliders, flaps, and more! Your little one will fix items that are broken with some simple lifts and slides. Paul got this for Christmas (2.5 years) and he is obsessed! The Bake It version is also a fan fave!
Shine-a-light - On the Space Station: Grab a flashlight! Shine it on the pages of the book to see things you can’t see without it! It’s a cool book that brings a toy-like feel to it! There a several other in the series that you can grab!
My First Tag Puzzle - Farm: A puzzle and a book all in one! This book will motivate littles to find the matching puzzle piece and put it in! Read this and then play with farm animals as a way to make a thematic play scheme.
Scaredy Cat: Big emotions happen in toddlerhood and this book explains feeling scared and how it’s ok! Each page breaks down why the cat is scared and how he can feel better.
Clothesline Clues for Jobs People Do: Read the book for clues on the clothesline and learn about different jobs people do!
School of Monsters - Jack’s Many Moods: Jack sometimes get’s angry or upset and her friends have a hard time talking to her when she does. This book talks about how to handle big emotions like anger or sadness!
Pete The Cat & His Four Groovy Buttons: Who doesn’t love Pete the Cat?! This is a great story that teaches about resilience. When things don’t go your way, it’s okay - you just keep walking along!
Bug in a Rug: A fun and engaging book to introduce phonics with lots of rhyming!
Nibbles Numbers: We love this series of books! He’s a number eating monster and a fun way to engage in counting/numbers together.
A Hat For House: A storm rips off the roof of a house and the neighborhood comes together to help! A story of helping hands and community.
Clothesline Clues for the First Day of School: The clothesline has clues for who children will meet on the first day of school! A fun story with rhyming and a great primer for school.
Pete the Cat’s Wacky Taco Tuesday: We love Pete the Cat books! This one involves creativity as Pete and his family make tacos at home.
All The Things You Are (and What They Mean): Written by an SLP, this book talks about the characteristics that make children unique!
Never Ever Ask a Pirate to a Party: A silly story about different personalities and acceptance. Party guests cause a ruckus but then come together to make it all better.
The Perfect Fit: A story about a Triangle who thinks she needs to find her same shape, but then realizes that different shapes working together is more fun!
School for Monsters: Dom’s Favorite Things: A story about a little monster who has things he likes and doesn’t want to share them. Other monsters accept him for who he is and he learns how to make friends and share.
How Do Apples Grow?: A more academic book about apples and the growth process. It’s great for practicing story retell and learning about a common fruit!
Giraffe in the Bath: A fun early phonics book that focuses on rhyming! The giraffe has a silly experience that turns out to be fun and gets kids laughing!
Friends: A fun story about how friends can leave each other but find each other again later in life. A great book for littles who may be going to a different preschool than their friends or moving.
Penelope’s Balloons: A story about a little elephant who holds onto 10 balloons and values them more than anything and doesn’t want to play with others for fear of popping them. She loses the balloons and her friends find them and she realizes that the things she has don’t matter as much as the people around her. They accept her for who she is and she still carries some balloons with her.
Table Manners for Tigers: A funny story about how to act at parties and at the dinner table. Perfect for little ones going to a party soon or transitioning to eating in a big chair at the dining room table!