Favorite Books

• Kids love repeating the same books over and over again, so fill your bookshelves with ones you’ll actually enjoy reading!

• I’ve organized all my favorite books into an Amazon List so it’s easy to add, but you can also view individual links below

• Get the board book version where possible - easier for child to hold

• Some books fit into multiple of these categories

Interactive books 

• These are great for young toddlers because they can engage with them like toys

• Wait until age 18+ months for books with flaps, otherwise they will likely be destroyed

  • Any of the Maisy books, like Maisy at the Farm or Maisy goes to Bed

  • Pat the Bunny

  • Where is Baby‘s Belly Button?

  • Where is Spot?

  • Dear Zoo

  • Go Away, Big Green Monster

  • What Makes a Rainbow?

Books to teach vocab 

• These focus on key language categories like animals, colors, and body parts

• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? (and the lesser known Polar Bear, Polar Bear What do you Hear?)

• Head to Toe

• Opposites

• If You’re Happy and You Know It

• Blue Hat, Green Hat

• Priddy Baby books (they also make bilingual versions):

• First 100 Words

• Animals

• Colors

• You Choose for older toddlers

Rhyming/Rhythm books

• These are my favorite kinds of books because children’s brains are wired to pick up on patterns - eventually, you can let your child fill in the second half of the rhyme

• Try not to interrupt the book with questions since it will disrupt the effect of the rhymes/rhythm

• Dr Seuss, of course: 

• Old Hat, New Hat

• The Foot Book

• Hand, Hand, Finger, Thumb

• Hop on Pop

• Honk Honk, Beep Beep

• Jamberry (great illustrations, too)

• Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?  (same great illustrator)

• Goodnight Moon

• Busy Fingers

• Dinosaur Dance

• You are New

Books with a great story

• As your child gets older, most books will fall into this category and have actual plots, woohoo!

• Many parents know the value of peppering in questions for your child like “what do you think will happen next?”

• This is important, but I’d also add your own observations/opinions so it doesn’t feel like an interrogation - like,  “ooh this reminds me of our house!” or “I think that pink flower is beautiful”

• This will also encourage your child to offer their own spontaneous comments in the future

• Little Blue Truck

• If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

• We’re Going on a Bear Hunt

• Are You My Mother?

• Little Gorilla

• Giraffes Can’t Dance

• Caps for Sale

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Books for transitions/holidays

• Birth of a sibling: The New Baby

• Starting preschool: Rosie goes to Preschool

• Potty training: Potty, Diapers are Not Forever, P is for Potty 

• Jewish holidays: PJ Library sends a free book each month based on your child’s age and what holidays fall during that month

• Little Blue Truck has a Christmas and Halloween book