Baby & Toddler Book Recommendations

When my daughter was born, I went on a book hunt to buy her some of the best baby & toddler books to read to her. I really didn't know where to start, except to look at the covers and titles of the books in the baby & toddler section at a large book store. After buying a few baby & toddler books, I started asking friends of mine who had small children what baby & toddler books they'd recommend. My daughter is now a two-year-old toddler, and we've compiled a small library of baby/toddler books. We would now like to recommend these baby/toddler books for you and your baby or toddler to read!

Big Little by Leslie Patricelli
Leslie Patricelli has written some very charming baby/toddler books that we'd recommend, including (but not only) Yummy Yucky, Blankie, Quiet Loud, and Big Little. These books are so charming because of the simple illustrations. Each page of Big Little has a picture of the same baby in comparison to some object or person. For instance, one of the book's pages shows the baby riding on an elephant, while the page next to it has him peeping through a mouse hole. The baby/toddler reader can really see what big and little really is all about because of the baby in the book.

Cookie's Week by Cindy Ward
This baby/toddler story board book, by Cindy Ward, we'd also recommend. It's about a cat named Cookie, who is so busy every day climbing the curtains, falling into the toilet or doing some other such mischief. Since Cookie is so busy in the book, a reader hardly gets a chance to spot her on the book's pages, as she's only partially on them....Cookie is a black and white kitty with green eyes who does activities that real cats do.

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Another book we'd recommend is this classic baby/toddler board book, which is all about a young bunny trying to fall asleep in his bed. He must not be very tired when "the quiet lady whispering hush" puts him down for the night because he spends a good bit of time telling every one and every thing, that he can see in his room and out the window, "good night" before falling asleep....."in the great green room."

Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
First published in 1956, this wonderful toddler book recently came out as a board book, and we have to recommend it! It's about a family dog named Harry who hates getting baths so much that he runs away from home to avoid one. While exploring the city streets, Harry gets so hungry and filthy that he decides to go back home. But, he gets home only to find his family doesn't recognize him wearing dirt, so he finds the scrub brush (that he'd hidden in a hole he dug outside), and begs for a bath [for once]!

I Can Fly by Ruth Krauss
This board book by Ruth Krauss is an abridged version of the 1951 original book; however, it is still truly wonderful to read - especially for babies and toddlers! Every two pages, the book has the same little girl and a different animal that she is mimicking. For instance, "Pitter pitter pat, I can walk like a cat" is one of the lines in the book, and the picture is of the little girl tiptoeing across the floor. The book's illustrations (done by Mary Blair) are gorgeous, and really make this children's book worth recommending and worth owning.

Jamberry by Bruce Degan
Bruce Degan wrote this rhyming board book that's all about berries! The boy and bear, who are the main characters in the story, are all about looking for berries. They look for them over a waterfall, in meadows, on a train, and even in a hot air balloon! Looking for berries is the 2 characters' life's goal, and they end up "buried in berries!" at the book's end. We recommend this book especially for its rhyming - which will delight both babies and toddlers!

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
"In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines lived twelve little girls in two straight lines..." This delightful story book is about 12 little French girls who had the smallest of them to be their fearless leader - Madeline! In this particular story, Madeline has to have her appendix surgically removed and stay in a hospital room without the other 11 girls. The 11 miss her so much and wish that their appendixes would have to come out, too! This story book is based on a real girl that Bemelmans observed at a hospital. He called her Madeline in his books, which was his wife's name, but found even more inspiration for her from his little daughter, Barbara, who was a toddler when Madeline came into existance. This book we recommend especially for toddlers!

Paddington Bear Goes to Market by Michael Bond
"When you see a bear out shopping, Hurrying, hurrying, never stopping. Past shopkeepers opening doors, washing windows, sweeping floors...." These are some of the catchy rhyming lines found in another book we'd recommend to you. This simple-storied board book, for babies and toddlers, is called Paddington Bear Goes to Market. My daughter and I quickly memorized the lines of this book and enjoyed saying them over and over while looking at the pictures of adorable Paddington!

Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt
Most everyone knows about this famous baby book featuring Paul and Judy doing different activities: for instance patting the bunny's furry tummy on one page of the book, or feeling daddy's scratchy face on another page. But, for in case you aren't aware of it, we recommend Pat the Bunny to you! Both babies as well as young toddlers will love lifting up the towel to play peekaboo with Paul.

The Tale of Benjamin Bunny by Beatrix Potter
Benjamin Bunny (who is Peter Rabbit's cousin) finds Peter Rabbit sitting all by himself, wearing nothing but a red handkerchief. After asking Peter why the lack of clothes, he encourages Peter to go with him to retrieve Peter's clothes from off of Mr. McGregor's garden scarecrow and to get back to his house, so that Peter's mother will not worry. Beatrix Potter, the author of this toddler book, writes so many other cute tales about animals, besides this one. In her books she writes what readers probably wouldn't expect her to say, like Peter Rabbit's mother selling rabbit tobacco (also known as lavender). The imagery from Potter's books, including this Benjamin Bunny book, is fabulous for toddlers and also for grown-ups! This book, as well as all of the other books that we've read, by Beatrix Potter, we would recommend!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Another marvelous book that we must recommend is The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The caterpillar in this board book is so very hungry that he eats holes out of all the [beautifully illustrated] foods that he finds on the pages of the book! The story mentions the days of the week and numbers, as well, so toddlers learn several facts while reading a book about a caterpillar who ends up a butterfly!

Where is Baby's Belly Button? by Karen Katz
The front cover of this board book has the most adorable blond-haired baby on it, looking for her belly button under her shirt! It is a lift-the-flap book that features several different [really cute] babies looking for different parts of their own bodies! Babies and toddlers alike will enjoy lifting the different flaps to discover hidden parts of each storybook baby. Since this book is just so adorable, we have to recommend it to you, as well.

My daughter didn't really start liking books until she was nearing a year old, so don't be disappointed if your baby/toddler can't sit through the reading of even the shortest book. Keep reading books to your baby, asking him to point to certain objects or characters, and soon a love of books should develop - especially when reading some of these baby & toddler books that we'd recommend!