Top 10 Best Books for Babies and Toddlers

Books should be present throughout a child’s life even from the beginning. Here’s a quick list of Toot’s top 10 best books for babies and toddlers like her.

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1. First 100 Words (Priddy Baby)

There are a few different versions of this book such as First 100 Animals and  Colors, Numbers, and Shapes, and I recommend you get all of them.

These are Toot’s absolute favorite. She’ll sit and look at the pictures for hours. (Ok, maybe not hours. She’s a toddler. So like 20 minutes which in toddler time can feel like hours.)

She has also learned to point at the pictures to get me to read the words to her. I can also ask her “where’s the kitty?” and she will point to him. Luckily, the cat in the Animals book looks just like our cat, Mr. Meowgi.

This book series is perfect for babies and toddlers. It has bright colors, lots of pictures, and gives them a chance to learn new words.

It’s a board book so you can start handing it to your baby as soon as he or she can hold onto it. For toddlers, it’s an excellent way to introduce them to new words or quiz them on words they may already know.

2. Baby Touch and Feel Animals

There are several books in this series too. We also have Wild Animals.

They’re board books, and they offer different kinds of sensory elements for babies to feel.

This is one that Toot wore out because she played with it so much. Touch and feel books are great to teach descriptive words like soft and fluffy.

3. Baby Einstein: My First Library

These little board books come in a handy carrying case which is also fun for toddlers to open and close. Toot likes to take the books out and put them back in too.

The books are only about 3″x3″ (the size of regular sticky notes), so they’re perfect for little hands. We like to take a couple in the diaper bag or the car. They travel well because they’re so small. There are only about six pages in each book so don’t expect in-depth books.

There are lots of sets in this series too. Mickey Mouse Club and Frozen have sets of 12 books too.

4. 5 Minute Snuggle Stories

The 5-minute stories are my favorite bedtime storybooks. They are regular hardcover books with paper pages, so they aren’t great to let little ones play with by themselves.

But they are beautiful books with great illustrations. I love that you get about 10 to 12 stories for the price of one book. I also like that when I finish reading her a story, I can go right into the next one if she’s still awake. There’s no need to go searching for another book.

We have the Snuggle Stories, Princess Stories, Paw Patrol, Daniel Tiger,  and Star Wars Stories. I put all of the other ones on her wishlist because I love them so much. I want the whole collection!

5. Dragons Love Tacos

This is a hardcover book with paper pages, so Toot doesn’t get to play with it, but I love this cute little story. It’s one of my favorites to read.

We’re big fans of dragons and tacos. The illustrations are pretty cute too. This book is perfect for bedtime but also for just fun reading time with Mommy or Daddy.

There is also a sequel called Dragons Love Tacos 2: the Sequel! Aptly named.

6. Snapsy The Alligator

This is another of my favorite hardcover books. The whole story breaks the fourth wall, and Snappsy is hilarious. He didn’t ask to be in this book, and he’s not sure why this narrator is talking about him.

It reminds me a lot of The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (which you should also get if you don’t already have it from your childhood.) This is a fun one to practice your funny voices.

7. Alphaprints

This is another series by Roger Priddy. The images are made up of objects and fingerprints. They are board books, and the fingerprints are raised so you can feel them. I find myself running my fingers over the pages more than Toot does.

They’re just so pretty, and they feel so cool. Along with Colors, there’s also 1 2 3, and A B C. There are a few other ones that are a little smaller too.

They’re absolutely gorgeous, and I’ve been trying to keep Toot from roughing them up too much because the artwork is just amazing.

8. All Better

All Better is an adorable board book that comes with re-stickable bandaids for your toddler to fix the animals’ boo-boos.

I really like that it teaches compassion and caring for others. Interactive books are usually more interesting to kids.

All Better is available from Usborne.

9. That’s Not My Dragon

That’s Not My… is a cute little series of books by Usborne that are very simple touch and feel books. They’re great for even the youngest babies.

Each one goes through several types of dragons, puppies, pirates, trains, pandas, (or whatever the title character is) before the right one is found.

The descriptions of each character have sensory elements such as a rough tail or shiny spots.

I want all of these books! So far Toot only has the Dragon book, and she loves it!

10. My First Book of Girl Power

Remember when I said I’m a Nerdy Mom and I’m trying to get Toot into the things I like? Well DC Superheros have board books for babies and toddlers!

We have the Girl Power book and My First Batman Book. I’ll be honest; they don’t hold up well to all the love that Toot gives them. She’s read the Girl Power book so much that she ripped in half. But she still loves it. She points to Raven a lot, so I think that’s her favorite one.

Bonus: Toot!

No, I didn’t write this book! But it’s adorable. It’s all about toots and how all toots are funny.

It’s a board book and features a cute little baby tooting everywhere with all kinds of toots.

The descriptions of the sounds are pretty cute. Reading this book means lots of funny sounds from Mommy. Obviously, it’s one of Toot’s favorites.

What are your favorite books for babies and toddlers?

Let me know in the comments below!

Also check out these books about diversity for kids.

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