We have tried to instill a love of reading in our kids starting pretty young. From the time we moved T into his own bedroom at about 4 months old, we’ve been reading at least one book to him before every nap and bedtime. We’ve loved seeing T develop a love for reading, so we’re trying to do the same thing with little E, who is 1 right now. Here are some of our favorites – ones the kids like and that mom and dad can enjoy too! These have varying length and complexity, but they’re all beloved by our kids ages 3 and under. You may notice that our boys have some favorite topics, ha!
Adorable little story that teaches that little kids can be helpful and important, even if they can’t do all the things that big people do. We love that it’s a quick read with really well-done illustrations!
To the little tot that’s obsessed with trains, this one’s for you. I remember reading it as a child and my mom would always encourage us by saying, “I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.” Such a cute, classic story! We have probably read this one to T 100 times, no joke. He can’t get enough of it.
This book has amazing rhythm. It’s a delight to read. Thank you for another classic, Margaret Wise Brown!
T was gifted this classic book with the accompanying stuffed bear when he was born and has been obsessed since he was old enough to understand it.
Just a short, sweet, endearing story about–you guessed it–an excavator and a flower.
This classic book didn’t win a Caldecott medal for nothing. I find the words, pictures, and story to be mesmerizing, and every time I read it, it gets me thinking about different ways to interpret it. Kids just think it’s fun!
These are all so cute and teach simple, valuable behaviors. Definitely check these out if you have a dinosaur lover!
We love that this Dr. Suess book is simple, repetitive, and silly, but our favorite thing is that it encourages kids to try foods they assume they won’t like!
When I was a kid, I loved this book for its beautiful colors and iridescent details. Now, T loves it and likes to talk about how to be a good friend.
Short, sweet, and a clever little way to introduce cause and effect. All the books in the series are cute, but the original is our favorite.
These are so simple, they seemed kind of boring to us at first, but T went through a long phase of being obsessed with them. What 2 / 3 year old cares to read about general relativity, Newtonian physics, organic chemistry, and electromagnetism (to name a few)? Plus, they’re super fun to display on a shelf so all your guests assume your kid’s in MENSA or something.
All of the books in this series are well-done and fun for the kid who loves construction vehicles!
This one by P.D. Eastman is fun for teaching prepositions, and kids that are pretty little can use the pictures to figure out which words are coming next!
We own Llama Llama Red Pajama and Llama Llama Mad at Mama and think they’re just so relatable and sweet!
So fun for kiddos to learn the patterns of the song with some twists!
This has a bunch of cute poems about different vehicles, from backhoes to ambulances. If you read it all at once, it’s a tiny bit lengthy, but you can always choose to read only a few poems!
I like to read this book to T when a) he’s had a naughty day, b) I’ve been impatient with him, or c) both. It’s a good way for us to bond and remind each other how much we love each other, especially on the rough days.
Another oldy, but goody! Okay, so the mom crawling through her adult son’s window is pretty weird. But the overarching sentiment is really sweet! This is another great bonding book. T loves it when I sing the song to him as we read.
This one is just super silly. We love to laugh about it with T, and we like normalizing some talk about underwear for kiddies that will be potty training soon!
Here are some that are a little longer:
Probably one of the most precious, must-read books for kids. It makes me cry every time. An incredible allegory for children (and adults!) to internalize their relationship with God and recognize their self-worth.
This book cracks me up and has such fun illustrations!
T loves this book, but frankly we’ve never read the entire thing to him. It’s pretty lengthy and intended for kids that are a little bit older, so we abridge it. T loves opening all the little envelopes and reading the letters, as well as learning all the landmarks on the world map. Thanks to this book, he knows about the Eiffel Towel, Pyramids, Tower Bridge, and lots more!
Some books we love for babies – but older kids love them too!
T loved this book when he was little, and now E is obsessed with it too! We read it to a little tune we made up, and they love when we touch their ears and nose and tickle their toes!
Another Caldecott book! A friend recommended this book to us. It’s short, simple, great for baby brains to learn colors, opposites, etc.
I love this book’s illustrations! It also has such a nice rhythm to it and does a great job incorporating train sounds into the bedtime poem. Our kids have adored it since they were tiny.
Another adorable little series about a helpful, kind, little truck. This original book flows nicely and teaches kindness and animal sounds.
She has SO MANY. And they’re all cute and fun for babies. Just some lighthearted, silly fun!
I just am obsessed with his artwork! And definitely have an attachment to his classics like The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?. Kids love them all!
I think kids’ books are so dang fun, I have a hard time not buying them all. If you’re like me, ThriftBooks is your friend!! And don’t forget to utilize your local library 🙂
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