If you are a parent of young children or remember the days when your kids were little, then you know that you read a lot. Some favorite books you read so often that you have the entire story memorized within a few weeks or few months. So it is important to find stories that your toddler loves and that you don’t mind reading over and over and over and over… again.
Here are fifteen books that both of my boys loved when they were two-year-olds… and that I enjoy, too.
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My Precious Little Bear
By Claire Freedman (author) and Gavin Scott (illustrator)
This is our oldest son’s favorite bedtime story. We read it every night before bed, and he is beginning to recite it with me as I read. The story is cute and the illustrations are gorgeous! This book was a gift from my mom.
Lullaby Moon
By Rosie Reeves (author/illustrator)
When it comes to bedtime stories, our second son will always ask for Lullaby Moon. He loves finding the moon in the river’s reflection or out of the bedroom window. He likes counting the fireflies and clovers. It is a cute story with beautiful illustrations.
Who is coming to our house?
By Joseph Slate (author) and Ashley Wolff (illustrator)
Our son’s second favorite book. Even though it is a fun re-telling of the nativity story, he wants to read it all the time. It is beautifully written and illustrated, and it is great for learning animals. This book was also a gift from my mom.
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?
By Bill Martin Jr. (author) and Eric Carle (illustrator)
This version of classic children’s book has little slides in each page that hides the next animal in the story. We love this story, and it is written with a nice cadence which makes it easy to add your own lines at the end. For example: “Children, children, what do you see? I see a Mama looking at me!” The cadence also makes it easy to memorize and recite when you do not have the book handy, such as on car rides or when camping.
Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin
By Tad Hills (author/illustrator)
Our second son loves Duck & Goose Find a Pumpkin, and I image that all of the Duck & Goose books are just as cute as this one.
One Naked Baby
By Maggie Smith
This cute little book helps your children count 1 to 10 as you follow a toddler get dressed, eat a snack, and play outside. My son’s favorite line is the very last one: “…and one naked baby back in the bath!” Our son absolutely loves bathtime so it is fun to have a book about a baby getting a bath. My husband’s aunt gave him this book around his first birthday.
The Potty Book: For Boys
By Alyssa Satin Capucilli (author) and Dorothy Stott (illustrator)
This book has a permanent place in the bathroom, and every time we take our son in to sit on his potty, we read this book together. He loves the book and sometimes will specifically ask: “Potty book, mama? Potty book, please?” This cute book is about a little boy (Henry) who gets his very own potty and learns to use it so he no longer needs diapers.
The Potty Book: For Girls
If you have a little girl, good news! There is a version for girls, too, where the girl’s name is Hannah.
Mr. Brown can moo! Can you?
By Dr. Suess
What is a list of kids’ book without at least one Dr. Suess book? While I have my own favorites, our son loves reading this book with Grandma (my husband’s mom).
Smiley Shark
By Ruth Galloway
When our son began to show a bit of apprehension towards sharks during a recent aquarium visit, my husband searched all over and found this story about Smiley Shark saving his fish friends from a net. Now it is one our son’s favorite books, and he is excited to go back to the aquarium soon to see Smiley and his fish friends!
Noisy Farm
By Tiger Tales
One of the very first books he ever got, our son has loved listening to the animals sounds since he was a tiny baby. Now as a two-year-old, he loves pressing the sound buttons himself and pointing out the animals. Any time of sound book is great, but he likes this one because it also has different textures.
Peter Rabbit: Tickle, Tickle Peter
By Beatrix Potter
Our son really loves this book, especially when he is sleepy before nap-time. He loves to touch the soft “fur” of the various animals and find little bugs hiding in the illustrations.
Buy now!Discovery Kids Dinosaurs Rumble Sound Book
By Parragon Books
A first birthday gift from us, our son loves to hear the dinosaur sounds. The text is still too advanced for him, but he loves dinosaurs so much we thought it might be a book that can grow with him. I just have to practice pronouncing the dinosaur names!
My First Book of Mealtime Prayers
We have read this little book so much that our copy is beginning to fall apart! I love the illustrations (foxes!) and that there are two children, so I used this little book a lot before our younger son was born. I would point out one fox boy and call him our older son’s name and then refer to the other fox child as “brother”. Then I would tell him all about his new baby brother who would be arriving soon.
Lift the Flap Bible
By Sally Llyod Jones (author) and Tracey Moroney (illustrator)
Our son loves, loves, loves this book! So much so that he has worn a couple of the flaps on the Noah’s Ark page clean off!
My First Read and Learn Bible
My husband found this little treasure at a secondhand store, and it is just the right size for our son. The stories are very brief and the illustrations are colorful. The only thing I would have preferred since I read this so often is that the pages rhyme. Oh, well.
Our sons have many other books — almost as many books as stuffed animals — but these are some of their favorite books. When it comes to books, my motto has always been that you can never have enough. I may have to rethink this motto as kids books are beginning to overflow the shelves!
What is your toddler’s favorite books? Share in the comments below!
Expecting a little one? It is never too early to start collecting meaningful books! Add one or two of your favorite books to your baby registry. Need a registry? Sign up for Amazon Baby Registry today.
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“Mr. Brown can moo! Can you?” was one of my toddler’s favorites, too!
It is a great book! My personal Dr. Suess favorite is One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. 😉
We love anything by Nancy Tillman! The messages are beautiful and the pictures are lovely! I had no idea they had a slide book for brown bear, brown bear! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Oh, my! I cannot believe I did not know about Nancy Tillman! The books look lovely. I think I know what I am going to get Peanut for his second birthday (officially in a few weeks). Thank you so much! <3
Cant go wrong with the classic farm book and Dr. Suess! I love that you can read Dr. Suess to them even when they get older.
So true! I love that Dr. Suess books grow with the child. My older nephews (ages 12 and 10) like reading Dr. Suess aloud to their younger siblings and now my boys, too. The illustrations are fun, too.