Best Books for Babies and Toddlers
Is your child’s favourite book here? Why not leave us a comment below and tell us what it is!
| The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler A wonderfully funny tale about a little mouse who outwits a fox, snake and owl and, ultimately, even the fearsome Gruffalo! |
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| Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd A classic children’s story that has been entertaining little ones for generations. A perfect book for your bedtime routine as you and your baby say goodnight to everything around you - the room, the moon, clocks, socks, bowls full of mush, and quiet old ladies whispering hush. |
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| Kiss Goodnight Sam by Amy Hest It’s Sam’s bed time, but what has Mrs Bear forgotten? “You Know” says Sam. This is a very sweet book to read to your child, with plenty of opportunities for cuddles and, of course, a kiss goodnight! |
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| Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram A beautiful expression of love between a parent and child, as each tries to explain to the other how much they love them. You’ll have so much fun with this one as you stretch out your arms and cry “This much!” |
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| Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers and Marla Frazee If you want to teach your children about diversity in today’s world, this book is a great way to start. We see babies of all shapes, sizes and colours “fat babies, thin babies, small babies, tall babies, winter and spring babies, summer and fall babies.” The beautiful illustrations also show a range of different family structures - the conventional nuclear family, single parents, adoptive parents, same-sex parents, grandparents as carers, different races and ethnicities. |
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| Big Red Bath by Julia Jarman and Adrian Reynolds Enter the imaginary world of Ben and Bella’s bath time in this wet and bubbly romp around the world! |
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| The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle Another children’s classic! We follow the very hungry caterpillar’s journey from egg to beautiful butterfly, as he munches his way through apples, plums, chocolate cake, salami, lollipops and more besides. It’s lots of fun! |
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| We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury Follow this family as they bravely embark on a bear hunt through long grass, a river, mud, a dark forest, a snow storm and a cave. They boldly declare “We’re not scared” only to run away at the first sight of the bear! A very comical and dramatic book! |
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| The Jolly Postman, Or, Other People’s Letters by Allan and Janet Ahlberg The Jolly Postman delivers cards and letters to various fairytale characters. He has a letter of apology for the three bears from Goldilocks, a postcard from Jack for the giant, a solicitor’s letter on behalf of Little Red Riding Hood for the wolf, and more. Buy The Jolly Postman, Or, Other People’s Letters for £7.99 from Amazon |
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| The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler One tiny snail longs to see the world and hitches a lift on the tail of a whale. Together they go on an amazing journey, past icebergs and volcanoes, sharks and penguins, and the little snail feels so small in the vastness of the world. But when disaster strikes and the whale is beached in a bay, it’s the tiny snail who saves the day. |
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| Sharing a Shell by Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks The tiny hermit crab loves his new shell. He doesn’t want to share it — not with a blobby purple anemone and a tickly bristleworm. But life in the rock pool proves tougher than Crab thinks, and soon he finds he needs his new housemates in this rollicking story of sea, shells and friendship. Buy Sharing a Shell for £3.89 from Amazon |
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| The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr This classic story of Sophie and her extraordinary tea-time guest has been loved by millions of children since it was first published over 30 years ago. The doorbell rings just as Sophie and her mummy are sitting down to tea. Who could it possibly be? What they certainly don’t expect to see at the door is a big furry, stripy tiger! This modern classic picture book is perfect for reading aloud, or for small children to read to themselves time and again. |
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| Each Peach Pear Plum by Allan and Janet Ahlberg In this engaging, interactive book for the very young, familiar nursery-rhyme characters such as Mother Hubbard and Baby Bunting sneak their way into the gentle drawings. Even young children who might not know all the fairytale stars can find them lurking in the cupboard, on the stairs or deep in the woods. In the happy finale, the whole cast meets up for plum pie in the sun, where the little one on your lap will gleefully find everyone. |
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| Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell For its 25th anniversary, this classic children’s book has been given a fresh new look that is sure to entertain and delight a whole new generation of young readers. The sturdy flaps, lively illustrations and engaging text in this charming book about wanting to find the perfect pet are sure to keep the title going strong for another 25 years. |
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| Ten Wriggly, Wiggly Caterpillars by Debbie Tarbett Follow the adventures of these bright, 3D-moulded caterpillars in this fun and funky rhyming counting book with a surprise pop-up at the end! |
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| Giraffe’s Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees Every year Gerald dreads the great Jungle Dance, and feels ashamed that he cannot tango and two-step with the rest of the jungle animals. But then one day he realises that it doesn’t matter that he is different from everyone else - it’s just that he needs a different tune to dance to. |
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Is your child’s favourite book here? Why not leave us a comment below and tell us what it is!
Shannon
December 11, 2007 @ 2:16 amMy little girl’s favorite book is Goodnight, Moon. She has asked for it by name since she was about 15 months old. Reading this book has become a favorite nighttime ritual for our family.
Shannon
December 11, 2007 @ 2:18 amGuess How Much I Love You was a little disappointing to me. While the pictures are appealing to the eye, the story line is a little long for my baby/toddler. Maybe when she’s older, she’ll start asking for this book, but for now, it sits in the book basket.
julie
December 11, 2007 @ 1:40 pmMy daughter loves Sharing a Shell, she particularly likes the glittery pictures on each page
Eithne
December 17, 2007 @ 11:30 amOur favourites are the quirky Hairy McClary books. The words are imaginative and the rhymes great to read (and hear!). My one-year-old is still a bit young for them, but my friend’s two-and-a-half year old just loves Hairy McC.
Janine
January 25, 2008 @ 9:03 pmThe very Hungry Caterpillar & by the same author The Busy Spider were two favourites with my daughter we also both loved Come Along Daisy by Jane Simmons, these are lovely books to read together. The other books my daughter still loves to read (at age 10!) are The Jolly Postman & Owl Babies by Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson.
Fee
March 25, 2008 @ 10:51 amThe Usbourne touchy-feely series “That’s not my ……” are great for little ones just getting used to the idea of books. My nine month olds love touching the different textures, before they get fed up and decide to eat the book!!!!