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Reading is so important to the development of a child. It is a great time to spend time with your child as they are learning new things. Starting the habit early is always a great and easy way to prepare them for school too! There are so many good books out there that it was really almost impossible to choose 10, but I just chose the ones that my daughter chose to read the most in her first year and a half of life. I’m sure you could add many to this list and we would love if you would comment with your child’s favorites. Also, check out our other post on 7 Benefits to Reading to your Child. And rather than buying new in the store, each of these book are available on Amazon through our links below for a fraction of the price, just click on the pictures.
This book has songs for just about each letter of the alphabet that go along with the letter. You can sing them to the tune of familiar children’s songs. It also has little pull tabs on each page that make it even more fun! In addition, it comes with a CD so you can sing the songs with your child.
This is a familiar book but an even better book for kids because each page slides to reveal the animal!
This book teaches over 100 words to children. My daughter has a few books like this but this one teaches words that are more familiar than many of her other books. It teaches common household words as well as colors and numbers. My daughter loves pointing to each thing and saying “that?” as we teach her the words. She quickly became familiar with them and uses them every day.
This book was a gift for her 1st birthday and she loves it! It teaches counting backwards from 10 and each of the ladybugs stick out from the book so it is a great interactive book!
This is a lift-the-flap book where the child can find different things that a baby is hiding. My daughter loves looking at the baby as well as finding all of the things. Of course one of the things is finding the baby’s belly button and my daughter loves showing us her belly button as well as finding other’s belly buttons!
This is a book that will be great as my daughter gets even older, although she sure enjoys it now too! The book shows shadows of animals and gives hints for what the animal is. You can slide it out to see what the actual animal is.
This book was another 1st birthday gift. The book we have is the board book version, so it is shortened from the original Dr. Suess version, making it a bit easier to read. It is very much a tongue twister of a book and my husband enjoys trying to read it quickly. My daughter loves the rhymes and silliness of the book.
This is another classic book! It is a great book to read before bed, plus there are so many identifiable objects that children can pick out and name.
must add Go Dogs Go as they get a little older. I read from a very old book so it’s not one that she can “play” with, but she loves to let me read it. Also Hand, Hand, Fingers Thumb.
I have a whole collection of the old Dr. Seuss books from the early 1960′s so we’re working on incorporating those into reading time.
You have to add “Love You, Forever” by Robert Munsch. Excellent message and will be so meaningful as your child grows into an adult.
Yes, Love you, Forever is a fantastic one! And sooo sweet! Of course any Dr. Seuss books are enjoyed by kids of many ages!
It is challenging to come up with 10 titles because there are so many worthwhile books for this age group -both classics and new books. I would suggest that you look for age-appropriate books that engage children in the sounds of words and the wonder of the illustrations. Preferably, choose board boards that can withstand being help by little hands that love to turn pages on their own. Consider the criteria below when choosing age-appropriate books for babies. Select books with:
• simple repetitive, predictable, patterned text – words or phrases that are repeated over and over again
• rhyming words that little ones can join in as they develop listening and speaking skills
• illustrations of animals and babies – favorite topics for little ones
• text that includes animal sounds, train noises or similar sounds that young children like to imitate
• large colorful illustrations or photographs of people, or photographs of things they can recognize
Happy Reading Aloud!
Susan Marx (co-author of “Help Me Get Ready To Read: The Practical Guide For Reading Aloud To Children During Their First Five Years” by Susan Marx and Barbara Kasok)