Reading books is such a beloved pastime for my whole family. My husband and I absolutely love to read and making sure our girls learned to love it as well has always been important to both of us. We started reading to them while they were tiny babies and it has stayed a consistent routine that we do every single day.
Newborn/Baby Books:
There are so many great books for even the youngest “reader” that are great visuals to help with their development. High-contrast board books, like this one, are great for newborns. There is a whole series of these books that we would often check out from the library. The library is obviously another great way to introduce a love of books early on with their lap-sit storytimes filled with singing and hand motions which offer great entertainment for little ones.
Aside from the contrast books, we also loved reading our baby's books about how much we love them like “Welcome Little One” and “I Love You to the Moon and Back.” We also loved the classics like “Goodnight Moon” and “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” This educational box set of first books is another must-have for any baby's library.
We also like to read educational books to teach body parts. two of our favorites are “Where is Baby’s Belly Button” and “Toes, Ears, and Nose”. First words books are also so important at this age. I feel like our girls picked up on new words so quickly from reading the same books repetitively. Our favorites are “Simple First Words Let’s Talk”, “Lift the Flap First 100 Words”, and “Babies Love First Words”. This one is also a lift-the-flap book and is part of a really cute series including holiday books. My girls both loved these interactive types of books which are a great way to get babies into storytime. Here is a list of some of our other favorites.
Interactive Books:
“See, Touch, Feel: A First Sensory Book”
Toddler Books:
Once our girls got a little bit older and more into the characters in stories, we absolutely loved reading the Sesame Street Friends series, which is available as a box set. My oldest is almost five and she still picks these books sometimes for her bedtime story. The other favorites that they both still love are the Sandra Boynton books. The Little Pookie series is our favorite, but you cannot go wrong with any of her books, kids just absolutely love them. I think I gift the Little Pookie box set at every baby shower I go to. This box set has a lot of our other favorites (she has several box sets or you can buy her books individually). Pretty much every library will have these books as they are extremely popular. I think my girl's favorites are “Moo, Baa, La La La”, “Barnyard Dance”, “Belly Button Book!”, “Pajama Time!”, “The Bunny Rabbit Show”, and “Snuggle Puppy”. These books are all so sweet and fun to read together. There are also lots of seasonal ones like “Christmas Parade”, and “Eek! Halloween!”. The Little Pookie series also has some of our favorite seasonal books like “Merry Christmas, Little Pookie”, “Spookie Pookie”, and “Happy Easter, Little Pookie.” Trust me when I say that you cannot go wrong with any of these books!
We are also a very Disney family so princess books are on heavy rotation in my house. This cute Disney princess box set has all of the classics and is so great for travel or just keeping in your purse (these save us from tantrums in church!) or we have this bundle set which also has some cute quick stories, perfect for bedtime.
Another very important genre of books for toddlers is potty training. Reading books about the potty while trying to use the potty was so helpful for both of our kids. Here is a list of our favorites.
Potty Training Books:
“Sesame Street- Potty Time with Elmo”
“P is for Potty (Sesame Street)”
“Princess Potty” - This one is so cute and comes with a sticker chart and a paper tiara!
Preschool/Kindergarten Books:
My preschooler likes to read some longer books before bed. Her favorite books are from the Growing Hearts series. These books are so amazing for this preschool age because they are all about understanding your emotions, being brave and kind, and having new adventures. We have had so many great conversations about things that happened at school or things she is curious about or worried about stem from these stories. The series includes “In My Heart: A Book of Feelings,” “In My Room: A Book of Creativity and Imagination”, “My Little Gifts: A Book of Sharing”, and “Brave As Can Be: A Book of Courage”. The other books she loves are from The Magic of Me series. These books are awesome for teaching your child self-control and also promoting good self-esteem which are important skills to learn for preschool. This series includes “My Magical Choices”, “My Magical Words”, and “My Magical Feelings.” Another book we like to read at night is “The Beginners Bible: Timeless Children’s Stories.” This one was a recent gift from her Great-Aunt, and is an amazing way for her to learn the stories of the bible in a kid-friendly way. She really enjoys these stories because it is written like an adventure. She chooses to read a chapter from this book multiple nights a week.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library:
Every mom needs to know about this awesome program! When I first heard about it at our local library when my daughter was a baby, I couldn’t believe this was a real thing. Dolly GIFTS books to any family who signs up, no matter their income, for kids ages birth-5 years old. You receive an adorable hand-picked book in the mail each month. My daughter looks forward to this so much and always loves the stories. This is basically the only mail she ever receives, so she gets so excited when it arrives. The stories are so cute and I love them because they are books we may not have picked out on our own but always enjoy. Definitely sign up for this if you have not already!
I hope you enjoy this snapshot of the books my family has enjoyed over the years. I will definitely update this post with more book choices as they get older and start to love new books and even start reading on their own. If you have any great children’s book recommendations that you think I am missing, please send them my way! We are always looking for new books to enjoy. Reading is such a special bonding activity to do with your kids. It is so great, not just for learning, but also for having some quality time with the person they love most- you! Happy reading! :)
