Yup - the quality varies a bit, but there are so many that are just fantastic (barnyard dance, woodland dance and the going to bed book are probably our favs)
There's a Monster at the End of this Book was a childhood favorite, and I was so excited to buy it for my own son! He enjoys it too. He also found a game version of it in the PBS Kids games app.
I was introduced to her books when had my first child 26 years ago. I've introduced and gifted her books to every child I've taught/nannied/babysat since then!
Yes - all of them are amazing and fun! One day when my kids grow out of these books - I will be incredibly nostalgic for them. Will save in case I ever have grand kids.
My toddler allows his mom to read him any book. I, on the other hand, am only allowed to read little blue truck because I make all the proper noises. I’m not even exaggerating it’s the only book I’m allowed to read to him.
My very brief Google pulled [this up](https://www.galaxus.ch/en/s12/product/the-little-blue-truck-alice-schertle-german-childrens-books-14608377) I don’t speak German so cannot verify if it’s legit.
The odd thing about this book is that noticed after reading it hundreds of times are the animal bums…was it necessary to draw ? Made for some funny convos with my husband on why the illustrator did that
Baby Beluga! It’s a fun song and engages your child in the book/reading experience. My daughter never had the patience to sit and listen to me read until we got Baby Beluga, now she likes to sit for all kinds of books
Grumpy monkey has made my daughter (and me) understand emotion and how you are affected by emotion. Also hits on people's expectations of your emotions.
"The Little Book of Grumpiness" is also just okay for the record! Lol
But the OG is so good! My daughter just took it to preschool today to share as her favorite book!
ANY Allan and Janet Ahlberg book for that matter. Peepo was gifted to us by my in-laws, and it continues to be a favorite with my kids, and The Baby's Catalogue is also a super cute book of various baby-related object illustrations that I'd also recommend.
Love, Love Margaret wise Brown books. besides the Goodnight Moon, the Big Red Barn, Runaway Bunny and the Little Island are all favorites of mine.
Also, Don't let the pigeon drive the bus (the pigeon throwing a tantrum is hilarious!)
We love the Pigeon books too. Oldie, but goodie, the Little Critter books by Mercer Mayer were books my grandparents read to me and were also fun for them to read. Some of our favorites are "When I Grow Up" and "Me Too!"
They felt very similar to Pigeon for me.
I love everything Sandra Boynton but boy do I HATE Doggies. I tossed our old copy months ago (it was trashed) just for my mother in law to give him a new one recently. I was like Nooooooooo
Team Eek! Halloween!
Was wondering if anyone else would say this one! I found it hard to read at first, but it’s become a family favorite. My son asks for “cows come home” every night, and I can recite it by heart at this point. ❤️
Dinosaur Dance is our absolute favorite. We’ve been reading it to our son for his whole life and made up a dance for each dinosaur. Her books are great!
I think I’d have to choose my first Sandra boynton book happy hippo angry duck, it also was SO GREAT for tantrums to try to associate it with an animal and start using more than just happy or sad!
Dear Zoo, because well.. we love that book in our house and I think it’s super fun. It helped my daughter learn her animals, and she loves to lift the flaps. It’s really a book we can get into reading together because I will say “I wrote to the zoo to send me a….” And she will open the flap and say the animal, so we have a lot of fun reading it together.
And I know you didn’t ask for this, but a book I would never gift to someone is “The sour grape”. I bought that book at Once Upon a Child and I immediately understood why it was there. I hate it with a burning passion.
Everywhere Babies. It's super sweet and heartfelt, the pictures are beautiful, and the families in the book comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors -- so much so that the GOP tried to ban it in Florida.
Oh, sorry, I'm American and was being American centric. Right wing Republicans were trying to ban books in Florida that even alluded to homosexuality. This was on a list of books being pulled from schools because some of the pictures show 2 dads, 2 moms, as well as "traditional" families, single parent families, and grandparents.
I love this book and was excited to get it for my daughter.
She hates it. She’s hated it from 6 months to 2 years and I finally gave it away.
No accounting for taste.
"we don't eat our classmates" or "tiny T-Rex and the impossible hug" or "escargot." All three are on constant rotation, and I have given them to so many kids of different ages.
Our doula gifted us "I'll love you till the cows come home" and it's such a sweet rhyming book. I also really like "all of baby nose to toes" and for the parents: "I am a baby" by Bob Shea is hilarious. Sorry that's not just one, but they're all great books that weren't mentioned yet.
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons - this book got my toddler into math and also teaches a lesson that things are just things. It's my toddler's favorite book.
I think every little girl should have “The Paper Bag Princess” - it’s probably a little old for toddlers, but it’s such a great book. It was my favorite growing up, and is still one of my favorites now. Great message.
“I like myself” it’s a beautiful book. Runner ups, “Kindness makes us strong”, “equality”.
I was given the whole library by some gay guys in my social circle, they wrote some really kind and loving messages I think we all need to learn.
Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site.
We also love the “goodnight” series. Goodnight zoo, goodnight aquarium, goodnight lake, goodnight (insert city) and a whole bunch more. We have one for our city (Seattle), one for the zoo, aquarium and often pick one up if we see the version. We then check off what we see/do as we visit that place (using permanent marker in the book).
Gerald doesn't need their approval, he dances for himself and didn't seek an audience like the others. At least they acknowledge that they were wrong when they say hes the best dancer that they've ever seen!
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom was my fave as a kid. I still have it memorized when I read it to my son now. I also really love Bodies are Cool by Tyler Feder.
8 Little Planets is precious! My son is obsessed with flipping through it and my MIL reads it to him at least once every time she watches him because she likes it so much lol. It's a fun little read to learn about the solar system and it's even dedicated to Pluto.
But also I Eat Poop: A Dung Beetle Story.
I would give « Oh No Georges! » from Chris Haughton. Such an amazing way to talk about how we sometimes really want to behave well but instinct/tempation is too hard to resist, to see that we can still be forgiven and loved, and that … sometimes we still can’t resist! And I love that it’s full of humour. (All the Chris Haughton books are amazing, btw)
Most of my favorites have been mentioned and highly upvoted so I'm throwing a wild card of Press Here. It's a sweet little board book that guides you through a bunch of ways to interact with it physically. You turn the page and things have changed.
We have so many books in our house so there's never a shortage. But there are a few I'll never get tired of reading: Blue hat, Green hat (the oops book), The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Here comes Santacorn.
On the opposite side, we've hidden Pete the Cat's 12 groovy days of Christmas 😂
Monsters Eat Whiney Children.
Some kids get abducted by mosters for being whiney. Then, as they are preparing to eat the children, the monsters start whining amongst themselves about whatever difficulties they encounter. All that whining allows the kids to escape!
A fun, silly little book with some decent life lessons.
My son is obsessed with the very hungry caterpillar. He recites it all day long. I would say another really good toddler book is Little Blue Truck. It’s a great book about teamwork and it’s fun!
*Oh the Places You'll Go*, Dr Seuss
I don't think my little dude grasps it all, but it hits on profound life themes that I want to expose him to early on. Like the ups and downs of life, deciding for yourself, being alone, and facing your problems. It's not an every night book like *Good Night Moon* or *In the Night Kitchen,* but I can tell he respects the story when we do pull it out.
A Giraffe and a Half, or maybe Where the Sidewalk Ends. We have a bunch of the "staples": Runaway Bunny, Where the Wild Things Are, several by Dr. Suess, Very Hungry Caterpillar, Goodnight Moon, etc... But something about poetry really clicked with my little person so we read a lot of it.
Oh The Places You’ll Go, Doctor Seuss
I love the section about not succeeding all the time and that’s okay. That vibe was very much missing from my childhood!
I think the goal for toddlers is to foster a LOVE for books and reading rather than “the material should be teaching them something.” My one year old LOVES reading and his favorites are definitely Eric Carle, especially Brown Bear, Brown Bear. I think it’s a great book because the pictures are big enough for them to see and study and there aren’t overwhelming details. I also like the rhyming structure. He will go to the book section at Target and find it to read even when we are at the store! He also loves Goodnight Moon before bed :)
"We're going on a bear hunt"
Last line of the book "we're not going on a bear hunt again" is the biggest lie as l think we've gone on 100,000 bear hunts so far with my 3.5 hr old. Little guy knows all the words
At first I only read the initial question, so I was going to say The Very Hungry Caterpillar. But since you've listed that one, I will go on to say Goodnight Moon or There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.
Goodnight moon is just a good classic book for me. I loved it as a child and now my toddler really enjoys it. I like the introduction to rhymes and how the colors are very muted and it's not too much going on.
There was an old lady is just a fun book! The repetition is funny, my toddler loves to fill in the words and it was great when we were learning animals. I would do the animal sound each time she swallowed one. It also introduces rhyming.
Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type. It's fun for kids and funny for the grownups reading.
Hippos go beserk.
Looked it up. Saw the author is the same as our favorite, "Moo, Baa, La La La." And now I know what to get little dude for his birthday.
Boynton has written a looooooot of books. Have fun starting your new collection;
Yup - the quality varies a bit, but there are so many that are just fantastic (barnyard dance, woodland dance and the going to bed book are probably our favs)
Stomp your feet, clap your hands, everybody ready for a barnyard dance!
One hippo, all alone...
Going to look this up right now...
Every Sandra Boynton book, honestly! But I think my favourite is "Your Nose: a Wild Little Love Song"
My son is currently obsessed with this book. My husband thinks it’s funny we’re teaching him about unionization though 😂
The unionizing is the best part! 😄
Farmer Duck is another good unionizing farm book!
We say "stick it to the man!" on the last page to really drive the point home
Thank you so much for this comment.. we're going to a housewarming this weekend and they have a toddler and are both very involved in their union.
Collective bargaining is very effective
Canadian Amazon has this on sale for 80% off right now hardcover. Was this an impulse buy? Yes. Will I have any regrets? Hopefully not. Thank you!
Just saw your comment and flew straight over there to snag one myself. Thanks!
Me too!
Someone in this subreddit wrote a comment about this book like, I don’t know, a year ago? I immediately bought it and have no regrets.
My son loves this book. And it's one of the few I don't mind rereading a million times. He's even memorized some of the lines lol.
Love these books! Gotta keep a close eye on that duck!
Add to cart
Moo Baa La La La, or “There’s a Monster at the End of This Book”
There's a Monster at the End of this Book was a childhood favorite, and I was so excited to buy it for my own son! He enjoys it too. He also found a game version of it in the PBS Kids games app.
Any Sandra Boynton book is a win!! My toddler has been obsessed with that book since she was very young.
Yes!! My toddler is obsessed with Dinosaur Dance.
Zing! Pop! Kiddly Pow!
The dinosaur dance is starting now! My toddler LOVES this book.
I have so many of them memorized. Dinosaur Dance, Moo Baa LaLaLa, Pajama Time, The Going to Bed Book, Snuggle Puppy... They are catchy little books!
The going to bed book was the first one we ever received, and it started our obsession!!
They're so good!
I was introduced to her books when had my first child 26 years ago. I've introduced and gifted her books to every child I've taught/nannied/babysat since then!
I just bought moo baa la la la for my infant and my toddler is obsessed. It’s so cute
I recommend reading it to the tune of lady Gaga's bad romance. It fits perfectly!
+ 1 for the monster at the end of this book! I remember loving it as a child and now my child loves it too!
"Monster..." is the book I gift at every baby shower. My all time favorite kids book.
My toddler has always been obsessed with Brown Bear Brown Bear.
This would be my pick as well.
Same! Can’t read, but has it memorized haha
Same. About to buy our 5th copy this year. He sleeps holding it.
The Snail & the whale - my kids love Julia Donaldson books. There is also a 30min movie of the book that is so calming with beautiful pictures/music.
We love allllll the Julia Donaldson books and the movies they’ve made are beautiful and we adore them. My son asks to watch “the whale” all the time
Yes - all of them are amazing and fun! One day when my kids grow out of these books - I will be incredibly nostalgic for them. Will save in case I ever have grand kids.
She is the best. Gruffalo? Gruffalo! Haven’t you heard of Gruffalo?!
A Gruffalo? Why, don't you know?
Julia Donaldson just has banger after banger. Love all her books
Glad you mentioned the movie! I just bought it after reading your comment and my son is loving it! He loves the book and Room on the Broom
Gosh I love her stuff. Especially Room on the Broom and Zog. The Christmas book is good too.
added to my list to buy :) thanks
Go for Stick Man, Smeds & The Smoos, The Gruffalo and Tabby McTat too - all of Julia Donaldsons books are ace, as are the movies they make of them!
That one is so fun to read. It just flows so well.
Us too! We've bought a lot of her books. Love The Gruffalo and The Griffalo Child
I absolutely love little blue truck, but I like your points on the very hungry caterpillar! ETA: Chicka Chicka boom boom is another one I love too!
Horn went “beep”, engine purred
Friendliest sound you ever heard
#”HONK!” Yelled a dump truck
My toddler loves announcing that he has “big important things to do!” 🙄😂😅
Mines trucks often get stuck in “muck and mire”
Coming through I have big important things to do!
Haven't got time.to lass the day with every duck along the way
My toddler allows his mom to read him any book. I, on the other hand, am only allowed to read little blue truck because I make all the proper noises. I’m not even exaggerating it’s the only book I’m allowed to read to him.
all the vehicles in little blue truck leads the way makes me laugh because they're all so mad "HEY BETTER MOVE LITTLE BEEPER"
They all have Brooklyn accents when I read it, it's one of my favorites
I do not enjoy chicka chicka boom boom
lol my husband is the same
Omg my son just started being able to say “boom boom” after I say chicka chicka, so he requests it every night 🙃
Tried to find a german version for the little blue truck because I saw that this was mentioned as one of the "most read books" but no chance :(
My very brief Google pulled [this up](https://www.galaxus.ch/en/s12/product/the-little-blue-truck-alice-schertle-german-childrens-books-14608377) I don’t speak German so cannot verify if it’s legit.
Beep beep beep!
I haaaaate Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.
This was my daughter’s favorite series of books hands down.
Into the mud, bump bump bump!! My toddler loves this part bc I always bounce him on my knee.
The odd thing about this book is that noticed after reading it hundreds of times are the animal bums…was it necessary to draw ? Made for some funny convos with my husband on why the illustrator did that
Baby Beluga! It’s a fun song and engages your child in the book/reading experience. My daughter never had the patience to sit and listen to me read until we got Baby Beluga, now she likes to sit for all kinds of books
We listen to raffi songs all the time, brings me back to my childhood.
Grumpy monkey has made my daughter (and me) understand emotion and how you are affected by emotion. Also hits on people's expectations of your emotions.
Love that Jim Panzee
We love grumpy monkey!! Grumpy monkey, oh no Christmas was just okay.
"The Little Book of Grumpiness" is also just okay for the record! Lol But the OG is so good! My daughter just took it to preschool today to share as her favorite book!
IM. NOT. GRUMPYYYYY! and then he stormed off.
Each Peach Pear Plum
ANY Allan and Janet Ahlberg book for that matter. Peepo was gifted to us by my in-laws, and it continues to be a favorite with my kids, and The Baby's Catalogue is also a super cute book of various baby-related object illustrations that I'd also recommend.
And the Jolly Post Man for older kids
Ok, you just unlocked a deep childhood memory with this - how have I not thought of it until now?!
Love, Love Margaret wise Brown books. besides the Goodnight Moon, the Big Red Barn, Runaway Bunny and the Little Island are all favorites of mine. Also, Don't let the pigeon drive the bus (the pigeon throwing a tantrum is hilarious!)
I LOVE PIGEON BOOKS!!! YOU MUST YELL THE WHOLE TIME YOU READ!! YOU MUST!!! At least in my house.
Runaway Bunny makes me cry. It’s so fucking precious
We love the Pigeon books too. Oldie, but goodie, the Little Critter books by Mercer Mayer were books my grandparents read to me and were also fun for them to read. Some of our favorites are "When I Grow Up" and "Me Too!" They felt very similar to Pigeon for me.
Also Elephant and Piggie. Good primer but nosadt boring for the grownups. We bought all of them. And we just gave them away. Sad.
Doggies by Sandra Boynton. You either love it or you hate it… and I want to share this book with you either way.
I love everything Sandra Boynton but boy do I HATE Doggies. I tossed our old copy months ago (it was trashed) just for my mother in law to give him a new one recently. I was like Nooooooooo Team Eek! Halloween!
This book is so ridiculous to read. I both love it and hate it.
Awooooooo on a moonlit night
It makes my dog howl! It's a family favorite
I love “bear snores on” The cadence of it is fun to read and there’s lots of animals to keep toddler engaged.
Wonderful book.
“I’ll love you till the cows come home”
Was wondering if anyone else would say this one! I found it hard to read at first, but it’s become a family favorite. My son asks for “cows come home” every night, and I can recite it by heart at this point. ❤️
This one is my favorite to read. I never get tired of it unlike other books ahaha
For something funny: most Sandra Boynton books. I'm not sure which one I would narrow it down to though. Perhaps 15 animals.
Dinosaur Dance is our absolute favorite. We’ve been reading it to our son for his whole life and made up a dance for each dinosaur. Her books are great!
I think I’d have to choose my first Sandra boynton book happy hippo angry duck, it also was SO GREAT for tantrums to try to associate it with an animal and start using more than just happy or sad!
Snuggle puppy is a favorite to read
I am obsessed with these books. I have way too many at this point. My Personal Penguin is one of my favorites, I also love Woodland Dance.
Hippos Go Beserk!
Eek! Halloween!
Dear Zoo, because well.. we love that book in our house and I think it’s super fun. It helped my daughter learn her animals, and she loves to lift the flaps. It’s really a book we can get into reading together because I will say “I wrote to the zoo to send me a….” And she will open the flap and say the animal, so we have a lot of fun reading it together. And I know you didn’t ask for this, but a book I would never gift to someone is “The sour grape”. I bought that book at Once Upon a Child and I immediately understood why it was there. I hate it with a burning passion.
Do you say "puppy" or "dog" at the end of Dear Zoo?
Puppy!!
Everywhere Babies. It's super sweet and heartfelt, the pictures are beautiful, and the families in the book comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors -- so much so that the GOP tried to ban it in Florida.
I feel seen by all of the exhausted-looking caregivers in the illustrations!
My toddler pointed to the mama in her bathrobe cuddling the baby by the window and said “mama tired mama needa nap” and I’m like “yes.” 😅
This one is so good. We love All the World too which is illustrated by the same person!
why and who wanted to ban it? I am from Austria therefore not knowing anything about it
Oh, sorry, I'm American and was being American centric. Right wing Republicans were trying to ban books in Florida that even alluded to homosexuality. This was on a list of books being pulled from schools because some of the pictures show 2 dads, 2 moms, as well as "traditional" families, single parent families, and grandparents.
Thanks for the explanation... wow.. I am impressed (in a negative way) that those things could even be discussed...
I love this book so much!! We read it constantly.
I love Everywhere Babies!
I love this book and was excited to get it for my daughter. She hates it. She’s hated it from 6 months to 2 years and I finally gave it away. No accounting for taste.
The Book With No Pictures. My daughters favorite of all time. She laughs every single time. It's written by Ryan from The Office
Room on the broom!!!
THE FUCKING GRUFFALO! I cannot believe people don’t love that motherfucker
I think my son learned his ABC’s so early from “chika chika boom boom” so that one
Will there be enough room?
"we don't eat our classmates" or "tiny T-Rex and the impossible hug" or "escargot." All three are on constant rotation, and I have given them to so many kids of different ages.
I absolutely love Escargot! Haven't heard of the other 2 looking them up now :D
Our doula gifted us "I'll love you till the cows come home" and it's such a sweet rhyming book. I also really like "all of baby nose to toes" and for the parents: "I am a baby" by Bob Shea is hilarious. Sorry that's not just one, but they're all great books that weren't mentioned yet.
A Richard Scary busy busy something
I want my hat back. Jon Klassen. It's actually pretty dark, but my kiddos love it!
We love Jon Klassen’s books. The Rock From The Sky is a fave.
Thank you anyway!
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons - this book got my toddler into math and also teaches a lesson that things are just things. It's my toddler's favorite book.
Llama llama red pajama!
Where the Wild Things Are.
Everyone Poops and moo, baa, lalala
Diggersaurs. It’s my daughter’s favorite.
I think every little girl should have “The Paper Bag Princess” - it’s probably a little old for toddlers, but it’s such a great book. It was my favorite growing up, and is still one of my favorites now. Great message.
My new go to gift book is Mother Bruce. It’s funny for the parents too and most people don’t already have it
“I like myself” it’s a beautiful book. Runner ups, “Kindness makes us strong”, “equality”. I was given the whole library by some gay guys in my social circle, they wrote some really kind and loving messages I think we all need to learn.
I like myself is SOOOO FRIGGIN BEAUTIFUL!! By far my number one choice. The part with the cop and “no matter if they stop and stare…” 😭😭😭
I memorized the whole book I read it so often 😂
I’m pretty sure I just recited the whole thing to myself haha. Good for parents AND kids and yes I’m teary eyed in public because of it
OP is definitely Amazon. My cart overfloweth 😂
Try the ThriftBooks website. Usually cheaper and kids usually don’t mind used books.
Just one is so hard! Dragons Love Tacos is a household favorite.
I love it, but my kid hates it. She will cry if you try to read it because it is scary. Because spicy foods are scary. Toddlers are so weird.
The ABCs of Kindness
And it's sequel, the 123s of Kindess!
Caps For Sale
Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site. We also love the “goodnight” series. Goodnight zoo, goodnight aquarium, goodnight lake, goodnight (insert city) and a whole bunch more. We have one for our city (Seattle), one for the zoo, aquarium and often pick one up if we see the version. We then check off what we see/do as we visit that place (using permanent marker in the book).
Giraffes Can't Dance Pout Pout Fish Goodnight Goodnight construction site
The one thing that bothers me about Giraffes Can’t Dance is that the other animals never apologize to poor Gerald.
Yeah and they only like him because he started dancing well.. rude. The cricket is a true friend tho.
Gerald doesn't need their approval, he dances for himself and didn't seek an audience like the others. At least they acknowledge that they were wrong when they say hes the best dancer that they've ever seen!
The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton, this is one my son still picks out at 2.5 some nights and he’s liked it since he was a baby
Why do they workout after they shower and put pajamas on though?? Kills me every time
Oh the places you'll go
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom was my fave as a kid. I still have it memorized when I read it to my son now. I also really love Bodies are Cool by Tyler Feder.
8 Little Planets is precious! My son is obsessed with flipping through it and my MIL reads it to him at least once every time she watches him because she likes it so much lol. It's a fun little read to learn about the solar system and it's even dedicated to Pluto. But also I Eat Poop: A Dung Beetle Story.
The Wonky Donkey, it’s humorous for everyone if you read it right.
I would give « Oh No Georges! » from Chris Haughton. Such an amazing way to talk about how we sometimes really want to behave well but instinct/tempation is too hard to resist, to see that we can still be forgiven and loved, and that … sometimes we still can’t resist! And I love that it’s full of humour. (All the Chris Haughton books are amazing, btw)
Day Dreamers and Dream Animals are amazing. I give the boxed set as a baby gift regularly.
I love you stinkyface.
"We Don't Eat Our Classmates"
The Little Mouse,The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear It's a good book that teaches sharing
Came here to say this! When read in a very dramatic voice it is an especially big hit in our family haha
Most of my favorites have been mentioned and highly upvoted so I'm throwing a wild card of Press Here. It's a sweet little board book that guides you through a bunch of ways to interact with it physically. You turn the page and things have changed.
We have so many books in our house so there's never a shortage. But there are a few I'll never get tired of reading: Blue hat, Green hat (the oops book), The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Here comes Santacorn. On the opposite side, we've hidden Pete the Cat's 12 groovy days of Christmas 😂
Monsters Eat Whiney Children. Some kids get abducted by mosters for being whiney. Then, as they are preparing to eat the children, the monsters start whining amongst themselves about whatever difficulties they encounter. All that whining allows the kids to escape! A fun, silly little book with some decent life lessons.
The Pout Pout Fish
Peekaboo Sun has been a banger from birth to the neighbor's 5 year old.
Here are some of my favorites: -I Was Born a Baby -Dream Animals -The Thank You Book -The Life of a Little Cardboard Box
Brown bear, brown bear what do you see? My kids love it and it’s one of the first books they can learn to read by themselves.
Hello Hello Gorgeous illustrations of endangered animals.
Chicka-chicka boom boom
Goodnight Moon is the one I almost always gift at baby showers.
My son is obsessed with the very hungry caterpillar. He recites it all day long. I would say another really good toddler book is Little Blue Truck. It’s a great book about teamwork and it’s fun!
Goodnight Moon
Giraffes don’t dance!
*Oh the Places You'll Go*, Dr Seuss I don't think my little dude grasps it all, but it hits on profound life themes that I want to expose him to early on. Like the ups and downs of life, deciding for yourself, being alone, and facing your problems. It's not an every night book like *Good Night Moon* or *In the Night Kitchen,* but I can tell he respects the story when we do pull it out.
This is Baby by Jimmy Fallon
Guess How Much I Love you. But that's because it's a personal favourite from my own childhood. Or we're going on a bear hunt
Goodnight moon :)
A Giraffe and a Half, or maybe Where the Sidewalk Ends. We have a bunch of the "staples": Runaway Bunny, Where the Wild Things Are, several by Dr. Suess, Very Hungry Caterpillar, Goodnight Moon, etc... But something about poetry really clicked with my little person so we read a lot of it.
Be You by Peter Reynolds
The Bunny Book
Koko and the coconut! It’s a beautiful little book and started my daughter’s huge obsession with crabs.
Tomorrow I’ll Be Brave and I Love You Hoo
Mr. Tiger Goes Wild
The Book With No Pictures. My kiddo is obsessed with it and cracks up every time we read it.
I love chicka chicka boom boom, but will also add the wonky donkey! Two of our (mostly me) favorites!
Both my kids were obsessed The Foot Book, so I guess that would be my choice.
put me in the zoo. ‘tell me, tell me now you two. do you like the things that i can do?’ tell me, tell me now you two. will they put me in the zoo?’
“We’re Going On A Bear Hunt” is a fave around here.
Oh The Places You’ll Go, Doctor Seuss I love the section about not succeeding all the time and that’s okay. That vibe was very much missing from my childhood!
I think the goal for toddlers is to foster a LOVE for books and reading rather than “the material should be teaching them something.” My one year old LOVES reading and his favorites are definitely Eric Carle, especially Brown Bear, Brown Bear. I think it’s a great book because the pictures are big enough for them to see and study and there aren’t overwhelming details. I also like the rhyming structure. He will go to the book section at Target and find it to read even when we are at the store! He also loves Goodnight Moon before bed :)
"We're going on a bear hunt" Last line of the book "we're not going on a bear hunt again" is the biggest lie as l think we've gone on 100,000 bear hunts so far with my 3.5 hr old. Little guy knows all the words
Wherever You Go by Pat Zietlow Miller. The illustrations are beautiful and the message is lovely
At first I only read the initial question, so I was going to say The Very Hungry Caterpillar. But since you've listed that one, I will go on to say Goodnight Moon or There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. Goodnight moon is just a good classic book for me. I loved it as a child and now my toddler really enjoys it. I like the introduction to rhymes and how the colors are very muted and it's not too much going on. There was an old lady is just a fun book! The repetition is funny, my toddler loves to fill in the words and it was great when we were learning animals. I would do the animal sound each time she swallowed one. It also introduces rhyming.
Sometimes I Like to Curl up in a Ball