5 Books Our Toddlers Are Loving!
We love checking in with the Wee Talkers Insta community every few months to see what your babies and toddlers are into. Lately, the lists have been so good that we had to write them up here. Keep reading for a list of books our toddlers are loving lately, and get some inspo for your next book store or library trip!
Together Is Better
The best books are truly just the ones you and your child enjoy reading together. Remember, positive early experiences with books is the goal. Reading every word on the page? Not so much!
Yes, there are certain types of books that tend to be easier for toddlers to engage with or follow— and we’ll get into that a bit here. But, at the end of the day, as long as you and your toddler are having fun together, it’s a big win!
What we Look For In Toddler Books
The most engaging books for toddlers are books that feature repetition, rhyming, routines, musicality, and/or opportunities for participation. And while all of the books on this list meet at least one of these criteria, the features that came up most often here were repetition and opportunities for participation.
Repetition
Repeated words make it easier for little ones to catch on, which allows them to begin to participate. Participation is great because when toddlers are involved in a story, they tend to stay engaged!
Opportunities for Participation
There isn’t just one type of opportunity for participation— it varies depending on the book. For the books on this list, we see lots of opportunities to get your child involved by using gestures, making sounds, or having them bring the book to life with a toy they have on hand. Books with flaps also came up more than once on this list which is great because flaps present great opportunities for participation!
Bonus: Animal Sounds (or other fun sounds!)
Many of these books recommended by our community included animal sounds, which is just so fun. Although animal sounds aren’t on our “official” list of must-haves for engaging toddler books, they are definitely a big help! They’re often easier to say for children, and they’re also just fun to try.
Toddler Books That Are All The Rage
These are some of the books that get mentioned repeatedly in the Wee Talkers Insta community, along with a few reasons why they’re so great for your toddler’s language development.
#1 The Little Blue Truck Alice Schertle
The Little Blue Truck is a future classic. Or, maybe it’s a classic already! Either way, this book is great for literacy development. Also, it’s really catchy!
Here’s why we like it:
Lots of animal sounds!
It has an underlying theme about helping others.
It focuses on animals and trucks, two BIG hits with toddlers. My toddlers love both! This helps to catch their attention.
It’s easy to make this book come to life with toys you likely have on hand.
Pro Tip: Reading doesn’t have to be just reading. Feel free to let your littles play along with a farm animal or a tractor!
Related: How To Sit and Read With A Busy Toddler
#2 Dear Zoo By Rod Campbell
Dear Zoo is a great book for toddlers! We love it because it A) has flaps, which are super engaging and B) is very repetitive (which is also super engaging!).
#3 The Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
The Pout Pout Fish is super catchy and toddlers just seem to love it. You can almost sing this one! The text has a lovely rhythmic quality. The “blub, blub, blub” can be fun for your little one to chime in on. This book has a really rich vocabulary and is more complex than the other books listed here.
#4 Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do you See? By Bill Martin, Jr.
If The Little Blue Truck is a future classic, then Brown Bear, Brown Bear is a verified, full-on classic!
Here’s why ‘Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?’ is so great:
It’s repetitive (Just talking about this book, we’ve already written the words “Brown Bear” 6 times!)
It repeats words that are easier to say or make a gesture for, like “I,” “See,” and “Me.”
It features animal sounds
The pictures are attention-grabbing which is important because keeping their attention is key for language learning
It’s easy to make this book come to life with animal toys
#5 Where is Spot? BY ERIC HILL
‘Where Is Spot?’ is such a fun book for toddlers. It has flaps, which are really engaging and are a great opportunity for participation. And, the simple pictures tend to keep toddlers’ attention.
Download our Complete Book List
In our years as a speech therapists, we’ve discovered some absolute gems! Books that encourage participation, making sounds, and, most of all, fun! We all learn best when we are having fun.
You might recognize a few of the classic titles — some of the books from this post are on it! — but it’s also got some lesser-known books and a few titles you might not have heard of before.
P.S. Have you heard of BookShop.org?
BookShop.org is a great platform that lets you order online and still support small, local bookstores. If you live in the US and you’re planning to shop for books online, we recommend shopping through them!