Choosing Engaging Books for Babies and Toddlers (& our personal picks!)

Reading with your child is great for so many reasons. It encourages connection and bonding, helps support speech and language development, and can inspire creativity and imagination! 

But with so many books available, how can we as parents possibly decide? 

Because books are often used in speech & language therapy, we’re always on the lookout for ones we think are great for encouraging language development. We’re asked about this a lot when we speak at mom and baby groups.

So today, we’re sharing the main things we look for when choosing books for babies and toddlers, along with our own personal book list!

Did we miss any great ones? Let us know in the comments below.

Reading With Your Children

Reading with your little ones is so important. From a young age, reading helps kids build a strong foundation for future learning and helps establish a love for books. Through books, they will be exposed to vocabulary that they wouldn’t normally hear in their day-to-day routines. Plus, it’s a great time to bond and connect! 

We know we have so many happy memories of reading with our families as children. Now as mamas ourselves, we love the little moments when we sit down with our kids to read together. So special! 

If you’re not a huge reader, or you find reading children’s books to be less than thrilling, that’s okay too. When you have the right books, reading can be more engaging for your kids (which can make it more fun for you, too). And, remember that even a little reading together can go a long way. Try for about 15 minutes a day, if you can. On busy days, don't worry about it! It's not about being perfect.

Making it a part of your daily routine can help, too. Whatever works for your family's schedule! For example, you could read a book or two before nap time. Or, if your child seems too tired or not interested then, play around with different times of day. 

A little tip: Young children have short attention spans, so you don’t have to worry about reading every word. They don’t need to sit down and pay close attention, either. If you can just be animated and have fun with it, odds are they will too! Having board books easily accessible (almost like a toy) for your child can also be really helpful.

Related: Reading with a Busy Toddler

Choosing Books They’ll Love

When it comes to choosing books for babies and toddlers, there are a few key things we always look for, for sure. 

But don’t get too caught up in finding the perfect ones, because anything you enjoy together is a great choice! Try and remember that the main goal of reading with young children is to help them develop a positive association with books. 

But with all of that said, when it comes to babies and toddlers, we usually look for books with:

Repetition

Children need to hear the same words over and over before they start trying to say them. Repetition in books is a great way to help build your child’s vocabulary. Plus, it makes it easier for them to participate in the story as you read together. If they know what’s coming, or if they’re really familiar with the story, they will start to say the words with you. Such a neat stage!

Rhyming

Because learning to read starts long before school. Children build what we call “early literacy skills” that are the foundation for learning to read. 

Rhyming is one of those important early literacy skills that you can start introducing to your child from a very young age. Plus, we love how the rhythmic quality makes the words almost singable–which is so attention-grabbing for toddlers.

Routines

Books about topics related to your child’s daily routine, like going to the park, bedtime, or eating a meal are great options for toddlers. And, these books tend to use familiar vocabulary, which is so helpful for language development. Words like “eat”, “bath”, “shoe” (just the normal daily stuff!) are often first words, so they are great for kids to see and chat about in books. 

Plus, your child is having their routine reinforced by a book they love (which is especially helpful when it’s a new routine that you’re trying to establish). 

Musicality

We’re not exceptionally musical ourselves, but we have seen how powerful music can be with engaging young children so we know it works! Disclaimer: you don’t have to be a good singer for your child to enjoy it! They just want to hear your voice.

We encourage you to watch your child’s face as you add in a little song or a sing-songy voice as you read. Their face lights up and it usually helps hold their interest a big longer. 

Opportunities for Participation

Finally, we love books that let your child participate! Some books give clear instructions to engage kids as they read (think wheels that turn, a little flap that acts as a blanket to cover up animals, a Poke-a-Dot book). Other books encourage making sounds and being NOISY! These are so fun, and they’re great for encouraging first words. These books can get littles ones participating in reading before they can even speak!

A little tip: Get a library card and try different books! Over time, you’ll find your favorite authors, and the types of books your little ones like best. We don’t want parents to feel like they MUST be buying new books all the time. Plus, the library is a fun outing to keep in your back pocket!

Related: Reading Tips to Help Your Toddler Participate in Story Time

Related: 5 Books our Toddlers are Loving!

Get a list of our favorite books for babies and young toddlers! 

We get requests for our book list every time we speak at a parent group, and it’s one of our favorite things to share. So, we put together a list of some of the books we LOVE for reading with toddlers. 

Click here to snag your copy. Happy reading!

P.S. We read so many wonderful stories in our Songs+Stories membership. Parents share with us all the time that not only is their child learning, but THEY are learning new and fun ways to read with their child. We’d love you to try 3 free videos from our membership to see what it’s all about.