Books for Toddlers (1 and 2 year olds)
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Books for Toddlers (1 and 2 year olds)
March 2012
Does anyone have any suggestions for interesting books to
read to a 2.5 yr old. Some books I have are too childish for
my daughter and others I find are a little too verbose and
she loses attention. I'm looking for books that have a story
but not reems to read as her attention span is short.
wannabebookworm
The books my kids loved best around age 2-3yrs were simple,
short, often silly, picture books, especially on topics they
adored (trucks, firefighters and dinosaurs, in our case).
Some that my kids loved were 'Digger Man' by Andrea
Zimmerman, 'The Grouchy Ladybug' by Eric Carle, 'If You Give
a Mouse a Cookie' by Laura Numeroff, 'Goodnight, Gorilla' by
Peggy Rathman and the Bartholomew Bear stories by Virginia
Miller. Your local children's librarian can make some great
recommendations, or check out this blog by a local librarian
and parent for more ideas:
http://greatkidbooks.blogspot.com/ JP
What counts as 'too verbose'? Where the Wild
Things Are? Snowy Day?
I suggest you ask the children's librarians at the Berkeley or
Oakland Public library.
Kathleen
I have a three year old and I agree it's hard to find books
that the child AND parent enjoy. Maybe I'm simple, but I
like the ones that rhyme (and my child does, too). A few
favorites are Bear Snores On, Jamberry, and The Giant Jam
Sandwich. anon
I love the Frog and Toad books, personally. We also love the
following books: The Bear Snores On, The Napping House,
Goodnight Moon, Where the Wild Things Are... And on and on.
My 3.5 year old still enjoys many board books (which is
great, since we also have a baby!). We also continue to love
the books we found about welcoming a new baby into the house
and ones about learning to use the potty... I find the
opposite problem, actually: I go the book store or the
library and I find TOO MANY amazing books! I can't imagine
feeling stuck. Bookworm Mama
One of my favorite children's books is 'Little Owl's Night'
by Divya Srinivasan. I strongly recommend it as a great
addition to any family library. It is Divya's first
children's book and I can't wait for her next one!! Colleen
cf
April 2010
Hi! I'm looking for a book to read to my 2-year-old son
that can help him imagine going to sleep on his own at
night. We've found that he adapts best to change when we
can read stories about something ahead of time. He's used
to having us rock him to sleep or sit with him until he
falls asleep at night and I'd like him to be able to picture
that he can be okay if we leave the room while he is still
awake. Thanks for any ideas you have! Sarah
Llama, Llama Red Pajama.
been there
My son liked 'Joshua's Night Whispers' by Angela Johnson
and 'Just Go to Bed' (Little Critter) by Mercer Mayer.
The latter could be controversial since there is a toy gun
in the story so beware. That being said, my son loved to
read a couple of stories from The Little Critter Collection
before bedtime. Also, 'Franklin in the Dark' by Paulette
Bourgeois is a good one but may be slightly preschool- ish.
Reading Mom
I love 'Llama, llama, red pajama'. (:
no more llama drama
Two books that our 2yo loves are:
-The Going To Bed Book by Sandra Boynton
-Goodnight Gorilla
The Going to bed book was the VERY first book we ever
started reading to our child (3mo) who WAS NOT INTERESTED in
sleeping EVER! I think the idea of him sleeping was more
a pipe dream for us, but we're also very big into early
reading and he now loves, loves, loves books.
Goodnight Gorilla we started when he was about 1yo and it's
mostly pictures of what Gorilla is doing at nighttime. I
don't care for it because I'd prefer to read words, but my
husband and son LOVE it. Probably because my husband is so
great about adlibing. Finally Getting a Goodnight Rest
Try 'Tell Me Something Happy Before I Go To Sleep' about a
brother and sister, Willoughby and Willa. Really charming!
My boys all loved it.
Jan 2010
please send me titles of children's books that are pro- girl for my 2 year old
daughter. we are growing up and away from the hungry little catepillar and the other
fun classics, and need some new material that ideally are pro-
girl.
if you also have suggestions for books on how to raise a strong girl-- please share.
lisa
I don't have any specific recommendations for books. But I
do suggest that you hit your local library. We've been
going practically weekly since my daughter was 2 (she's 5
now). I pick one shelf each week and just browse (different
shelf each week keeps things mixed up). There are lots and
lots of good books out there. With
picture books, you can practically read the whole thing on
the spot to find the ones you think are appropriate.
Eventually, your daughter will pick out her own books (but
you can still pick some, too, as long as you are still
reading to her).
Once nice thing about the library is that the books
eventually have to go back, which puts a limit on how many
time you have to read the same book over and over (she may
want to check it out again, but you'll have a week's
reprieve).
You didn't mention what city you are in, but the Oakland
main library has a good-size children's library, and a very
helpful librarian who can help track down specific books or
recommend books on a specific theme (stong girls, for
example).
Carrie
Sept 2007
Can anyone recommend a good book about being a big brother/big sister? My
son is 19 months and I am pregnant, due in December. I thought this might
help him prepare.
Thanks
Congratulations on your second baby. We are in very much the same
situation (son 20 months old and due with #2 in December) and have been
reading our son two books that were recommended by his school & other
friends: ''I'm a Big Brother'' by Joanna Cole and ''My New Baby'' by
Annie Kubler. They're both great and our son asks to read them all the
time (though i don't think he really ''gets it''). Just so you know, the
second book is just pictures with no words so you can talk about whatever
for the story. Hope that that helps and all the best!
mom of a big-brother-to-be
I'm a Big Sister (Brother) by Joanna Cole. My daughter really likes it.
A in Alameda
My son was 3 when our baby was born. He enjoyed ''I'm a Big Brother'' by
Joanna Cole. The kids still read it together a year and a half later!
''You're all my Favorite'' by Sam McBratney (the author of ''Guess How
Much I Love You'' is good as reassurance that you love both kids the same.
Best of luck to you!
mom of 2
We have The New Baby, by Mercer Meyer. I like it because the concepts are
simple. The big brother is excited to share his toys and books, but is
frustrated when the baby doesn't respond the way he expects. And then the
mom tells him some ways to interact with a baby.
Hannah
Our son was 26 months when his little brother was born, and the 2 books
he/we liked best were:
- ''My New Baby'' by Annie Kubler -- no words; simple pictures show the
dad making dinner with the big brother while mom nurses the baby and other
typical scenes; ends with mom and dad reading to b.b. while baby sleeps.
Kind of shows what to expect and reassures at the same time.
- ''Digger Man'' by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha - not about a new
baby per se, but about a big brother teaching/helping his little brother;
helped get him psyched about his new role (plus it has diggers in it,
always a plus for boys this age!).
JP
Hi,
I'm a psychotherapist who works with children and I have a book in my
office by Mr. Rogers for children who are going to become big brothers and
sisters that I really like.
I'm a Big Brother by Joanna Cole and Maxie Chambliss is a great book... my
son loved it when he became a big brother and now my daughter even loves
it, too.
Sarah
We absolutely loved the book ''The New Baby at Your House'' by Joanna
Cole. One of the things I like about it is that it useds photos, not
drawings, so I think kids can relate. There's a mix of families and
situations, and it covers everything from Mommy having to go away to the
hospital to it's ok to feel frustrated about the new baby. My son would
remind me of things we read in the book when he was dealing with his new
baby twin sisters.
anon
Jan 2007
Any recommendations on a good going-to-sleep book for a nearly
2-year old? We have the usual suspects for bedtime stories
(Goodnight Moon, Boyton's Going to Bed Book, Guess How Much I
Love You, etc.) but what I'm looking for is a quite literal book
about a kid going to bed. Like those books that help toddlers let
go of their pacifier, learn to use the potty, etc. Something we
can read together and talk about and apply to her bedtime. Thanks
for your suggestions!
sleepy mama
You could try ''10 Minutes to Bedtime'' by Peggy Rathman. It's a
story about a child' pet hamster who leads hamster tours of the
getting-ready-for-bed process. It's almost entirely a picture
book, and very cute. I do have to let you know that the
illustrations are increasingly detailed as the story goes on, so
it may not be one to read at your child's actual bedtime. Too busy.
''How do Dinosaurs say goodnight'' by Jane Yolen is a good one.
Andi
Aug 2006
I would love to find a book with pictures and names of adult and
baby animals (cow/calf, horse/foal, etc.) For a bright
two-year-old! Thanks
lisa
I used to read ''I'm a Baby, You're a Baby'' by Kopper to my storytimes for 2- and 3-
year-olds. No pictures of the adult animals, but the text allows for a fun guessing
game: ''I'm a baby, you're a baby; we are baby horses ... foals!''
There are others -- do you know the reference book ''A to Zoo''? It lists picture
books by topic (from baby animals to loss of a family member). Your local library
will have it, and the librarian can help you with it
Children's Librarian
My kids were given a board/lift-the-flap book that has one page
with adult and baby animals. The other pages are animal sounds,
colors, what they eat. It's been a real hit with my daughter
(now 5), and my 3 year old son still loves it. It's an ''Active
Minds'' book, called simply _Animals_. Now that I look at it, it
was apparently published by Leapfrog, in 2001
Donna
My son has a subscription to Wild Animal Baby from the National Wildlife Federation
(www.nwf.org). It is a small book that comes out 10 times a year and is geared toward
toddlers. The front pages always have pictures of a baby animal with it's mom or dad,
and a couple of facts about the animal. My 2 1/2 year-old loves it and already can
name more types of animals than a lot of adults. Most libraries also have a
subscription that you can look at in the children's section.
Brenna
Usborne books has 2 board books that might do. One is ''Baby
Animals Board Book'' - 0-7460-1976-9 and the second is ''Animals
Baby Board Book'' - 0-7460-4102-0. My favorite book is the
''Complete Book of Farmyard Tales'' - 0-7945-0902-9. It includes a
CD that is great for naptime and bedtime relaxing. My 2-year old
grandchild loves that book and the CD.
Check out the books at
http://www.ubah.com/ecommerce/main.asp?sid=G2393&gid=18283288
Joann
My favorites are, ''Mama, Mama'' and ''Papa, Papa'' by Jean
Marzollo and ''Time for Bed'' by Mem Fox
Amalia
I didn't read your original post, but I definitely second the recommendation of Mem
Fox's book, ''Time for Bed.'' One of my all-time favorites is ''Guess How Much I
Love
You'' by Sam McBratney (a classic about a father and son rabbit.)
paula
March 2006
My son is 26 months and very interested in colors. He seems to have mastered
identifying the basic primary colors and I would like to start talking about different
colors (violet, aqua etc.) Does anyone have any book recommendations or
suggestions for a different approach to colors? Thanks
Try Little Blue and Little Yellow.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0688132855/104-3830656-3734303?v=glance&n=283155
This sets the stage for talking about color mixing and secondary
colors.
fred
I recommend Betty Edwards on Colors. She wrote Drawing from the
Right Side of the Brain.
Suzanne
This is mainly dealing still with primary colors, but if you
haven't read it yet, Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh is very
enjoyable.
Elizabeth
I'm a big fan of My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss. It ties
various colors to emotions. Our girl (now 4 1/2) really like it
when she was a toddler.
Here it is on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679875972/sr=8-1/qid=1141855367/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-8325818-7215146?%5Fencoding=UTF8
There's also a board book version, which is what we have.
My kids (2 and 5) got a lovely book for Christmas that is about
color. It's called *Color, Color, Where Are You Color* and it is
by Mary Koski and illustrated by Janeen Mason. It has all the
usual suspects in terms of color, but also has some non-typical
colors. The page with gold says, ''Gold, gold, is your story told?
Poppies and aspen and honey to hold. Wheat fields at dawn, fur of
a fawn- look all around you, and find something gold.'' The
illustrations are beautiful and the kids love to point to stuff
around the room that are, in this case, gold.
Molly G
March 2006
My 18 month-old son loves stickers but burns through them so
quickly and they are so expensive! (He puts them on paper or a
door we let him decorate.) I found an internet site that sells
stickers very cheap (oriental trading company) but it still
seems wasteful and each sticker gets only seconds of use (except
for the occasional reuse of a sticker). Are there any good
sticker books out there where you can reuse the stickers and
move them around throughout the pages of the book? My son is
really into construction vehicles (excavators, etc.), trucks,
trains and animals so sticker books with any of those themes
would be a bonus. Thanks!!!
Andi
Amazon has a ton of reusable sticker books for sale
(search ''Sticker Picture Books'' at Amazon), and I'm sure you can
find them locally, too. Themes include construction, rescue
vehicles, the aquarium, the airport, baseball, the rainforest -
everything. They're about $5 a pop. We've tried 3 or 4 so far
and some seem to be more reusable/repositionable than others,
but our 2.75yo loves them - and they're great for travel because
they're compact and quiet.
JP
Yes, these exist--look for a brand called
Sandylion. We got two
Sandylion reusable sticker books at Mr.
Mopps (a while back), and
my son loved them. They were especially
great for bringing on trips.
Stick 'em once, stick 'em twice, reusable
sticker books are so nice
June 2005
Any suggestions for great kids books to help a toddler sleep
through the night and/or night wean? I'm looking for something
along the lines of the Once Upon A Potty book, which worked great
for potty stuff. Now I'd like something cute for him that
''teaches'' him it's ok to sleep all night, and/or ''wait til
morning'' before having more breast milk.
-tired of being sleep deprived
I'd like to kiss the feet of whomever recommended this book to
me. It has changed everything. My little one sleeps from 6pm to
7am every night ... and takes an 1.5 hr nap every day.
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child ...
Terri
We made our own book with our 5 year old: wrote down all the
steps about what to do/happens when he wakes up in the middle of
the night and how to try to go back to sleep, etc. then took
digital photos of him doing all the things. Granted, we still had
to do some other gentle interventions (we started reading the
book about a week before the ''interventions'') but it really
seemed to help him feel more in control and reassured. He's
sleeping pretty well now but I often find him reading ''his book''
to himself. Good luck.
Sleepless for Too Long
I don't know the name of any kid's book that addresses this
issue, but when we were doing sleep training when our daughter
was about 9-12 months old, we consulted Meg Zweiback, who had a
suggestion that helped. We told stories with bears (Mommy bear
and Baby bear) about going to bed. We would tell her about the
bed time routine (which is always the same, bath, pj's, brush
teeth, story, nurse) and then part of the story would be about
her waking up at night and crying. ''Little Bear wakes up and
cries, 'Mommy, mommy!' And Mommy Bear says to Little Bear, 'Go
back to sleep, Little Bear, everything's OK.' But Mommy Bear
stays in her room and Little Bear stays in her crib and goes
back to sleep . . . '' Well, you get the idea. It's kind of
silly-sounding, but our daughter really got into it and later
would repeat part of the story back to us. Good luck!
Finally sleeping through the night
June 2005
We're looking for a visual dictionary for use with our 13 month
old. He's at the stage where he points at things and wants to
know the sound and matching ASL sign. But it is not always clear
just what he's pointing at in a cluttered picture.
We have the Webster's Children's Visual Dictionary (ISBN
0-7853-101402) but it is a bit too much (the difference between a
suspension bridge and a bascule bridge seems a bit academic at
the moment, as does the distinction betwen a sarong and kabaya).
It will be great later.
For now we're looking for something simple, with one picture per
page, for easy pointing. Either photographs or drawings would be
good, we're not sure what's best. Any ideas?
Bryce
When my daughter was 15 months old, she also loved to point to pictures and hear
what she was seeing. We spent lots of time in bookstores looking at books that
would have many images that we could label for her. None of these we found have
single pictures per page, but as your son can point more easily perhaps that won't
be as much of a problem? (A benefit of the multiple images per page is that the
book doesn't get old as quickly! We could always flip to a new page and find some
things of interest.) I'm listing these in our approximate order of preference. She's
now 2 years old and still enjoys them.
1. Betty Root, My First Dictionary, DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley), 1993. Mix of
photos and drawings. Words and short written definitions (making it easier for
adults to come up with something to say about it!).
2. Gyo Fujikawa, Gyo Fujikawa's A to Z Picture Book, 1974 (though has had later
editions). Possibly out of print, but copies are available at Amazon. All drawings,
no definitions. A page or two per letter, with cute drawings of things starting with
that letter. Some of the spreads are a little strange (which is why I haven't put this
at #1) but others are delightful. Our daughter loved this one.
3. Betty Root, My First Dictionary, Parragon Publishing, 2002. All drawings (no
photos), with short definitions. By same author as #1, so very similar in content and
text, but we didn't like it quite as much.
4. The American Heritage Picture Dictionary, Houghton Mifflin, 2003. All drawings
(no photos). Some words are used in a sentence, others have no text. They use the
same characters in pictures over and over, so there is some sense of continuity, but
this doesn't add much. Overall fine, but I prefer ones that include definitions.
Labeling Mom
I don't have a one-item-per-page book to recommend, but the
Roger Priddy picture books are fantastic. These were our
daughter's favorite books until she was about 18 months old.
There are many of them and they're beautiful. Our daughter used
sign language, too, a lot of it. She learned many, many words
from these books and their very clear pictures. There's a good
selection of Roger Priddy books at Mr. Mopp's.
Roger Priddy fan
March 2000
I've been looking for a good, fun book that introduces a range of feelings
(beyond sad, glad, mad) in an engaging way for a toddler/young preschooler.
Just great pictures would be fine, but a fabulous story line would be even
better. Oddly, the bookstores haven't been helpful. Has anyone found
something like this? Thanks!
I just got a recommendation from a friend for my 2.6 year old called
"My Many-Colored Days" by Dr. Seuss. I haven't seen it yet, but she
read exerpts and it sounds lovely. I don't know how far beyond sad
mad glad it goes, though.
Laura
We really enjoy the book "My Many Colored Days" by Dr. Seuss. The book
came out after his death and was not illustrated by him, so don't expect
the same
Seuss-like pictures. Instead, there are brightly colored, non-race-specific
drawings
of people and animals. There are a wide range of feelings and moods expressed,
and while there isn't really a storyline, there are some great Seuss rhymes.
Comes in board book and "real" (as we call it) versions.
heather
Today I Feel Silly by Jamie Lee Curtis covers a range of different feelings
each
accompanied by wonderful illustrations. Shy Charles by Rosemary Wells is a
great book about shyness as the title suggests.
Kathy
March 1998
I have a hard time finding good books for our 20-month old
daughter, and I am looking for suggestions. My requirements are:
- entertaining for the adults
- good graphics, little text
Some of the books I particularly like are:
- We're Going On A Bear Hunt, by Rosen/Oxenbury
- most of the Boynton Board Books, by Boynton, such
as: The Going To Bed Book, But Not The Hippopotamus,
Blue Hat, Green Hat.
- Where The Wild Things Are, by Sendak
Thank you ---Luigi
One book that my husband's boss gave us as a present,
which we all love (parents and kids), is called _Good_Night,_Gorilla_,
by Peggy Rathmann. It was a year before we stopped
finding new subtleties, which I won't catalog here.
The text is extremely simple and the illustration is beautiful.
Also, have you asked the children's librarian at the public library?
Joyce
The first book on the list is my daughter's and my favorite book. My mom
teaches first grade and says even her first graders still enjoy the book
because they like thinking about how they were as 'babies'. All of these
books pass my 'read it again mommy' test although The Very Hungry
Catepiller might need to be retired soon.
"More More More," Said the Baby Vera B. Williams
My Very First Mother Goose Iona Opie
Katy Cat and Beaky Boo Lusy Cousins
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Bill Martin Jr.
Ten, Nine, Eight Molly Bang
The Snowy Day Erza Jack Keats
Goodnight Moon Margaret Wise Brown
The Very Hungry Catepiller Eric Carle
The Very Busy Spider Eric Carle
few long-time favorites of my two-year-old daughter's (and the
adults in her life!) are:
- A Hole is to Dig, written by Ruth Krauss and illustrated by Maurice
Sendak
- Harold and the Purple Crayon, by Crockett Johnson
- Good Night, Gorilla (the only text is along the lines of, Good Night
Gorilla, Good Night Giraffe, Good Night Armadillo, etc. The
illustrations tell the story.)
- a board book called something like, There's an Elephant in Your
Kitchen, which cracks my daughter up every time we read it
Elisa
From: Dianna (3/98)
Dr. Suess and his cohort of writer, Theo LeSieg, et al. are good
for this age. I can particularly recommend "Mr. Brown Can Moo,
Can You?" I had to read this over and over again to my son
when he was one and a half. Also,
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
Fox in Sox (only if you are good with tongue twisters)
The Foot Book
The Hair Book
The Nose Book
etc.
Dianna
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