I found this draft from last summer… but it holds up!! What have you been reading with your kids lately?

There’s not much I love more than reading about and finding new books – I think I prefer it over actually reading books, hah! That’s why I love used bookstores so much. The hunt for a good book is exciting and filled with possibilities!

Naturally I’ve read a number of posts with people’s favorite children’s books. Now that I have a 2 year old, of course I’ve developed some strong feelings about which books are GOOD and which are an easy pass or don’t live up to the hype.

I love having a kid in the 2020’s because there are SO many beautiful, quality options for baby gear – books included! But sometimes even if a book is pretty, the language is clunky or the pictures don’t hold an actual baby’s attention.

I’m a pretty picky person, and it’s a sweet spot when you find a book that has attractive illustrations, the words flow easily and the language is age-appropriate, and it teaches your child something about the world.

Here are the great books Arthur loves and that I love, too. If we had to narrow our library down to 10 books, these are the ones that we’d pick! Please share your favorites in the comments!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Eric Carle books have turned out to be our favorite. I love the bright colors, that the stories tend to have a repetitive pattern with a twist at the end, and real-life learning about the animal world. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of the only books that held Arthur’s attention as a baby, and as a 2 year old learning to count he has become obsessed with counting the fruits and hearing the names of all the junk food the caterpillar ate.

The Mitten – This is a classic book for a great reason! The pictures are beautiful, the story is just the right balance of simple but building up to a climax, and it has lots of elements for a little person to learn about the world and keep their attention. Arthur calls this “mit-men” which takes such an effort for him to say and is so cute, and we’ve been reading this one multiple times a day since we checked it out from the library (I just ordered our own copy!).

Wishy Washy: A Board Book of First Words and Colors – This book with the SWEETEST illustrations was written by a speech therapist. It was specifically designed to help your toddler start speaking their first words with the sounds that are easiest to learn. I was appreciative of this for a little boy who was on the later end to start speaking. This is my favorite book we own but fortunately it’s one Arthur loves to pick out as well! I love that we can read it from front to back, or just open it up and talk about what we see on a random page.

Go, Dog, Go! – This board book is a pared down version of the full-length children’s book. This has been Arthur’s favorite book from the time he could choose what he wanted to read from the bookshelf. It’s a quick read with a fun surprise at the end with the dog party in the tree. Tip – if your child loves this book, too, check out the animated series on Netflix! It’s so cute and fun.

The Very Busy Spider – As much as I hate spiders, I love to read this book. The added texture to the spider’s web and the clean white backgrounds make the characters stand out. It’s a fun book to do animal sounds without being “about” a farm. The fact that the spider falls asleep at the end makes it perfect to read before a nap, too.

Things that Go – This was a library find that we immediately ordered our own copy of because it was such a hit. Each chunky page features vehicles with felt trails for little fingers to touch and trace. There isn’t as much of a story as there are descriptions of each vehicle, and seek and find pictures for older toddlers. Arthur is always pulling this one off the shelf. It’s perfect for when you have a few minutes to kill and just want to look at a page or two, as well as being something he can study on his own without needing input from me.

1, 2, 3, Zoom! – Another great library find, this book has huge numbers that little ones can learn to recognize by tracing their fingers on the page. Each number is filled with (pretty) vehicles which grab little ones’ attention. I love the bonus “11” at the end, and the final spread where you can see all the numbers at once.

Goodnight, Gorilla – This bedtime book doesn’t have any words, but tells a sweet, cheeky story through pictures. Sometimes we read it without sound but usually I describe what’s going on in each page using approximately the same verbage. You have to wonder how much your child is actually picking up, but as Arthur has started talking more he points out things I’m surprised he notices, like the key on each page or the look of surprise on the zookeeper’s wife’s face.

Near – Sally Lloyd Jones is a master of taking from the Bible and telling a story easy to understand for babies but also complex enough to grow with your child. This was Arthur’s number one request at bedtime for like, 8 months. We have steered him towards other books now just to take a break for a little bit, but it’s truly never a bore to read! When he gets hurt or feels scared, I love that I can borrow the language from the book (which is engrained in my mind) and comfort him with the truth that God is always with him wherever he goes.

Who Sang the First Song – This is a close second for Arthur’s favorite bedtime book. Its truths aren’t straight from the Bible, but it imagines a beautiful script that God speaks over each of His children. The illustrations on each page are so detailed yet not overwhelming, we could look at them all day. It offers great opportunities for sound effects and gestures too. It’s written by artist Ellie Holcomb, so be sure to check out the song that goes with the book on Spotify! Tip – Check out her Christmas book, Sounding Joy, which features bright sparkly images that tell the story of Christmas, blending the ancient Biblical story with the ways we celebrate today!

Runners Up:

My First Baby Signs – This moving flap book taught Arthur (and us!) ten signs. We just unfortunately chucked it because had ripped almost all of the flaps out. Hoping baby 2 will love learning sign language as much as A! At $20 it’s a little steep to replace, and baby will outgrow it once he learns to talk, so that’s why it doesn’t make the top list.

Au Lit, Petit Ours – Another one that unfortunately didn’t withstand all of Arthur’s love! This would easily be one of our top favorites to recommend if 1) it wasn’t as easily destroyed and 2) if I knew my audience could read French (and 3) there was somewhere to purchase it online in the US).

CAT – This book is kind of huge but that’s the only real downside. Before Arthur got into books or would let me read them to him, I would constantly find him on the floor with this book open, touching the textures and pouring over every page. There is also a DOG version if you aren’t a cat family!

Hello Paris – Another souvenir from our trip to France, though you can actually buy this one on Amazon. This book has cutouts on every other page so there is a lot for your little one to touch. The only reason this one isn’t a 10/10 is because the map at the front is not possible for a toddler to close properly so it’s kind of a pain to have to fix every time.

Very First Book of Things to Spot – I’m not sure how this would go for younger babies, but it has been perfect for Arthur in the young toddler stage, and it will easily grow with him. It’s big but slim enough to stash in the diaper bag, and guarantees to keep a little one’s attention for a good amount of time! We usually have to distract him to put it down. Unfortunately you can only buy it from a Paper Pie retailer.

And since there are always more books to consider, here are the ones that I have my eye on!

• Busy Trains
• Peek a Flap Who (we have the farm version and I think Arthur would like this one too)
• Found, and the other books from the Sally Lloyd Jones series
• Don’t Forget to Remember – another by Ellie Holcomb
• Our Little Adventures – by the same author as Wishy Washy
• Orange Pear Apple Bear
• A Walk Through the Woods