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Children are made readers on the laps of their parents. — Emilie Buchwald
I grew up in a home of readers. We were read to often from early on. I have every intention of keeping that going in my home. My three-year-old can sit with books for hours in a day; I have no doubt the love of reading will grow with her! Here are a few books we have found as favorites for baby’s first year.
10 Favorite Baby Books
a book with words
First 100 Words
a book about all babies
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes
a book about getting ready for bed
Time for Bed P.B. Bear
a book with the best message
Jesus Loves Me!
a book with sweet pictures
Baby’s Best Friend
a book set for little hands
My First Library Baby Einstein
a book about moving
From Head to Toe
a book for bedtime
Time for Bed
a book for flipping
Where’s Spot?
a book that is a classic
Pat the Bunny
Print the full list here.
There is no substitute for books in the life of a child. — May Ellen Chase
What baby books would you add to this list?
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Mila says
I completely agree. My 2 year old can sit for a long time quietly reading either by herself or with me/my husband. She is very active, so when she is in the “reading zone” it says a lot. We love Sandra Boynton series.
admin says
Love it! It’s so wonderful to see the little ones getting into books. Thanks for mentioning the Sandra Boynton books. Great picks!
Shannon @ Of The Hearth says
I’m so glad to see this list. I’ve been trying to decide which books to get for my 4 month old. We only have a few for her now (we’ve read them over and over again because we read to her every day). I’ll look into some of these.
admin says
My girls just loved “Baby’s Best Friend” when they were younger. They loved the pictures of all the animals and sweet little baby faces. For the real little ones “Baby Love” by Sandra Magsamen is also fun. It’s a cloth book. Enjoy checking out the books!
Abi at Joy In My Kitchen says
Hurray for reading to kids a LOT! I have fond memories of Pat the Bunny from when I was little. A favorite of ALL my kids has been Margaret Wise Brown’s “Big Red Barn.” We’ve gone through a couple board book copies!
admin says
I’ll have to check out “Big Red Barn” as I’m not familiar with that book. You know a book is great when you have gone through multiple copies!
Candace says
We are big readers in our home too. One of my favorite things to do is to lay next to my son on the couch in front of the fire and read. He’s too big for my lap these days, almost a teenager, but thankfully, he absolutely loves reading (and cuddling). Great list of recommendations!
admin says
That is so sweet! Thanks for sharing. I hope my girls love reading and cuddling for a long time!
Michelle says
As a preschool teacher, mother and now grandmother, you picked a great selection of books. My grandson’s favorite is Where’s Spot. You never read enough, put the books everywhere, cars, diaper bags, varioius places around the home. It is something that gets created way before they go to school. Nice job!
admin says
Thank you! Yes, books everywhere! There is actually a book called Books Always Everywhere by Jane Blatt. :)
Life Breath Present says
These are good books. We also love Goodnight Moon, On the Night You Were Born, and Runaway Bunny! Plus, any books on or including animals are great! I’m sure there are others, but these are favorites that we own! :)
admin says
Great picks. Thanks for sharing. We love On the Night You Were Born also!
Brittany says
Great picks! I need to get a few of these. We have a nice book collection going because everyone brought a book to my baby shower instead of a card.
My 5 month old’s favorite right now is Snuggle Puppy. It makes him giggle!
admin says
I love the idea of a book instead of a card! That seems common now. So great to have a book you can read over and over again instead of a card that may be thrown away. And…for people who miss writing in a card. You can always write in a book! I love seeing the writing in my girls books as it’s fun to be able to remember who gave it to them.
ys good books to add says
Great list. My favrite books might not be available any longer. There are always good books to add.
Nikki @ Growing Up Mom says
I agree, we read at least one story, if not two, every night before songs and bed. My favorite book as a kid was “There’s a Monster at the End of This Book”. Sorry, just the Grover version. I found this and my oldest loved it when she was a toddler, and used to ask for it every night. Now that she is older we have expanded our library a lot, we also have some e-books too! I love Gerald Hawksley for this too!
admin says
I will have to check out the monster book! Thanks.
Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom says
I’ve always been an avid reader with my children. They love books and we read at least 2-3 per day.
You shared some great selections here too!
Thanks for sharing and for linking up to the #SHINEbloghop.
Wishing you a lovely day.
xoxo
admin says
Yeah for reading daily to your children. :)
Stephanie says
Thanks for sharing this list. I am hosting a baby shower and we have to bring books instead of cards with the gift and this gave me a couple ideas. We are huge book readers in our family! A couple favorites are I love you Stinky Face & the Lady Bug Girl books!
admin says
My 3 year old enjoys the Lady Bug Girls books! I love the idea of bringing books instead of cards to a shower.
Jenny says
My older girls LOVE to read and my boy is picking up their love for good books.
Jessi Fearon (@TheBudgetMama) says
Thank you for these! I’m always running out of ideas for new ideas for new books for my boys.
Keri says
I love children’s books! This is a great roundup of books. Thanks for sharing with Tuesday Talk! Are you Instagram?
admin says
I’m not currently on instagram. I have considered it, but I’m new to blogging and I think I already have enough to do for now. Hopefully someday. :)
Amanda says
i can’t believe I haven’t read anything on this list!! I think I need to add to my library. You have some great books on here. Thank you for this list!
admin says
Yes, they are must reads. :) I believe all kiddos would love most of these books!
Kori says
That’s a great list of books. We love Pat the Bunny. And other favorites of ours are Goodnight Moon, Guess How Much I Love You?, and almost everything by Sandra Boynton.
admin says
Thanks for sharing your favorites. All great books also!
Ashlyn says
I’ll have to add these to our collection!
Jess says
We love Spot and From Head to Toe! We also love Sandra Boynton and Dr. Seuss books too. There are a few you’ve mentioned that I’ve never heard of before – I’ll have to check them out. Thanks for sharing them with us for Tuesday Talk! -Jess
http://www.sweetlittleonesblog.com
admin says
Thanks for sharing your favorites!
Katie | The Surly Housewife says
I love the quote at the beginning of the post. So amazing :) I have no clue how I have never heard it before. I love “Time for Bed,” such a sweet story. I love Eric Carle also. My kids love the Brown Bear book. Stopping by from the ShineHop!
admin says
I hadn’t heard the quote until recently either. I got attached to the quote right away!
Iulia Gulia (Best of Baby) says
We have several of these…but the first one was my son’s favorite! The pictures are just brilliant.
Thank you so much for linking up with the Ladies Collective Linkup. Hope to see you again on Wednesday http://www.bestofbabylady.com!
Literate For Life (Pamela Hall) says
Hi Emily,
The quote you began with on your featured photo is one of my favorites, and it is oh so true. :) Also, I love the classic baby book Pat The Bunny. I have teens now, but still remember reading that over and over to them as well as all the Spot books. I clicked here because of your title about books for babies. :) I came via Motivational Monday Link Up.
Have a wonderful day and be blessed!
Pamela – Literate For Life
admin says
Thanks for reading, Pamela! The quote was new to me and I just love it!
Ellen Martin says
We LOVE “From Head to Toe” in our household. :)
admin says
Such a fun action book! I love watching my one year old wiggle her shoulders. ;)
Terri Presser says
I so agree reading is such a joy and pleasure. We tell our children that when they learn to read they can do anything and learn anything. Reading is so important and a love for it is a gift. All my children (except the youngest – still learning) have a love of reading. One side affect though is they don’t go to sleep too early as they want to keep reading. Thanks for sharing this at Good Morning Mondays. Blessings
admin says
Yes! Reading late into the night! Less sleep isn’t great, but it’s not too bad of a reason to stay up too late. :)
Beth says
That Jesus Loves Me book looks great! I will have to look for it.
Thanks for linking up with Tuesday Talk. We hope you plan to join us tomorrow.
admin says
It’s very sweet. It’s hard to say the words though, as I always want to sing the words instead. :)
JES says
Wonderful choices! We are big book lovers over here! Thanks for sharing this list on the Art of Home-Making Mondays :)
Jenny @ Women With Intention says
This is a great list! Thanks for sharing at Women With Intention Wednesdays! I look forward to what you will be sharing this week!
Theresa @DearCreatives says
This is such a great list! Love them. I love children’s books and never tire of their stories and illustrations.
admin says
Yes! There are so many great books out there!
Jessica Dimas says
This is a great list, I have several of the ones above and several that I want to check out!! Thanks for putting this together!
admin says
You are welcome! I hope your kiddos enjoy them!
Alycia says
Great list. We love ten little fingers book. Definitely have to check out the rest!!! Thanks for linking up!
Andie Conn says
This is such a good list! Giving me ideas for baby shower presents (:
admin says
Awesome. Thanks for reading!
Tanya @ Mom's Small Victories says
My kids love to read and it’s one of my goals to read 1000 books with them. We are on the 260’same and trucking along. Thanks for sharing with Small Victories Sunday linkup. Pinned to our linkup board.
admin says
What a great goal!!
Ashley Egan says
Great books! Thanks for linking up to Awesome Life Friday!
Michelle says
We have many of these for the grandkids. I love the opening quote. Pinning.
Emily says
I love the quote too! It is exactly the way I was raised and hope the same for my girls.