1. Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt. The original touch and feel book, with different actions on every page.
2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. I don't believe there's a baby in the world doesn't like poking their fingers through the little holes in this book. I thoroughly recommend getting the board book edition so it doesn't get too worn out!
3. Where's Spot? by Eric Hill. Still the best lift-the-flap book, in my opinion. "Where is that Spot? He hasn't eaten his supper!"...and now we get to look through the house to try to find him!
4. Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell. "I wrote to the zoo to send me a pet, and they sent me...", so the book goes. The zoo sends animal after animal looking for the perfect pet to send. Another lift-the-flap classic.
5. Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox. Uh-oh, the green sheep has gone missing. This book is packed with loads of cute sheep doing cool things like exploring outer space or flying out of a cannon.
6. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. A bedtime wind-down. Goodnight Moon has been around so long, and is so loved, that not having it listed here would be like a best movies list without Casablanca.
7. We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen. When reading, don't forget to act out each of the pages ("swish swash", "squelch squelch", "tip-toe tip-toe" etc) for extra fun!
8. And last, but definitely not least: you should not forget to buy (or fish out from storage) whatever your favorite book was as a child. For me it was A.A. Milne's When We Were Very Young. It might be some time until your little one can read the book you choose, but it can take pride of place on the family library shelf for now.
Have I missed anything? Share your suggestions for your must-have baby books below!
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I bought a book for my niece at the British Library bookstore that she LOVED, but I haven't seen it sold in the US. It's called "Ahhh! Said Stork". Beautifully illustrated and a nice story.
Every new baby of my acquaintance gets a copy of "I Am a Bunny" by Ole Risom and Richard Scarry.
And don't forget "Hippos Go Berserk" and other classics by Sandra Boynton!
"Pat the Bunny" and "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" are very much loved by my ten month old. We also read a lot of "Goodnight Moon." I would of course add any and every Dr. Seuss book, and my daughter's current favorite (we read it at least twice a day) is "Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes" by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury. It's such a sweet book I sometimes get teary when we read it.
There's a phase where babies love looking at babies, so photos and realistic drawings of children ("Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes" is a good one) are favorites. For the under-and-about-a-year set, books that you interact with (pointing at pictures counts, not just feeling pages or lifting flaps) seem to be more meaningful than just reading words. We also like good rhymes & rhythm with our wee one (like Boynton's "Barnyard Dance"). "Pat the Bunny" is classic but I'd forgotten how stinky it is (those awful flowers!)
Hands-down favorite for the first year here was "Each Peach Pear Plum." "Fireman Small" was also a success.
My 8-month old thirds Sandra Boynton - Hippos Go Berserk is a big favorite, as is The Going to Bed Book (alas, he has not internalized the message of this book, but he still enjoys it.)
I also recommend Peek-a Who? by Nina Loden. The peek-a-boo windows are still a huge hit after hundreds of readings.
@Angeline, I was going to suggest "Each Peach Pear Plum"! Another one is "Peepo" by Janet and Allan Ahlberg.
We received "Dear Zoo" as a gift for my younger son, but his older brother (2.5) wants to read it almost every night!
We love Dear Zoo, Cowboy Small, anything by Sandra Boynton, I Love You Because You're You (will make you cry), Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny, and Babies Everywhere.
Can't forget Guess How Much I Love You! Also, this was another of my son's favorites.
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson and Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown.
The original Clifford the Big Red Dog...a must-have!
My daughter is 11 months old, and she loves The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Goodnight Moon and my older son was in love with Where is Green Sheep? when he was 2. Other favorites include the Sandra Boynton books, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, and The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear.
Goodnight Gorilla, Jamberry, Is Your Mama A Llama + many mentioned above.
We love reading anything by Leslie Patricelli -- Big Little, Quiet Loud, Yummy Yucky, Fa La La. LOVE her!
Hug, Tumble Bumble, Time for Bed, Owl Babies, Secret Seahorse, I Love You Little One, Hungry Caterpillar and the chewed up Pat the Bunny - these are the board books I just can't bear to give away.
Don't forget the Black on White and White on Black books by Tana Hoban, for babies as young as two weeks. Kids really enjoy these books for at least a year, usually two--and it gives you a chance to talk about each page, because there is no text.
Time for Bed. Also by Mem Fox. A fav. for about 20 years. Reading it to the 2nd generation now. It is always the first book I read to a baby/child AND the last book every night 'till they are about 5. Sets the tone for bed time and they know that when it is read it really is Time for Bed. Another hint from this Grandma would be to read 1 book for each year of their age plus one.. eg babies get 2. Then they are not too over stimulated but do get a positive reading routine early. Mem herself says something like read a kid 3000 books before school and you will have a reader for life. She was my lecturer at College and I did this and even my very dyslexic child is a reader!
My daughter and I love a lot of the books that have been mentioned, and there are many that I haven't heard of and will check out. We get most of our books from the thrift store, which I highly recommend, especially for easy-to-clean board books and vintage treasures.
Three titles that I would add to the list are:
- When the World is Ready for Bed (so calming)
- Haiku Baby (adorable illustrations and the kanji are a great little bonus for my half-Japanese baby)
- In My Tree and others in that series (the little finger puppets and cut-out pages are always a hit)
Another enthusiastic vote for The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear! Both my children were probably 2 before they really appreciated it, but it's definitely a favorite. Goodnight Moon is, hands down, the under age 1 favorite. At each age range, the right number of words per page is very important, as is the melodic rhythm of the words you read. Bear Snores On is great at ages 2-3. Other favorites for repeated reading in our home: Rocket Town by Bob Logan, The Fire Engine Book (Little Golden Book), anything by Mo Willems.