Note: Links to Powell's are directed to a new version of each book. Used and sale versions are listed on the right, in a box labeled: More copies of this ISBN.
If you're a relative or friend of a toddler, books are a fantastic gift, there's no mess, no batteries (usually), they're not noisy (usually), and your thoughtful inscription will be a daily reminder of how much they are loved.Available at Powell's
This book gets top billing because it helped both my girls through their scared-of-the-doctor phase that set in around the eighteen month mark. It's brilliant simplicity, it walks your child through a check-up and even tackles the scary vaccination issue by quantifying the pain rather than dismissing it. “‘Will it hurt?’ asked Sister Bear. ‘Sure, but not nearly as much as biting your tongue or bumping your shin. There all done.’” I've read this book to them so many times that not only do I have it memorized, sometimes I can hardly stand to look at it. The doctor book—again!? Ug!
Pair this book with a toy doctor kit and act out the story as it unfolds. Then watch as they use their newfound understanding of check-ups to perform check-ups on you and their stuffed animals.Available at Powell's
My girls loved (and still love) this book. The repetition and rhythm makes it easy to memorize, and it is not long before they'll start saying it along with you or taking over “reading” the story. *Warning: This book reinforces jumping on the bed. Personally I'm a fan of jumping on the bed, but if you're not, you may want to shelve this one...*Available at Powell's
“The ocean is a big place and I am just a Little Boat.” Little Boat charts his own course and braves the many treacheries of the ocean, “in search of—my friends!” Then he sails over the edge of the world only to find himself righted on the other side. One could write a thesis exploring the oceans of wisdom in this lovely book of a few hundred words. Oh, and it's a favorite of the girls too...Available at Powell's
"We're gonna catch a big one. What a beautiful day. We're not scared. Uh Oh…" Go along with the adorable family as they go out looking for a bear… and find one. This book has lots of repetition your toddler will quickly memorize and start repeating with you. The story is easily adapted into an engaging imagination game; pretend that areas of your house are the different obstacles in the book, then run away from your child's teddy bear, ending up snuggled in your bed, shouting, “We're not going on a bear hunt a-gain!!”Available at Powell's
O.K., you busted me, I put in a classic book we all remember… But the list felt incomplete without one of my girls' absolute favorites. Ferdinand the Bull, who likes to sit just quietly and smell the flowers has captivated my girls. They laugh when he sits on the poor honey bee and roar when he leaps up with his mouth open and his eyes bugging out. They ask me why the bullfighters would want to stick spears in a bull, they laugh at the haughty matador when he gets mad, and they are relieved when Ferdinand simply sits on the arena floor and smells the flowers in the hair of all the beautiful ladies. They grin when he is returned to his beloved pasture, where as far as they know he still is to this day, “sitting just quietly smelling the flowers.” My littlest, Berzo, has this book memorized and can be found “reading” it to herself in a basket of teddy bears.Available at Powell's
The artwork in this wordless book does a wonderful job of telling a story about a curious bear that borrows a little girl's sled for the night. Each flight down the hill accumulates another passenger on the sled. The final passenger is the little girl herself. Berzo can't get enough of this book and the playful animals. I can see her wishing for a red sled and friendly pile of woodland animals.Leslie Patricelli Mercer Mayer Mo Willems The Berenstains Jan Brett Curious George
Toddler Series
There were too many books by these particular authors to choose one to the exclusion of the others. Toddlers have a voracious appetite for fresh material and these authors are happy to oblige.
[1]Note about list selection:
That's it?!? Where's The Lorax and Go, Dog, Go! and Where the Wild Things Are?