We are a reading family. My husband loves to read legal fiction. I am partial to crime dramas and the occasional trashy romance novel. When we decided to have children, we began stocking a library of board books before our first baby was even born. As my daughter has grown older and her understanding and language skills are developing, we have acquired a substantial number of books that seem somehow to spread to every room of the house during the week.
My daughter is almost two now, and she makes known her preference about what books she wants to read. She will gallop to the bookshelves, declare the title she is looking for and pull it out of the stack. Then she brings the book to me, hands it to me, and commands, “Read it!”
Although many books have gone in and out of my daughter’s favor, her five favorite board books are in the mix for reading almost every day.
Best Board Books for Toddlers: Happy Baby: Colors
Happy Baby: Colors by Roger Priddy draws my daughter back time and time again for one simple reason. She loves looking at the babies, and so do I. Every primary color is represented in this book, along with multi-color and black and white. For each of the colors, the author includes images of common animals, toys, and foods to teach baby language, objects, and colors. And of course, every color is also accompanied by an adorable baby wearing the color or displaying the color in some manner.
Best Board Books for Toddlers: Olivia
Olivia by Ian Falconer is an exquisitely illustrated book about a young pig, Olivia, and her little brother, Ian. Olivia is an extremely busy young lady, and she manages to work her way through a number of everyday activities such as grooming, dressing, going to the beach, and visiting the art museum. Like every little girl, Olivia hates to nap, loves making sandcastles, and sometimes has to sit in time out. Olivia is adorable and she is a big reader, so my little girl really identifies with her. And I identify with Olivia’s mother.
Best Board Books for Toddlers: Good Night Gorilla
Good Night Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann is a surprising treat for parents and their babies. The book is colorful and imaginative, and it encourages parents to play along with their little ones in telling the story. The premise of the book is that a zookeeper is making one last check of the zoo before locking the gates for the night and going home. Unfortunately, a smart gorilla steals the keys and lets all of the other animals in the zoo out, and they follow the night watchman home. The story is told primarily through its illustrations, which fascinate my daughter on a daily basis.
Best Board Books for Toddlers: Hickory, Dickory, Dock
My daughter calls Hickory, Dickory, Dock “Tick Tock” because she likes the clock on the cover that illustrates one of her favorite nursery rhymes. I’ve found that my daughter will listen to the rhythm and rhyming of these popular nursery rhymes over and over again. We have watched her language skills grow as she memorizes these rhymes, and she now repeats many of them with us as we read to her. When I ask her what she wants to read before bed time, she invariably picks “Tick Tock.
Best Board Books for Toddlers: Dog
Dog by Matthew Van Fleet is a large board book with both pull tabs and tactile textures. As my daughter’s motor skills have developed, she has grown less interested in the textures and more interested in how the pull tabs work. She also likes the surprise at the end – a cat up in a tree hiding from all the dogs, big and small.
