There are so many baby books on the market. For my baby shower, my friend was brilliant and had each person bring one book that was either their favorite baby book or their child’s current favorite book. This helped us begin to collect a variety of different books. We now have our favorites. My hope is that my 10 favorite baby books will help you when you are expanding your at-home library or gifting a book to a new mama.
Caleb loves his books. I mean LOVES!!! We started reading to him the day we brought him home from the hospital. It is now our routine to read to him before each nap and bedtime. He definitely has his preferences.
We love to explore new books from the library and get recommendations from other mamas and preschool teachers. Also, for holidays and special occasions, we like to add to our home library. These are my current top 10 favorite books.
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My 10 Favorite Baby Books
1. Does a Kangaroo have a mother, too? by Eric Carle
Eric Carle can do no wrong in this house. Eric Carle is Caleb’s favorite author. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? and The Very Hungry Caterpillar are the more common titles and Caleb enjoys both of these books. However, when I found Does a Kangaroo have a mother, too? at the library, little man was hooked! This is now the #1 Eric Carle book in the house!
2. Baby Animals Chunky Set by Roger Priddy
Any of the chunky books are great. Caleb has the Christmas and Valentine’s editions. He loves these books because he can hold them himself. They are the perfect size for his small hands. The books are a single illustration and word per page but he loves them.
3. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr and Anthony Archamblaut
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom emerged as a favorite book starting around month 6. Caleb loves when we sing the ABC on the last page of the book.
4. Wake Up Little Owl by Gareth Llewhellin
Wake Up Little Owl is a sweet story of a little owl sleeping through night school. Caleb is fascinated by the illustrations and the book size is great (bigger than a traditional board book). Now that he is older, he likes to flip the pages.
5. The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman
The Seven Silly Eaters is a longer story than your traditional board book. As a mom, I think the story is adorable and the rhymes are sweet. Also, the artwork is so beautiful.
6. Giraffes Can’t Dance By Giles Andreae
Giraffes Can’t Dance is adorable and completely unexpected. Caleb has the giraffe WubbaNub pacifier and he likes to hold it while we read about Gerald the giraffe.
7. The Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen
The Pout Pout Fish book also surprised me. Caleb likes to see all the different characters appear and the repetition of the pout pout fish’s response makes him giggle. I will warn that we have tried other books in the series and they were not nearly as good.
8. Curious George At the Zoo: Touch & Feel Book by H.A. Rey
Curious George At the Zoo: Touch & Feel Book has become a favorite starting around 6 months of age. He did not really take much interest in it before then. He now loves to touch the pages and feel the different textures.
9. Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed is another more classic book. He loves it when I make different voices for the mother and the doctor.
10. The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark by Ken Giest
The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark is a newer book to our at-home collection and Caleb loves it. Think big bad wolf in the ocean. Super cute!
Book Wish List- The Next 10 Favorite Baby Books
These are the books that I have not yet purchased or read. These were compiled from various mamas who said these were the books their children (same age range) were loving. I hope to find these at the library or buy them for future holidays/birthdays as gifts. We love expanding our at home library!
- Hey, Duck! by Carin Bramsen
- Pigs Make Me Sneeze! by Mo Willems
- The Napping House by Audrey Wood
- How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen
- Slide and Find – Trucks by Roger Priddy
- All Better by Henning Lohein (I will likely buy this when he is a bit older and more coordinated.)
- From Head to Toe by Eric Carle
- Dino Block by Christopher Franceschelli
- Little Elliot, Big City by Mike Curato
- Llama, Llama’s Little Library by Anna Dewdney
At-home Library
When we were putting together the nursery for Caleb (or peanut as we called him while he was in utero) I knew I wanted to create a comfy space where we could curl up with a good book.
As I searched Pinterest for inspiration, I discovered that bookshelves were quite pricey. I wanted the nursery to be cute but I was not about to spend $80+ on bookshelves. I stumbled upon a post about cheap nursery hacks. These bookshelves are actually spice racks from Ikea and only cost around $5/each. (Also found on Amazon here.) You could totally paint these but I liked the look of the wood.
Your Favorite Baby Books
Let’s continue to build our at-home baby libraries. Please share either your favorite baby book or your child’s favorite baby book in the comments below.
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So cute! A few of our favorites in there (: also I’ve been looking for some cheap book shelves! So excited for these!!!!