Best Board Books for Toddlers (tested by all six of my children!)

Good morning, all! My dear friend Kelsey has just interviewed me over on her blog, and gave me the chance to share some of my family's favorite board books. While I don't discuss these books for earliest future-readers very often my own blog (just like writing board books is a specific art, so is reviewing them--and Kelsey does it much better than I!), they're nevertheless the ones most often pulled off my shelf, most often cuddled with in bed, most often read and read and read until we all have them memorized. And most often chewed, but that probably isn't influencing your book-buying much unless you're a 6-month-old. ;)

Kelsey's blog is absolutely the first stop you should make if you'd like to learn about the "freshest and finest" in current board book fare (bonus points if you caught that board book reference!), but I thought you might enjoy a quick list of the board books that my family has turned to again and again in the past twelve and a half years. A few of these are slightly newer than that, but all are dearly loved my my six children, whether as toddlers or as the big sisters reading these books aloud.

Enjoy!

(As usual, if you click through any of the images to buy these books from Amazon, I'll receive a small percentage of the sale. If you already shop at Amazon, I'd appreciate your support--but I also firmly recommend that you support your local bookstore as much as possible. Keep those Indies up and running!)

Our #1 Favorite: We're Going on a Bear on a Bear Hunt, by Helen Oxenbury and Michael Rosen--my children all have this memorized, and none of us are annoyed by it yet. Hearing my babies lisp out the refrain is one of my favorite parenting things ever.



Some favorite bedtime stories:

Pajama Time, by Sandra Boynton--fun and silly and rhythmical.



Good Night, Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd--can't get more classic than this. And even though I can get tired of reading it over and over and over, it is a perfect little gem of a book. If my children want to hear a book twenty times, I'm very grateful it's this--cuddled up on my lap (or a big sibling's!)--and not some random movie tie-in edition superhero princess baby-potboiler.



Good Night, Gorilla, by Peggy Rathmann--wordless and funny. One of the main reasons I love this one is that the slightly older toddler can "read" it to the baby or younger toddler. Which is a parenting moment you don't want to miss out on.



Time for Bed, by Men Fox--for when you want something sweet and beautiful and quiet. In other words, you might want this gentle story saved for last on your nighttime reading list.



Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site, by Sherri Rinker--okay, not a classic yet, perhaps, but it will be. And while I didn't read this to my first four children (they're girls; no one was giving us truck books, guys), they all love reading it to their younger siblings. Definitely gets the six-children-stamp-of-approval.




Some favorite concept books:

Emma, a Babylit Emotions Primer, by Jennifer Adams--not your typical concept book. Each page of this one present a different emotion exemplified by a character from Jane Austen's Emma. If you're an Austenophile like I am, you'll appreciate it for the literary jokes alone. The surprise for me was: my babies love it. And my youngest two children, the only ones to have had this read to them as babies, are two of the most emotionally articulate kids I know. Having words for how they feel helps tremendously with dealing with big feelings in little bodies. Mr. Rogers would be proud. (Again, only read this to the younger two, but the older four just love reading it aloud.)

On to the more typical concept books... A classic around here is Eating the Alphabet, by Lois Ehlert. I have so many memories of "picking" snacks of fruits and vegetables off its pages with my babies and nieces and nephews. In addition to learning the letter K, they also recognize kohlrabi in the grocery store now. Win-win.



Chicka Chicka ABC, by Bill Martin, Jr.--it's a classic for a reason. "Rollicking" is the best word for this fun read-aloud. I also appreciate that you can play with recognizing both uppercase and lowercase letters. (This is a slightly abridged version of the original Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, but it seems just right for our read-aloud time.)



Eric Carle's Collection of Concept Books: Colors, Numbers, Shapes, etc.--basic. Perfect.




Some favorite story books, or just for fun (and connection, and relationship, and literacy--because reading aloud is always important):

Owl Babies, by Martin Waddell--this one is so sweet, Gabe couldn't get through it without tearing up. One day he asked me, "Mama, why does this book make water come out of my eyes?"



Room for a Little One, by Martin Waddell--technically a Christmas book, but also a great articulation of my family's philosophy of welcoming life. Maddie carried this with her everywhere for a solid year.



The Mitten, by Jan Brett--okay, anything by Jan Brett. Her books are an investment.



Each Peach Pear Plum, by Janet and Allan Ahlberg--another one my kids all memorized.



What are your favorite board books?