Best Booklist: Newborn to Preschool

Looking for a good book to read with your kids? We are sharing our favorite booklist just for that reason!

There is something special about reading to {and with!} your kids — picking up an actual book and flipping pages together. Especially in this digital age, there are so many neat ways to engage our kids, but sitting down and taking the time to read to them builds so much more than a love for books. Being able to bond, learn, imagine and touch a tangible book will take your mind places your body will never get to go.

We feel it is super important to have books on hand and take “unplugged time” where there is no iPad or TV, and just sit and read! Reading together will create memories will last a lifetime. Here is a list of books to start building a library of your own, even if you just buy one book at a time and in the mean time you can visit your library and check out these books:

Our Favorite Booklist

Booklist for Newborn to 1 year

We all know the attention span of this age is very minimal, so interactive picture books, short books that make sound and have texture and picture books are best! Be sure that the books don’t have any choke-able parts as these books will often double as teething toys. Here are some of our favorite titles and authors for this age range (we’ve grouped the authors to make it easier for you):

Fluffy Chick and Friends – By: Roger Priddy
First 100 Words – By: Roger Priddy
My Big Animal Book – By: Roger Priddy
Bright Baby: Colors, First Words, Trucks, Farm – By: Roger Priddy

Baby Sounds – By: Joy Allen
Baby Signs – By: Joy Allen

Animals (Baby Touch and Feel) – By: DK Publishing
Things That Go (Baby Touch and Feel) – By: DK Publishing
Pop-Up Peek-a-Boo: Farm – By: DK Publishing
Pop-Up Peek-a-Boo: Colors – By: DK Publishing

Moo,Baa, La La La – By: Sandra Boynton
Happy Hippo, Angry Duck – By: Sandra Boynton

Oh Baby! Go Baby! – By: Dr. Seuss (Nursery Collection)

Moo on the Farm – By: Parragon Books

Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do You Hear? – By: Bill Martin and Eric Carle

Don’t forget to save your baby’s first books! Sneak a couple into their very own Baby Memory Box. 

Another fun tip: When going to a baby shower, in lieu of a card grab a book and write a sweet note inside to help build their very first library! 

Booklist for Age 2 – 3

This is the age where books really become fun! While they may not have the attention span for a whole story yet, it’s ok because books aren’t just about reading from cover to cover — they are also a chance to play and have fun while learning! Remember to have fun with your books! We often act out scenes from our favorite books! It’s fun to watch children create an emotional bond with different characters.

Reading ALOT will not only help with their growing minds, but its good for kids to learn to sit still and have quite time. Below are our favorite books for toddlers:

The Cheerios Play Book – By: Lee Wade
The Cheerios Animal Play Book – By: Lee Wade

Llama Llama Red Pajama – By: Ana Dewdney
Llama Llama I Love You – By: Ana Dewdney
Llama Llama Nighty Night – By: Ana Dewdney
Llama Llama Mad at Mama – By: Ana Dewdney
Llama Llama Time to Share – By: Ana Dewdney
Llama Llama Misses Mama – By: Ana Dewdney
(There are tons of Llama Llama books — they make great ones for older kids as well!)

Read to Tiger – By: SJ Fore

Just Me and My Dad – By: Mercer Mayer
I Was So Mad – By: Mercer Mayer
Just Go To Bed – By: Mercer Mayer
All By Myself – By: Mercer Mayer
Just a Mess – By: Mercer Mayer
(All of the Little Critter Collection is a great read for this age group.)

Heaven is Having You – By: Giles Andreae and Vanessa Cabban
Love is a Handful of Honey – By: Giles Andreae and Vanessa Cabban

Want to really have fun? These Picture Me books let you put a picture of your child in the story!

Picture Me: With My Grandma – By: Catherine McCafferty
Picture Me: Sparkle Princess – By: by Cathy Hapka and Heather Hill
Picture Me: To The Rescue – By: Cathy Hapka
Picture Me: Peek A Book Farm – By: Jackie Wolf
(There are lots more we just listed our favorites!)

Chicka Chicka ABC – By: Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault

These Hello reader books are a great way to start teaching your toddler and preschooler to read! Here are our favorites from this series:

Pizza Party – By: Grace Maccarone and Emily Arnold Mccully
A Bug, a Bear, and a Boy – By: David Mcphail
What’s My Job – By: Lyn Calder and Alice Sharp

Snip Snap, Pop Up and Play – By: Louise Martin and Belinda Strong

Red Wagon – By: Renata Liwska

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star – By: Kate Toms
The Wheels on the Bus – By: Kate Toms
I Udderly Love You – By: Kate Toms

Booklist for Ages 3-4

This age is my personal favorite to read to! They can relate with characters in a book, and they can sit through a story, and tell you how it made them feel. Watching them create themselves into the book is almost as much fun as watching them tell the stories back to you! Below are our favorite books and stories for preschool aged kids:

The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin – By: Joe Troiano and Susan Banta
The Legend of Jelly Bean and the Unbreakable Egg – By: Joe Troiano

Aaarrrrggghhh Spider – By: Lydia Monks
Eeeeek Mouse – By: Lydia Monks

Ella Kazoo Will Not Brush Her Hair – By: Lee Fox and Jennifer Plecas
Pretend – By: Jennifer Pecas

Going to the Firehouse – By: Mercer Mayer
The Lost Dinosaur Bone – By: Mercer Mayer
I Just Forgot – By: Mercer Mayer
First Day of School – By: Mercer Mayer
Just a Little Sick – By: Mercer Mayer
(Mercer Mayer started a “I Can Read” Series perfect for this age group)

Because Your Daddy Loves You – By: Andrew Clements and R. W. Alley
Because Your Mommy Loves You – By: Andrew Clements and R. W. Alley

The Pout Pout Fish – By: Deborah Diesen and Dan Hanna

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day – By: Judith Viorst and Ray Cruz

Around 4 is a great age to start them on leveled reading books. My First I Can Read is a great series with tons of authors who write books for all different levels — this age would be Level 1. Here are just a few of our favorites, but there are really hundreds of these!

Mittens – By: Lola M. Schaefer and Susan Kathleen Hartung
Bathtime for Biscuit – By: Alyssa Satin Capucilli and Pat Schories
Pete the Cat and the Bad Banana – By: James Dean
Scat Cat – By: Alyssa Satin Capucilli and Paul Meisel
Tick Tock Clock – By: Margery Cuyler and Robert Neubecker

Another fun idea is to incorporate their favorite cartoon characters into their books! Everything from Ninja Turtles to Frozen is available at all levels. If it takes Curious George, Cinderlla, or Dora to keep them interested in reading, why not? There are too many Characters to list but Disney, Nick Jr, and PBS are great places to start!

You can’t forget the great classics that are staples for any child’s journey through the book jungle!

Where the Wild Things Are – By: Maurice Sendak
Goodnight Moon – By: Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd
The Giving Tree – By:  Shel Silverstein
The Velveteen Rabbit – By: Margery Williams and William Nicholson
Corduroy – By: Don Freeman
Runaway Bunny – By: Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd
Frog and Toad are Friends – By: Arnold Lobel
The Little Engine That Could – By: Watty Piper
Green Eggs and Ham – By: Dr. Seuss
Love You Forever – By: Robert Munsch and Sheila McGraw
Oh The Places You’ll Go – By: Dr. Seuss
The Very Hungry Caterpillar – By: Eric Carle

These are just a handful! Think of your favorite books from your childhood and share them with your child! I loved a silly book called Baby Giggles, Author Unknown. My girls treasure laughing with me through it! It’s about making learning fun!

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