Books for Babies & Toddlers

A selection of books with content and imagery intended to appeal to your young one and help development. For more guidelines, view our printable pamphlet.

Updated November 7, 2024
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1

Bunnies on the bus
Ardagh, Philip
Paper Book
A romping, riotous read-aloud from best-selling author Philip Ardagh and award-winning illustrator Ben Mantle Bunnies on the bus! Bunnies on the bus! No wonder there's a fuss about the bunnies on the bus! There are...

2

Besos for baby : a little book of kisses
Arena, Jen
Paper Book
From mami and papi to perro and gato, baby is giving kisses to everyone in this charming bilingual board book that gently infuses basic Spanish vocabulary on every page. The rhythmic, spare, and simple Spanish is accessible for both bilingual parents...

3

Whose knees are these?
Asim, Jabari
Paper Book
A vibrant, playful verse that celebrates a beautiful brown baby's sweet little knees, for fans of Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes. I've searched the world and seven seas. Never have I seen such charming knees. Snuggle with a child on...

4

B is for baby
Atinuke
Paper Book
"A circular tale of family love with visual rewards. . . . There's no denying the joy in this book." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) B is for Baby. B is for Brother. B is for going to see Baba! One morning after breakfast, Baby's big...

5

Baby goes to market
Atinuke
Paper Book
Join Baby and his doting mama at a bustling southwest Nigerian marketplace for a bright, bouncy read-aloud offering a gentle introduction to numbers. Market is very crowded. Mama is very busy. Baby is very curious. When Baby and Mama...

6

The very busy spider
Carle, Eric
Paper Book
A VERY classic from Eric Carle, creator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Early one morning a little spider spins her web on a fence post. One by one, the animals of the nearby farm try to distract her, yet the busy little spider keeps diligently at her work. When she is done...

7

The very hungry caterpillar
Carle, Eric.
Other
THE all-time classic picture book, from generation to generation, sold somewhere in the world every 30 seconds! Have you shared it with a child or grandchild in your life? Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar is now available for the first time in a...

8

Señor Pancho had a rancho
Colato Laínez, René.
Paper Book
When it comes to having fun, everyone speaks the same language! "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" goes multicultural in this rollicking Spanish-English rendition. An abundance of onomatopoeia and tongue-twisters encourages children to laugh and sing along. The colorful...

9

Stick
Dickson, Irene
Paper Book
A boy and his dog set off to play together one sunny day, taking nothing with them but a good stick. There are so many things you can do with a stick, especially if you use your imagination. You can throw it, balance with it, float it down a stream, and draw pictures in the sand. It might even help...

10

Hello baby!
Fox, Mem
Paper Book
A playful favorite from Mem Fox is now a Classic Board Book! After meeting a bevy of baby animals--including a clever monkey, a hairy warthog, and a dusty lion cub--the baby in this story discovers the most precious creature of all...itself, of course! With an...

11

Time for bed
Fox, Mem
Paper Book
Celebrating 30 years of this essential bedtime book for babies and toddlers, this beautiful book is destined to lull wakeful little ones to sleep. An essential bedtime book for babies and toddlers. Soft, cozy illustrations of sleepy baby animals and their soothing parents are accompanied...

12

Mine, mine, mine, yours!
Gee, Kimberly
Paper Book
The best playdates include sharing! Clever opposites narrate a busy toddler playdate full of playing, taking turns, sharing and more, in this charming companion to Up, Up, Up, Down! From the moment his friends arrive, this energetic boy and his dad are ready for a day full...

13

Red house, brown mouse
Godwin, Jane
Paper Book
*A Children's Book Committee Best Board Book of the Year* A bit Each Peach Pear Plum, a bit All the World, this acclaimed read-aloud celebrates colors, counting, and more. Deceptively simple yet packed with delights and now perfectly sized for babies and toddlers, it's...

14

Orange pear apple bear
Gravett, Emily.
Paper Book
An orange, a pear, an apple and a bear. Deliciously simple. Perfectly fun.

15

From 1 to 10
Hout, Mies van
Paper Book
A bright and vivacious counting book for the very young featuring the paintings of celebrated artist and author Mies van Hout How many whiskers does the cat have? How about the crocodile's teeth, or the octopus's arms? With vivid colours and energetic kid-friendly animal...

16

This is my daddy!
Hout, Mies van
Paper Book
Renowned illustrator Mies van Hout delivers a funny and affectionate picture book that celebrates fathers and the value of play. "Who is my Daddy?" asks a prickly baby animal. Is it the porcupine? The dust bunny? Could it be the cactus? No! It's the father hedgehog, of course,...

17

Up! : how families around the world carry their little ones
Hughes, Susan
Paper Book
Around the world, little ones are carried in many different ways: in slings, on shoulders, in backpacks, on hips, in baskets, and in loving arms. Up!depicts ten places around the world, from Afghanistan to northern Canada, Peru to West Africa. In each place, a mom, dad, grandparent, aunt,...

18

Peek-a-boo!
Intrater, Roberta Grobel.
Paper Book
Peek-a-boo! I love you - laughing, crying - or just being you!An endearing text and photographs of babies in their many moods give this delightful old game new meaning. Laughing, crying, pouting, thinking, yawning, and smiling are portrayed in pictures and text, so that babies will learn to connect...

19

Splash!
Intrater, Roberta Grobel.
Paper Book
The perfect bathtime book and an ideal first read-aloud book, this new addition to the popular Baby Faces series, has appealing photos of multicultural babies and toddlers, and a brief, rhyming text.Babies are mesmerized by other babies -- and the strikingly candid photos in SPLASH! will keep little...

20

I hear a pickle : (and smell, see, touch, and taste it, too!)
Isadora, Rachel
Paper Book
* "Isadora's book about the five senses is aimed perfectly at another sense-kids' sense of humor."-The Horn Book, starred review Caldecott Honor winner Rachel Isadora's sweet and simple introduction to the five senses is perfect for the youngest children, who will...

21

Peekaboo morning
Isadora, Rachel.
Paper Book
Join a sweet toddler for some morning fun perfect for sharing with babies, in this playful book byCaldecott Honor winning author Rachel Isadora, author of I Just Want to Say Good Night and I Hear a Pickle. A toddler plays a game of peekaboo, and you're invited to...

22

My first day
Jenkins, Steve
Paper Book
The first day of life is different for every animal. Human newborns don't do much at all, but some animals hit the ground running. The Caldecott Honor-winning team Steve Jenkins and Robin Page apply their considerable talents to revealing how twenty two different species, from the...

23

Move!
Jenkins, Steve
Paper Book
Animals move! Follow them as they swing, dance, float, leap, and slide from page to page, then learn why these animals move the way they do, from the jumping spider who dances to impress and then floats away on a thread of silk, to the roadrunner who flies, but not too far, and would rather run to...

24

Please, baby, please
Lee, Spike.
Paper Book
From moments fussy to fond, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Spike Lee and his wife, producer Tonya Lewis Lee, present a behind-the-scenes look at the chills, spills, and unequivocal thrills of bringing up baby! Go back to bed, baby, please, baby, please.

25

Up cat, down cat
Light, Steve
Paper Book
From the creator of the celebrated Black Bird Yellow Sun comes another bold and beautiful concept book, this time playing with opposites and reversals. Black cat. White cat. One is long, stretching out, and the other is short, crouching. When both...

26

Trucks go
Light, Steve.
Paper Book
The garbage truck goes, "BRRRRRRRR SCREETCH BEEP-BEEP-BEEP CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH" The fire engine goes, "WHEE-OOO WHEE-OOO WHEE-OOO" The cement truck goes, "VERRRRP JIGGA JIGGA VRRRRUMMMMM" Vehicles are a popular topic with toddlers. This simple interactive...

27

Leo can swim
McQuinn, Anna
Paper Book
Leo, Lola's little brother from Leo Loves Baby Time, is back in a new adventure at the pool.   Leo loves the water! Leo and Daddy go to swim class where they kick, bounce, splash around, and dive like little fish. Joining other babies and their caretakers in the pool is a...

28

Lola gets a cat
McQuinn, Anna
Paper Book

29

Everywhere babies
Meyers, Susan.
Paper Book
With an irresistible rhyming text and delightfully endearing illustrations, here is an exuberant celebration of playing, sleeping, crawling, and of course, very noisy babies doing all the wonderful things babies do best. Every day, everywhere, babies are born. They're kissed and dressed...

30

The opposite zoo
Na, Il Sung
Paper Book
From the creator of A Book of Sleep and A Book of Babies comes a beautiful new book of animals--and opposites!   The sky is dark and the Opposite Zoo is CLOSED. But the monkey's cage is OPEN! Time to explore. . .   Follow the monkey as he visits...

31

A BOOK OF SLEEP
Na, Il Sung.
Paper Book
When the sky grows dark and the moon glows bright, everyone goes to sleep . . . except for the watchful owl! With a spare, soothing text and beautifully rich and textured illustrations of a starry night, this is the perfect “book of sleep.” Join the...

32

Bee-bim bop!
Park, Linda Sue.
Paper Book
A Korean American girl celebrates food and family in this cheerful book about cooking a special meal by Newbery Medalist Linda Sue Park. In bouncy rhyming text, an excited and hungry child tells about helping her mother make bee-bim bop: shopping, preparing ingredients, setting the table,...

33

Puppy truck
Pinkney, J. Brian
Paper Book
A School Library Journal Best Picture Book of 2019! Find out what happens when a boy who wants a puppy gets a truck instead in this simple and sweet picture book from Caldecott Honor winner Brian Pinkney. Vroom...beep...bark! Carter...

34

All the world
Scanlon, Elizabeth Garton.
Paper Book
This simple, profound, Caldecott Honor story is now available as a Classic Board Book. All the world is here. It is there. It is everywhere. All the world is right where you are. Now. Following a circle of family and friends through the course of a day from...

35

The wheels on the tuk tuk
Sehgal, Kabir
Paper Book
From the mother-son duo behind the New York Times bestselling A Bucket of Blessings comes a zany picture book about a wild ride on a tuk tuk taxi in India! This picture book brings an international twist to the beloved nursery rhyme, The Wheels on the Bus, by...

36

Transportation
Other
"A rollicking, simple story that never loses its bounce" --Boston Globe Here they come, a flock of rollicking sheep in their sturdy red jeep. Will their outing be a success Jeep goes splash! Jeep goes thud! Jeep goes deep in gooey mud! Here is a lively, funny tale,...

37

Wake up, let's play!
T©œrnqvist, Marit
Paper Book
Join two friends who love playing together wherever they are. They play restaurants and boats, castles and baking, snowmen and parties. And when the day is over and it's time for bed, they can't wait to play together again tomorrow. With gorgeous, detailed scenes of children playing, this...

38

Little you
Van Camp, Richard.
Paper Book
"You are life and breath adored. You are us and so much more..." Richard Van Camp, internationally renowned storyteller and bestselling author of the hugely successful Welcome Song for Baby: A Lullaby for Newborns, has partnered with award-winning illustrator Julie Flett to create a tender...

39

Welcome song for baby : a lullaby for newborns
Van Camp, Richard.
Paper Book
From renowned First Nations storyteller Richard Van Camp comes a lyrical lullaby for newborns. Complemented with stunning photographs, this evocative board book is perfectly suited as a first book for every baby.

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