30 Books to read before you're 2!

The books on this list have been selected by the Better Beginnings team of children's literature specialists and are favourites of many babies, toddlers and their families.

Updated January 19, 2024
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We're Going on a Bear Hunt
Oxenbury, Helen
Paper Book
Beloved for more than 30 years, this award-winning classic from Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury celebrates the joys of an afternoon outdoors with family. We're going on a bear hunt. We're going to catch a big one. Will you come too? Join a father and his four...
Dear zoo
Campbell, Rod
Paper Book
Rod Campbell's classic lift-the-flap book Dear Zoo has been a firm favorite with toddlers and parents alike ever since it was first published in 1982. Young readers love lifting the flaps to discover the animals the zoo has sent--a monkey, a lion, and even an elephant! But...
The very hungry caterpillar
Carle, Eric
Paper Book
THE ICONIC #1 BESTSELLER * The all-time classic picture book starring the world's favorite caterpillar! Generations of children have grown up on this beautifully dramatized story of a caterpillar who eats his way to becoming a butterfly. "Gorgeously illustrated, brilliantly...
Where is the green sheep?
Fox, Mem
Paper Book
Where's Spot?
Hill, Eric
Paper Book
The first-ever lift-the-flap book! With hide-and-seek fun on every page, this interactive classic has had children across the globe searching for everyone's favorite pup, who's gone on to sell over 65 million copies worldwide! "Spot is one of the essential experiences of childhood."...
Hands can
Hudson, Cheryl Willis.
Paper Book
"Provides youngsters with an almost sensory experience." -- School Library Journal Hands can do all kinds of things -- wave hello and good-bye, play peekaboo, touch things, clap, even tie a shoe. For the very young, hands are a never-ending source of discovery and a...

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