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...
Baby animals black and white
Tildes, Phyllis Limbacher.
Paper Book
This charming, best-selling board book introduces eight adorable baby animals, featuring high-contrast black-and-white illustrations perfect for babies from birth to age two. Research has shown that infants respond more readily to contrasting black and white images, making this book an...
Roo knows blue
Treml, Ren©?e
Paper Book
**SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2020 SHORTLISTED** For the Little Explorers- Learn with Roo! Roo knows, Roo knows, Roo knows blue. But does Roo know about other colours too? Learn colours with Roo and Possum and...
Press here
Tullet, Herv©?
Paper Book
The longest-running picture book on the New York Times bestseller list, now in a bestselling board book! "Tullet's brilliant creation proves that books need not lose out to electronic wizardry; his colorful dots perform every bit as engagingly as any on the...
Hello hello
Wenzel, Brendan
Paper Book
Named a Best Children's Book of the Year bythe Washington Post, Amazon, Working Mother, and more! Now available in a board book edition for the very youngest readers to enjoy, Hello Hello explores all aspects of seeing...
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
Little ones are sure to be lulled off to a peaceful, sheep-filled sleep by this cozy book from acclaimed author Mem Fox. There are red sheep and blue sheep, wind sheep and wave sheep, scared sheep and brave sheep, but where is the green sheep? The search is on in this cozy, sheep...
Where's Spot?
Hill, Eric
Paper Book
With its bold blue cover, this board book edition of Eric Hill's classic story featuring everyone's favorite puppy is just as iconic as the first lift-the-flap edition.   "Spot is one of the essential experiences of childhood." --Parents magazine
Hands can
Hudson, Cheryl Willis.
Paper Book
Hands can do all kinds of things! A rhyming text with eye-catching color photos offers just the encouragement young children need to explore their world -- hands on. Hands can hold things. Hands can mold things.  Hands can catch and hands can throw. ...

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