It is never too early to read for a baby. Even very young infants enjoy the rhythm of verse and rhyme. If you introduce reading as an enjoyable activity to young children, you will help them develop a lifelong love of books.
For babies whose eyesight is still developing, highly contrasting images and simple pictures with no or very few words are all you need. For older infants and toddlers, sturdy board books with flaps to lift, mirrors, pop-ups, different textures and interactive elements are very popular. Cloth books and bath books are good, as they will get chewed and pulled and thrown around. It makes it easier both for you with baby on your lap, and for the young children themselves, to hold books which are small in size.
It can be hard to get toddlers to sit still, but make sure you do sit down and read together as much as possible. Bedtime story is a great way to help them wind down before going to sleep. If they get impatient, there is no need to read the whole story, just talk about what interests them in the pictures. Young kids enjoy seeing familiar objects and activities in the pictures which they can connect to their own experiences. Sometimes they want the comfort of a familiar book, but even with books they have read before, they will notice new things as their world expands.
Below are recommendations of books for babies and toddlers handpicked by experts. We also have a list of popular book series for kids, including some excellent series for children age 0-2.
What’s Hiding Under There?
by Daniela Drescher
This is a gorgeous lift-the-flap board book by bestselling illustrator Daniela Drescher, who is known for her her delicate style using soft watercolours and ink. The interactive element is thoughtfully done: the flaps are not too easy to find, so children can work on both their observational and fine motor skills. This is also a good book for families or teachers to use to expand children’s vocabulary; in addition to animals and plants, it features seasons and time of day.
Ages 1-4
We're Going on a Bear Hunt
Michael Rosen, Helen Oxenbury (illustrator)
Award-winning picture book classic.
In or Out: A Tale of Cat versus Dog
Stacy Gregg, Sarah Jennings (illustrator)
This is a simple and charming picture book with plenty to talk about with young readers, from details in the bright illustrations to the facial expressions and behaviours of the cat and dog, and emotions in general. Using limited vocabulary that rhymes, this is a good story to read both with very young children and those that are learning to read. As well as the winning combination of cat and dog, there is a feel-good message about things being better when done together.
Ages 1-5
Maisy Goes to Bed
by Lucy Cousins
There are over 100 books about Maisy and her friends, with new ones still being published. Illustrated with bold outlines and bright colours, this series has remained popular since the first books came out in the early 1990s.
“There are lots of books to choose from in this series. I tend to veer towards books that go against stereotypes, because I think it’s really important that we don’t put stereotypical images in front of young children all the time.” Read more...
Barbara Band, Librarian
“I love using these books with little children because there’s no story. Parents have a tendency to read the story word for word, which doesn’t always work with a very small child because it’s too long for them. The baby wants go to the next page or back to the previous page where there was a more interesting picture, and that can be frustrating for the adult who may have a more rigid mindset to reading the story. You need to be flexible when you’re reading to children.” Read more...
Barbara Band, Librarian
“Emily Gravett is one of my favourite illustrators and authors. This book is different from the others that I have selected because it is a story. It’s a very simple and repetitive story and if you break down the language in it there are not a lot of words used. It’s about a little girl who has a toy monkey. She says “monkey and me, monkey and me we went to see…” and on the next page is the animal they go to see. Emily’s got a wonderful way of using the space on the page.” Read more...
Barbara Band, Librarian
“The reason why I picked this little book for very young babies is … for their sense of awareness. Often, when health staff assess a child’s development, they’ll make an assessment on how that child is developing based on their understanding of anatomy parts. I’ve had children who, when they’ve been ill, have pointed to the right body part and said that they’re not well and if I get the book then they’ll point to it in the book. It’s incredible. They might not have complex language yet, but they can use pointing and a book to help explain it to you.” Read more...
Best Human Body Books for Kids
Sonia Joseph, Medical Scientist
“This one is very good to know the animals in their habitats – which animal lives under the roads, which animal lives on the trees or in the caves.” Read more...
The best books on Wild Animals for Kids
Margaret Darawanda, Environmentalist
This is My Daddy!
by Mies van Hout
The board book edition of this playful book which challenges young readers to match the daddy with the baby. Illustrated in Mies van Hout’s cheerful and distinctive style, in addition to being fun and interactive this book can help toddlers develop their observation skills. The less obvious pairs, such as tadpole and frog, are a helpful reminder about not making assumptions.
Ages 1-3
“This book would be for children who are turning one. It’s a lift the flap book, which little ones always love. It opens up so many opportunities. There’s that whole peekaboo to the animals that are behind the flaps and the physical interaction with the book.” Read more...
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library – Inspiring a Lifelong Love of Reading
Marion Gillooly, Librarian
“Even without looking at the book, you have all the familiar characters in the rhymes that you’ve heard growing up, like Tom Thumb, Mother Hubbard in the cupboard, the three bears and all that. So you’re immediately drawn into the book just by listening to it. And then the art! For me, it really reminds me of the countryside in Scotland where I spent a lot of time on a farm.” Read more...
Janice Stewart-Yates, Teacher
The Wolf and the Fly
by Antje Damm
This is a fun little book for toddlers about a greedy wolf. As items disappear from a shelf, young readers can figure out what the wolf has just eaten. They will relate to the wolf’s burping, napping and trip to the toilet. But is it a good idea to eat the fly?
Ages 0-3
Do You Want a Hug?
by Olivia Cosneau & paper engineer: Bernard Duisit
A well produced board book with a different type of tab to pull or flap to lift on each two-page spread. Various animals are asked “do you want a hug?” They give different answers and show affection in their own ways, so this book can be an early introduction for little ones to the concept of consent, as well as being a fun, interactive read.
Ages 1-4 (a bit of attention needed to ensure younger readers don’t rip it apart)
“You have the very typical scenes of Baba – Grandmother – knitting the mittens for Nikolai. It’s winter outside, and snow. There’s nothing more magical than that day that you look out of the window … and there’s snow everywhere. I think all children in that weather have had their mother, father or grandmother telling them to keep on their mittens or scarf, telling them to put on their hat. So children immediately relate to that, and to the resistance of a child who just wants to get out into the snow without thinking about the hat or the mittens.” Read more...
Janice Stewart-Yates, Teacher
“The reason that I picked Pirate Pete’s Potty – and there’s Pirate Polly’s Potty and Princess Polly’s Potty as well – is that 15% of referrals to our outpatient paediatric clinic are for constipation. So those are children that are bad enough to have needed referral from their local doctor to a hospital. A study in 2018 showed that 48% of consultations for children aged between two and five going to see their GP (general practitioner) was related to constipation, potty training or anxiety around that.” Read more...
Best Human Body Books for Kids
Sonia Joseph, Medical Scientist
“It’s a story about diversity and being different. You need to introduce this to children from a young age, because the world that very small children interact with may not be very diverse. This book is simple to read with younger children and it’s got that nice rhyming text but also lots of detail in the pictures.” Read more...
Barbara Band, Librarian
“There are about 14 books in the series and they’re all brilliant. All the grandchildren from age eight downwards still love them. There are no words in it, it’s all illustrations. It’s a board book, but it’s a slightly larger format. There are lots of details in the pictures but I’ve found children from around 12 months upwards like looking at them.” Read more...
Barbara Band, Librarian
“Hairy Maclary, a scruffy little dog, trots about town. On the way he gathers up lots of dog friends. It’s a rhyming text with repetition that builds.” Read more...
The best books on Pets For Young Kids
Catherine Rayner, Children's Author
“It’s a book about sharing the abundance of good in the world. It cleverly illustrates the idea that the more you give, the more you get back. It’s very sweet, and it has glitter in it!” Read more...
The Best Books on Gratitude for Kids
Dana Sheridan, Librarian
“It’s a kind of book of opposites, but there’s a narrative as well.” Read more...
The best books on Pets For Young Kids
Catherine Rayner, Children's Author
“My son was asleep within two minutes of it finishing, which is a very pleasant bonus for a parent.” Read more...
The Best Picture Books of 2017
Zoe Greaves, Children's Author
That's Not My Puppy...
by Fiona Watt & Rachel Wells (illustrator)
This is the first book in the award-winning series which encourages babies to touch and feel contrasting textures.
Who's Hiding?
by Satoru Onishi
This Japanese classic now has a board book version in English. Who’s Hiding has an appealingly simple format: each two-page spread features the same 18 stylised animals, but with some differences. The interactive aspect means that young children and adults or older siblings can have a lot of fun reading it together, while kids also learn to pay attention to detail.
Ages 2-5
How to Count to One
by Caspar Salmon & Matt Hunt (illustrator)
Subtitled ‘And don’t even THINK about bigger numbers!’ this is a humorous take on books that help children learn to count. Lots of interactive fun to be had.
Ages 2-5
A Superhero Like You
by Ranj Singh, Liam Darcy (illustrator)
Lily wants to be a superhero when she grows up, but she is not interested in climbing up the side of a building or wearing pants outside her trousers. This is a predictable but nevertheless heartwarming picture book that encourages children to think about all the important jobs that people do around us all the time. Due to the plentiful detail in the bright illustrations there is a lot to talk about with toddler readers as well. People can argue about why certain key professions are not included, but essentially it is a celebration of all those people who do their work with kindness and care.
Ages 2-6
My City Speaks
Darren Lebeuf & Ashley Barron (illustrator)
***Winner 2022 Schneider Family Book Award for young children***
A visually impaired narrator describes the sounds, smells and tastes of the city on the way to a music recital in the park. The rhythmic, alliterative language and colourful textured collage illustrations will appeal to young children. An engaging picture book about the ways we experience the world, encouraging children to think about all the different senses.
Ages 2-6
The Best Baby Books, recommended by Barbara Band
Barbara Band, librarian and former President of the UK’s Library and Information Association, explains why reading aloud for babies is not only a great bonding experience but also an important part of early childhood development. She shares some tips on reading with babies and introduces her top baby book recommendations.
