Story time was always a favorite of mine growing up. I loved reading stories in my pajamas by the fire with my mom and brother, so I was excited to continue the tradition with my kids. For my baby shower when I was pregnant with James, my mother in law and sister in law had this great idea to ask people to bring books and sign them with sweet notes for James. It’s really special to see a note from a loved one every time we open one of his books. So James had quite the library before he was even born. But tbh, I didn’t end up reading to him much the first year. I felt guilty about it, but it was so hard to get him down for naps and bed that I was often too exhausted and he really wanted to be rocked or fed or once he moved, he wanted to be crawling and then walking. He wasn’t very interested in what I was reading so I could never get through a book, and I was just so exhausted most of the time that I didn’t make it a regular thing. But after his first birthday, I really tried to make reading more of a thing for us and it’s really started to take hold. I quickly discovered the best books for babies and toddlers that we both loved so much, we would read over and over again.
James is now starting to read to me, but he still loves to sit on the floor with a book and read, and I am thrilled to know that we were able to instill a love of reading in him even if it came a little later than I had planned. Honestly, now three in, the guilt about not reading to him every night from 0-12 months has disappeared. We read a lot still as a baby and honestly, it’s been more important to read and model reading to him as a toddler, preschooler, and now kindergartener. However, it’s also been easier to read to his siblings now that we have a routine and a bookshelf of the best books for babies and toddlers, ones that not only do the kids love but also are enjoyable as a parent to read (even a million times).
I was a voracious reader growing up. I would read with a flashlight under my covers way after I was supposed to be asleep, and loved books (still do though I don’t have the time really anymore) and so I’m excited my kids are into books. We have some favorite books we read on repeat now. I must confess a lot of them are my favorites that I have basically forced him to love, but at least they’re all good and that way I don’t feel like killing myself by the millionth time I’ve read them. So here’s my kid-tested and mom-approved list of the best books for babies and toddlers.
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