Great Books for Babies to 2-Year-Olds

Helping our children to learn to read is one of the greatest gifts we can give

them and according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, it’s never too

early to start reading to your child: newborn infants will benefit from

hearing the sound of your voice as this helps develop listening skills and

starts him on the journey to language acquisition. There is also evidence

that even fetuses still in the womb recognize their parents voices, so – as

long as you don’t feel too silly reading to your bump – why not prepare

your read-out-loud skills before birth with one of the great books listed

here?

In fact, for us, a book’s “read-out-loud”-ability was one of the main criteria

in choosing great books for under two-year-olds: it is essential that the

books you read to them at this stage are ones that you’ll both enjoy. For

those new parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents who maybe don’t have

much experience in reading to kids, finding a book that is well-written

naturally encourages you to be enthusiastic in its reading (very important

when you have to read it for the fifth time in a row!) and is more likely to

encourage a child to continue exploring the book on his own. Books that

feature strong rhyming texts tend to dominate this age group for that very

reason: by having a strong rhythm and rhyme, the text is easier both to read

and to understand.

The second most important criteria at this early stage are the pictures.

Words and images that combine to “tell the story”, will always be winners

as they allow your child to interact with you beyond the story, as you point

out objects, colors and more. Interactive books that include flaps, holes,

textures, tabs and pop-ups are also vital additions at this stage: by keeping

books fun to play with, you will naturally inspire curiosity.

So, below is our list of the top fifty books for under-twos. As with all the

sections in this review book, we have chosen a range of books from

childhood classics to contemporary works; books that have stood the test of

time and books that promise to be great favorites in years to come. We have

specified a number of books that are best suited to tiny babies under 6

months, but most of the books listed are suitable from around 6 months and

no doubt many of these books will be revisited over time well beyond the

age of two. For example, we suggest introducing the enduringly popular Dr.

Seuss books right away, knowing that they will likely be a staple of your

child’s library right through to middle school!

The main factor for choosing books for under–twos is to tap into their

exploration of their universe: books that “speak” to them of the things they

do and the things they’re interested in - like choo-choo trains or ladybugs,

playing peek-a-boo and getting ready for bed – these are the books that will

get them started on the wonderful journey that is reading!