Books for Toddlers |
Parents can encourage reading in many ways and experts agree that choosing good books is an essential first step. The booklists below are comprised of popular picks — both classics and recent titles — for your toddler. The next time you're at the library, ask your librarian for other suggestions.
New Books: Winter 2007
African-American Heritage
Hispanic American Heritage
American Indian Heritage
Wordless Books
Bilingual Books
New Books: Spring 2008
Duck
by Randy Cecil
Duck is a carousel animal who spends her days watching flocks of real, flying ducks—and her nights dreaming of soaring among them. Flying is all she can think about, until the day a lost little duckling waddles into her life.
Fabulous Fishes
by Susan Stockdale
From the spiky lionfish and the brightly colored clownfish to lanternfishes and hatchetfishes that flash lights so they can find each other in the deepest, darkest parts of the ocean, the breadth of sea life depicted in this stunning book will captivate young readers.
Jumpy Jack & Googily
by Meg Rosoff
Meet Jumpy Jack, a very nervous snail who’s afraid of monsters, and Googily, who is a—well, who is a very good friend, indeed. Wherever they go, Googily kindly checks high and low just to make sure there are no scary monsters about. Here is a universal story of friendship and fear of the unknown.
A Visitor for Bear
by Bonny Becker
Bear is quite sure he doesn’t like visitors. He even has a sign. So when a mouse taps on his door one day, Bear tells him to leave. In this slapstick tale, all Bear wants is to eat his breakfast in peace, but the mouse—who keeps popping up in the most unexpected places—just won’t go away!
New Books: Winter 2007
Bear Feels Sick
by Karma Wilson
Bear doesn’t feel well. Worst of all, he’s feeling too poorly to play with his friends. The heart of this loving story is how Bear’s friends help him feel better with herbal tea and lullabies—a story that will be familiar to any little one who has ever had the sniffles.
Bringing in the New Year
by Grace Lin
This exuberant story follows a Chinese American family as they prepare for the Lunar New Year. Each member of the family lends a hand as they sweep out the old year’s dust, hang decorations, and make dumplings. Then it’s time to put on new clothes and celebrate!
My Colors, My World / Mis colores, mi mundo
by Maya Christina Gonzalez
Little Maya longs to find brilliant, beautiful, inspiring color in her world—the Mojave Desert. With the help of a feathered friend, she discovers the brilliant purple of her mother’s flowers, the cool green of a cactus, the hot pink sunset, and the shiny black of Papi’s hair.
Romeo and Lou Blast Off
by Derek Anderson
Romeo the penguin and Lou the bear are what they call polar opposites. But one snowy, blowy day, they agree to build a pretend rocket ship made entirely out of snow. When a shooting star passes over the rocket ship, two best friends are carried off to a strange new world. And the real question is: How will they ever get home?
New Books: Spring/Summer 2007
Chicky Chicky Chook Chook
by Cathy MacLennan
A great read-aloud, sing-aloud, shout-aloud book, with fun-to-imitate animal sounds and rhythmic rhymes.
Kitty's Cuddles
by Jane Cabrera
Kitty is trying out all different kinds of animals' cuddles. But which is his favorite? The soft, warm snuggle of his baby brother. Welcoming a new addition into the family has never been cozier.
Orange Pear Apple Bear
by Emily Gravett
Just four words tell a real story, with humor, while exploring such concepts as color, rhyme, rhythm and punctuation.
Out of the Egg
by Tina Matthews
You think you know the tale of the Little Red Hen, but in this story everything changes when the hard-working Red Hen lays a perfect white egg.
African-American Heritage
Beautiful Blackbird
by Ashley Bryan
Long ago, Blackbird was voted the most beautiful bird in the forest. The other birds begged Blackbird to paint their feathers with a touch of black so they could be beautiful too.
Honey Baby Sugar Child
by Alice Faye Duncan
A mother expresses her everlasting love for her child in this warm, poetic picture book.
Honey, I Love
by Eloise Greenfield
For this young narrator, it's the simple things that mean the most, like sharing laughter with a friend, taking family rides in the country, and kissing her mama's arm.
Please, Puppy, Please
by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee
A close-up look at what happens when a couple of high-energy toddlers meet their match in an adventurous pup who has no plans of letting up.
Hispanic-American Heritage
Hairs / Pelitos
by Sandra Cisneros
A girl describes how each person in the family has hair that looks and acts different.
Icy Watermelon / Sandia Fria
by Mary Sue Galindo
Three generations enjoy watermelon outside on a summer day as Abuela recounts the story of meeting Abuelo when he drove his watermelon truck to her barrio.
Rooster / Gallo
by Jorge Elias Lujan
In this mythical poem, it is the rooster who is the poet of the day. At dawn, his song draws forth the universe and gives way to the dance of beings and objects.
Sip, Slurp, Soup, Soup / Caldo, Caldo, Caldo
by Diane Gonzales Bertrand
There are never too many cooks in the kitchen when Mama makes the family's favorite vegetable soup and everyone pitches in.
American Indian Heritage
Long Night Moon
by Cynthia Rylant
Text and illustrations depict the varied seasonal full moons that change and assume personalities of their own throughout the year.
Rainbow Crow: A Lenape Tale
by Nancy Van Laan
The earth's first snow is falling and, as it grows deeper, the animals argue over who should ask the Great Sky Spirit for help.
Ten Little Rabbits
by Sandra Cisneros
Weaving, fishing and storytelling are all part of this spirited book that celebrates Native American traditions and teaches young children to count from one to 10.
The Good Luck Cat
by Joy Harjo
Some cats, like Woogie, are good luck. But as Woogie gets into one mishap after another, everyone starts to worry. Can a good luck cat's good luck run out?
Wordless Books
A Boy, a Dog, and a Frog
by Mercer Mayer
A boy and his dog go walking in the swamp. They spot a frog in the water. Can they use a net to catch him?
Changes, Changes
by Pat Hutchins
The little wooden couple are happy in their building-block house—until it catches fire. The solution? They transform the house into a fire engine! But then there's so much water that they have to build a boat....
Good Dog, Carl
by Alexandra Day
An infant is left in the care of a dog while Mother is out. The two get into all sorts of mischief, but trusty Carl puts everything in order in time for Mother's return.
Pancakes for Breakfast
by Tomie de Paola
This wordless picture book follows the trials of a little old lady who attempts to make pancakes for her breakfast.
Bilingual Books
Lupe Lupita, Where Are You? / Lupe Lupita, ¿dónde estás?
by Gladys Rosa-Mendoza
Follow adorable little Lupe Lupita as she takes the reader from playtime to bedtime, explaining the meaning of "up," "down," "near," "far," etc.
Margaret and Margarita / Margarita y Margaret
by Lynn Reiser
Margaret speaks English but not Spanish. Margarita speaks Spanish but not English. Can they still play? Of course they can! Join two robust girls who aren't about to let anything spoil their fun.
No, No, and No! / ¡No, no y no!
by Mireille D’Alance
The little bear Octavio goes to school for the first time. The only thing that he says all day is "no."
Perro grande… Perro pequeño / Big Dog… Little Dog
by P. D. Eastman
Two dogs are opposite in every way, but are the very best of friends.
Source for book descriptions: publisher
