As much as I would love to buy my toddler only what he REALLY wants for Christmas (guns, tanker trucks, candy and his own Audi plus a full size Gator), I do always try to buy some fun new books that he can get excited about. Reading before bedtime is something that I get really lazy about sometimes, but I really do want to keep it a habit and a priority as he gets older. Especially with him starting Kindergarten next year! But I refuse to talk about that any further. I’m in complete denial and fine with it.
I thought it would be fun to do a series of some of our favorite children’s books! I love books that are also fun for ME to read and don’t make me want to fall asleep or try to sneak and skip pages (who else is guilty of this)? I’ll never forget the first time my son noticed and called me out on it. I felt like such a jerk but was also like “damn…kid is smart.”
Our absolutely favorite book right now is DOMINO The Clumsy Cat! Not only because it’s absolutely adorable, but it teaches a great lesson: the animals on a farm come together to help their friend Domino find something important he’s missing.
OH AND MY SISTER WROTE AND PUBLISHED IT!
You can buy it here!
Some of our other favorites:
- The Boy Who Lost his Name: This is one of those books that you can personalize with your child’s name. It focuses on all the letters in their name to help them learn how to spell/write it. And what toddler doesn’t think it’s SUPER cool to have a published book with their own unique name in it?!
- ROADWORK: I’m pretty sure the words and noises in this book are engrained in my brain for life. It’s great for younger boys (age two would probably be perfect!) because it’s short and sweet with lots of rhymes, sounds, and of course big trucks! Sidenote: my son Peter used to call trucks/construction machines “dee-dosh”. Every time he would see one he’d say DEE-DOSH over and over, so this was called the dee-dosh book in our house.
- Room on the Broom: This is another super fun one that my son and nephew were obsessed with! The characters are a witch, lots of cute animals and a scary dragon, and it’s another one that’ll get stuck in your head it’s so catchy!
- How to Babysit your Grandpa: most kids will probably think the idea of babysitting their grandpa is hilarious. In my case, my 5-year-old pretty much realistically DOES babysit my dad, which makes it even more funny. 🙂
- Wild about Books: I’ve bought this one as a gift for so many birthdays/Christmases. It’s about a librarian that drives her book mobile into a zoo and teaches all the animals about books. It’s fun for both you and your kid to read, with the cutest illustrations and references to familiar books like Harry Potter and Dr. Seuss.
- Giraffes Can’t Dance: This one is about Gerald the Giraffe who wants nothing more than to learn to dance. He has such a hard time until he gets some encouragement from a friend.
- Pete the Cat: To be honest, I really think the only reason we’ve always loved these is because Peter gets so excited that the cat is “named after him.” But I do think it’s a fun little series that most kids really enjoy! There are tons of different seasonal stories of Pete the Cat, which can make for a great gift idea.
What are your favorite children’s books? Always looking for new recommendations and ideas! I know as parents, we can only read the same few over and over and over and over and over so many times before it’s time to pour a drink 🙂
