Recommendations for Books

I just discovered "Gossie" by Dunrea. It is so cute and there is a whole series. My 24 month old loved it the first time she saw it.

I've had two kids go through this age, and these are some recommendations that both of them loved:

More, More, More Said the Baby. This is one of my favorite board books ever, and I give it frequently as a shower gift. Beautifully illustrated, fun to read, and it shows diverse families.

Boynton, everything, but especially Barnyard Dance, Blue Hat, Green Hat, Going to Bed Book, Moo Baa La La La, Hippos Go Berserk.

The Spot lift-the-flap books (Where's Spot, etc.) These were #1 favorites for both my boys at this age and beyond.

Owl and the Pussycat, the board book version illustrated by Jan Brett. Gorgeous! I would buy those paintings. And the poem is a classic favorite.

Polkabats and Octopus Slacks, by Calef Brown. It's a poetry collection so at that age I just read a couple of the poems. Very fun rhythms to read aloud.

Goodnight Moon (of course!)

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see? - Is there any kid who doesn't love this book? They love the repetition and predicting the animal on the next page, and pointing to all the animals on the last page.

Hungry Caterpiller - ditto on the repetition. Personally, not my favorite book to read, but the kids liked it.

Sailaway Home - another board book that has a nice rhythm for reading.

Also, starting about that age, those books that have pictures of objects and animals and things - word books.

My little guy is 19 months. He (and me) enjoy books with great ryhmes. If you haven't discovered Lynley Dodd, check her out. She has 2 series (Slinky Malinky about a cat and Hairy Maclary about a dog). They are so fun to read and just the right length. Illustrations are great too. I have found some of her books at Borders and some on-line. "Mrs. McTats and her houseful of cats" is great fun too (can't remember the author). But our favorite is "The Prince's Bedtime" by Jeanne Oppenheim. Outstanding illustrations and wonderful ryhming story. "In a faraway kingdom, a long time ago, when bedtime drew near, the prince shouted, No!." It is so much fun to read, I never get bored. It is published by Barefoot Books and not sold at stores. I bought it at a street fair but you can buy on-line too. We also love Eric Carles' "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, what do you hear?" and "I love you stinky face" (not sure of author.

The book called Great Books for Babies and Toddlers, by Kathleen Odean was great for helping me choose books. It list over 500 recommended books with brief descriptions of them. You can probably find it at the library.

Dr. Seuss's ABC's. It's a great book, was both of my children's favorite book up until they were about 3! It also taught them both their ABC's at a very young age, about 14 months. It's also a rhyming book, so both of my kids were reciting it on their own by the time they were about 18 months. My son still absolutely loves the book. He's three and is starting to read. He can also write about 100 different words. I'm telling you what, I totally give the credits to that particular book because it taught them all about letters!!

My daughter's fav books from that time were I Know a Rhino, How Do Dinosaurs' Clean Their Room, and The Monster At The End of This Book (with Grover from Sesame Street). I think she was closer to 2 when we got Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See - which was HUGE hit, and Go Dog Go by Dr Seuss. If your children like dogs, I'd reccomend, Maxi The Taxi Dog -which is bright and beautifully illustrated, and has a rhyming text.

Happy Reading!

Get yourself to the library Momma and get yourself a book first - called "The Read-Aloud Handbook" by Jim Trelease... he's got a handle on all the greatest read-aloud books written and the last 3rd of the book is just titles and authors your and your little ones will love (even when they aren't do little anymore - he's got titles for all ages). GREAT WORK MAKING READING SOMETHING TO LOVE! You're an awesome mom!

I suggest the Dr Suess books, Hop On Pop or One fish Two fish Red Fish Blue Fish. I am already starting to read them to Ali and she is only 61/2 mnths old and loves them.

My daughter LOVES Brown Bear, Brown Bear. It has simple animals and colors that she is learning right now. I would try that one.

My son is the same age. He LOVES all of the Richard Scarey books - current favorites are Cars and Trucks and Things That Go, and The Best Word Book Ever. They have great detailed pictures. Scarey has a ton of other books for kids that age and older, too. I loved them when I was a kid too.

Good Night Moon, I love You this Much,
The Olivia Books, anything Barney. ANything Elmo. Borders categorizes by age, take her int here and look thru things with her.
It's cool.

My daughter loves her Disney babies series and the Sesame Street ABC series. Now at 22 months she can recite almost all of them herself as she has had them read to her so often. The Disney series teaches colors, letters, opposites, manners, and many more things, I plan to use both series in the future again when she is starting to read as they are simple reads.

My son is only 16 months - but he LOVES the Shiny, Touchy, Smelly book set from Discovery Toys. He has had them since he was about 6 months old - but each page has something shiny, something with texture and something that smells (like a scratch and sniff) Originally he was interested in the visual aspect, but as he has grown - he loves to "smell" the books. I suppose any book that has those features would do just as well. He also love the Fisher Price books that have the doors that you can open - they are large oversized books probably 11x17. If, by chance, you are interested in Shiny Touchy Smelly - I do sell Discovery Toys and with no pressure - would mail you a catalog. I would love to know if there are any books your son enjoys - as my son has a great facination for books right now and I'd love to encourage that -so I'd love to buy him a few more that might be more age "progressive". Oh and one more book I just bought him for xmas is kind of like a pop up book called DOGS - each page has a pop up feature, etc. I'm pretty sure he is going to love it - Toys R US, Border, Barnes & Noble, Target all carry it. Thanks!

My boys loved anything by Sandra Boynton. At almost 4 years old they still do, in fact.

For a fun & silly read try Tickle the Duck. We read that one over and over.

Hi!
My son loves lift the flap books. There is one called Dear Zoo that is adorable--perfect for that age. He also likes the Baby Einstein bigger books that are touch and feel. One is On the Farm and one is Violet's House. We also like the Eric Carle Books like Head to Toe and Polar Bear Polar Bear What do You Hear? I can go on and on with books--I was a kindergarten teacher for 7 years and read tons of books everyday!!

My baby loves the baby Einstein books- the bright colors really keep his attention. The Sandra Boynton books are always cute. Any books with a lot of rhyme or repitition will keep little ones interested... eventually they'll memorize them and then can read them on their own! I know preschoolers and primary grade kids love the David Shannon books like No David! and David Goes to School.
Also books that are made from rhymes and songs are great- like 5 Little Monkeys or the 5 Little Ducks.

My 17 month old daughter likes any book that has pictures of real babies in it.

My daughters both love any book made by USBORNE they are some of the best books on the market I think. Before I had my second child I used to sell these books. The pictures are great and there are many books that come with a cd. There is also (which my youngest love) A yellow duck hiden on every page. My daughter whom is 3 1/2 still loved finding the duck at every turn of the page. Look them up online or even go to your local book store and ask for that puplisher. These books are a little more them most but they are worth every penny you spend! I promise you will not be disapointed! They publish books for Babies all the way to Adult. You can even become a rep and sell the books to earn free ones.
www.usborne-books.com

I second Sandra Boyton. We love her. "Hippos Go Berserk" is our favorite. My daughter and I can recite the whole book from memory. Bill Martin Jr. is a good author too. "Brown Bear Brown, What Do You See?" and such. The pictures in his books are great.

My daughter likes Where the Wild Things Are. She is 20 months. We are just starting to transition into big kid books (so to speak), so that is the only suggestion I have now.

Hi Nicole!

My kids have always loved the "priddy bicknell" books. They are board books that come in different sizes and use real pictures and are very colorful. They have Baby Colors, Baby 123, Animals etc...you can find them almost anywhere - Toys R Us, Target, WalMart, even TJMaxx - where they are discounted. They're the type of books that my kids would sit with by themselves and look at for long periods of time. They even have books for kids who like trains, construction equipment, and specific types of animals. Here's a link to borders.com where they have a bunch to give you an idea:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_bgi/102-###-###-####-##...

I can tell what books are the priddy bicknell books on the shelf - they're the ones that actually look used!