Our favorite books for 2-year-olds
I've been meaning to write something on our favorite books du jour (really, it feels like LG's preferences with everything in his little world: food, toys, play, sleep, etc. change every day). Sometimes we can get overwhelmed walking into a book store (or even library) without any direction. I'm hoping those who stumble upon this list will find some new books to seek out for their littles. And certainly we'd love to hear your faves in the likely event they're not listed here. Without further ado, here are some books our 2-year-old loves and maybe your toddler will, too!
"A is for Apple" by Georgie Birkett. This one is super cute. It lets your little ones trace the letters of the alphabet on each page. LG just started practicing letters at his Montessori school so we're excited to augment his lessons there with this cute book.
Bonus it has flaps!
"Together" by Emma Dodd. Growing up in Northern California, sea otters are among my family's favorite animals, so it was no surprise my mom bought this book for us when we were pregnant. Emma Dodd is an author-illustrator from the UK and we love all the books in her "foil series."
Her words are simple and powerful.
"My Big Truck Book" by Roger Priddy. If your kiddo is into trucks, RUN and get this book. We stumbled upon it at our local kids consignment store Double Time in Redondo Beach and it is probably LG's top pick right now. He's always pointing out trucks and construction vehicles while we're on the road so I saw it and picked it up without hesitation. After reading/studying this book myself, I can now point with confidence at a backhoe and an excavator (seriously, NEVER knew that's what those things were called until a month ago) and LG is picking up the terms quickly, too!
I mean, how can you go wrong?
"Gallop!" by Rufus Butler Seder. This was a fun find at one of our local gift shops. LG still loves to flip through it and move the pages around to see the animals movingTouch Think Learn: Colors by Xavier Deneux. This is probably one of my favorite books. The details are really darling. Deneux is a Paris-based author-illustrator and he has a lot of cute books like this one to choose fromSimple and adorable.
"Five Little Pumpkins" by Natalie Marshall. Not an original tale, of course, but we love the way Marshall presents it. LG was into this one early and he still picks it up from time to time. The tabs make it super easy for your baby/toddler to turn the pages. And LG love pointing out the hidden details -- like snails and ladybugs on the pumpkins. Since it's almost October, we wanted to get this on the list.
Cute they have these signs/actions to do on each page.
"Pairs Underwater" by Smriti Prasadam-Halls: The matching concept is something we've just started exploring and LG seems to really enjoy it. So you'll see a few of this kind of theme in our list. My mom sent us this one and it's really cute.
LG has been into flap books since like day 1. Cannot go wrong with flaps of any kind.
"1001 Things to Spot in the Sea" by Anna Milbourne and Katie Daynes: This was another consignment store discovery. I don't know if my parents would find this exact version in our basement from growing up, but I could swear with 95% certainty that I too loved these books. Something about the illustrations is familiar.
There are about a dozen of these books with various themes. We also own "1001 Animals to Spot," but this ocean one is still his fave go-to. LG loves to point out the images when you ask him, "Where's the...?" And with numbers, too, it's great for early counters.
"Matching Game Book: Animals" by Julie Mercier. Another cute option for animal-matching lovers.
"Night Night, Farm" by Amy Parker. We have a few of these "Night Night" books and they're really sweet. I love the feel of them and everything -- they're like a board book but with a soft, cushy cover. The illustrations by Virginia Allyn are a definite highlight.
And that's all folks! I could probably do another list of 10 next week, but this is a good start. Again, let us know if you see something your family loves, too, or share some of your faves in the comments below. We always love hearing from you!