The tiny human is now one, and he’s also now enamored of books.
He has recently become addicted to Goodnight, Gorilla, which is cute as all get-out.
The other day on Twitter, when I mentioned his newfound adoration of this book and many others (and also his abject disdain for Goodnight, Moon), many folks chimed in with suggestions, including this delightful parody, Goodnight, Dune. So, I figure this is a good time to poll you folks with kids —
Recommend for me some good books! Preferably board books, since that’s what the tot likes.
He just turned one.
We need books.
DELIVER UNTO ME YOUR TINY HUMAN BIBLIO-SENSATIONS.
Recommend away!
Laura Hughes (@MittensMorgul) says:
My daughter loved Dear Zoo, but her favorite book from that age is “Slowly, Slowly, Slowly Said the Sloth” by Eric Carle. In fact, I read it to her so often, she could “read” it back to me before she was two. I think she memorized the entire book in a few weeks, and loved to show off how well she could read!
Slowly was still her favorite book in Kindergarten, to the point she made her first book report project on it, and the resulting 3-d picture we painted together is still hanging on my office wall. It’s huge, a tree made from pipe cleaners and leaves she painted, with all the animals from the book stuck all over it. She’s almost 12, and it’s still one of the few “baby books” she keeps on her bookshelves!
May 23, 2012 — 10:22 AM
Todd Lucas says:
Giggle, Giggle Quack
Snuggle Puppy
Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me
Stella Luna
Just a few classics that I couldn’t find elsewhere in the comments that still have staying power with my 4 year old (my 10 year old will typically hover nearby during a reading, too). Have fun 🙂
May 23, 2012 — 10:28 AM
Andrew says:
It seems somewhat difficult to get, but there is a book out there called Baby’s First Mythos, which I think you all might enjoy.
Also, Ed Emberly, everything he touched is good.
May 23, 2012 — 10:32 AM
***Dave says:
Still more avid votes for:
– Old school Dr Seuss (“One Fish, Two Fish”)
– Sandra Boynton (“Moo, Baa, La La La”, “Barnyard Dance”, “Red Hat, Blue Hat”)
– Richard Scarry books (pretty much any of them; they’re “Where’s Waldo” for kids, and if you get the older editions or UK ones, you get all sorts of fun extra vocabulary lessons).
These were great fun for my young’un a decade ago, and we still pull them out for visting little ones.
May 23, 2012 — 10:40 AM
T.W.Wombat says:
Sandra Boynton books were a hit in our house, especially Hippos Go Berserk and The Belly Button Book. Most these are board books in our house.
Mo Willems never fails to raise a smile with his Pigeon series, and with the Elephant And Piggie books. My daughter just turned 6 and she still reads these on her own.
We also liked Swim, Little Wombat, Swim! by Charles Fuge, and Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French. I admit I may be biased on recommending those two.
May 23, 2012 — 10:45 AM
freda johnson says:
I concur on Sandra Boynton and Dr. Suess. Go Dog, Go! was the first book Lucas and his brother read to *us* (or.. maybe they had it memorized?!?) Big favourite was Green Eggs and Ham… or maybe I just think that because we love the Moxy Fruvous song of same! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttetmdOZXSU
We LOVED “The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and The Big Hungry Bear” by Audrey and Don Woods.
Also “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury – you can’t go wrong with her.. I like the off-beat British stuff.
Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw – and I see there’s more, a series, now.
Any and all of the Stella books by Canadian Marie-Louise Gay
I can’t believe how many board books there are now! We had only a few w-a-y back when Lucas (turning 24 this week!) was little.
Happy reading,
from Lucas’s mom 🙂
May 23, 2012 — 10:59 AM
KJ says:
Ditto to Sandra Boynton (Doggies is THE BEST), ditto to Seuss (although some of his longer books are too much for a toddler’s short attention span). My boys both loved the Spot books by Eric Hill, which aren’t board books, but thicker paper with lift-the-flaps. Also, now is the time to read books that are illustrated versions of nursery rhymes. Few words, usually big, bright pictures. Stuff like The Itsy Bitsy Spider, etc. Also Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? is good. Rhythmic text is easy for parents to read over & over again & really grabs a kid’s attention. Soon he’ll be saying it with you!
May 23, 2012 — 11:10 AM
wickedmurph says:
I read Sandra Boynton’s Barnyard Dance in a country-western hoedown voice about 300 times when my daughter was about 1.
The “if you give a” series by Laura Numeroff is also very good.
At some point, you’ll want to pick up “Instructions” by Neil Gaiman. This is not optional, btw, it’s just responsible parenting.
May 23, 2012 — 11:11 AM
Rebecca Hellmann says:
How about “Where’s My Cow?” by Terry Pratchett.
Also, Sir Pratchett has just release one about poo.
Both are hilarious with crazy illustrations and inspired by the Discworld series.
May 23, 2012 — 11:13 AM
AmandaKay says:
I see most of the greats are covered but I would like to add my two cents worth…
Board Books:
Where’s Spot (every toddler’s favorite word throughout the book)
Ten Little Race Cars (because evidently some boys like cars)
Pat the Bunny (or as my kids tried to do, “eat the bunny”)
Harold and the Purple Crayon (because we really need to teach children to drawn on the wall)
Picture Books:
Farley Found It (the library had to buy a second one because we checked it out so much)
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type (Cows that type—need I say more?)
Hot Rod Hamster (because evidently some boys LOVE cars)
ANYTHING by Mitsumasa Anno (he is a genius AND can write/draw, BRILLIANT!)
The Caboose Who Got Loose by Bill Peet
And since I’m on a roll…
I give this to all kids I know turning four years old:
Phonics Pathways by Dolores G. Hiskes (my kids go to public school but I taught them to read with this book, I prefer the older version but the newer edition is good)
Finally, I give these are baby shower gifts:
Feed Me, I’m Yours (a fun food and activity book for babies and toddlers)
Sleeping Through the Night by Jodi Mindell (excellent resource for parents of babies and toddlers through major milestones of life)
And my neighbor recommends but I haven’t read it:
That’s Not Your Mommy Anymore: A Zombie Tale
May 23, 2012 — 11:19 AM
James says:
Chuck,
My daughter’s turning two, and she also loves Goodnight Gorilla. Around age one, she loved Eric Carle, especially The Very Quiet Cricket and Brown Bear, Brown Bear. Here’s a list of Carle’s books: http://www.eric-carle.com/books.html
Oh, and: Dr. Seuss’s ABC. Ain’t no party like a Fiffer Feffer Feff party.
May 23, 2012 — 11:54 AM
James says:
Oh, crap, I forgot Sandra Boynton. Horns to Toes is a perennial favorite, especially acted out. Barnyard Dance is great.
May 23, 2012 — 11:56 AM
Joy Daniels (@AuthorJDaniels) says:
So many good ones named above so I’ll just toss in two favs I can’t believe haven’t shown up yet. Especially fab for music lovers and these two are all about music and rhythm:
– Charlie Parker Plays Bee Bop
– Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb
(And now I’ve got them running through my head). Enjoy!
May 23, 2012 — 12:26 PM
Man of la Book says:
Brown Bear Brown Bear by Bill Martin Jr. was a hit in our house.
http://www.ManOfLaBook.com
May 23, 2012 — 12:46 PM
Christie says:
Seuss and Boynton are a given – especially “But not the Hippopatomus” and “Oh the thinks you can think”
I love “The Monster at the End of the Book” , “Goodnight Mr. Night” , “A Lot of Otters”
Eyes Nose Fingers and Toes was a favorite because it was one of the first that Evie acted out. Oh and That’s not my pirate is a fun touch and feel book that stand up well to kids.
In about a year, I highly recommend Fast Food by Saxton Freymann
May 23, 2012 — 2:26 PM
chatty says:
My 15 month old is apparently not edgy enough to dislike Goodnight Moon, though I suspect she is in it mainly for the pictures of the two little kittens.
May 23, 2012 — 2:42 PM
chatty says:
She does love the Boyton stuff, as well as The Monster at the End of this Book, and some kinda of “I Spy” book about numbers. Also, funny voices are apparently an almost universal winner, if you aren’t already doing them.
I tried doing The Monster at the End of this Book in the voice of Kai Ryssdal, though, and that was NOT a popular move.
May 23, 2012 — 2:45 PM
Jess Haines says:
When I was a kid, I LOVED the Golden Books fairy tales. If you can find them (not sure if they are still in print), there were some great ones.
I WANT MY HAT BACK (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0763655988/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=jesshaicom-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=0763655988&adid=0FQQGVAY55Q4KQEWEGZP&😉 is also an epic book. The punchline makes it all worthwhile…
<3,
-J
May 23, 2012 — 3:27 PM
Phil Conrad says:
It’s only cynical if you think about it. My kid loved it though.
http://www.amazon.com/Hi-Pizza-Man-Virginia-Walter/dp/0531071073
May 23, 2012 — 5:04 PM
Kati says:
The Napping House
Any of the SkippyJohn Jones books
May 23, 2012 — 5:54 PM
Harry Connolly says:
As mentioned above, Go, Dog, Go! is a great one, not only because it’s engaging for little brains but because it’s a fantastic way to teach language.
Plus it has the best ending of any book ever.
May 23, 2012 — 7:04 PM
James Hansen says:
Me and my wife fell in love with WE ARE IN A BOOK. http://www.amazon.com/Are-Book-Elephant-Piggie-Books/dp/1423133080/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337814465&sr=8-1
May 23, 2012 — 7:09 PM
Randall G. Hauk (@RandallGHauk) says:
There’s nothing remotely cool, ironic, geeky, or otherwise about the one book I will mention beyond the fact that it gives you ample opportunity to give lots and lots of hugs while reading it to your child.
Hug by Jez Alborough
Cute and simple. Perfect for a little. Bonus for having animals throughout (Owen loves the animals). Hug away!
(Owen also seems luke-warm at best about Goodnight Moon. He also didn’t like ‘Where the Wild Things Are,’ but it’s O-Rating for night-night is white hot the last week and change.
May 23, 2012 — 7:09 PM
Lydia says:
Since he already loves a zoo book, get him the story of the baby beebee bird http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Beebee-Diane-Redfield-Massie/dp/0060517840/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337814352&sr=8-1 . Anything at all by Jack Keats, especially The Snowy Day. And Owl Babies.
May 23, 2012 — 7:09 PM
J.C. McKenna says:
I’ll second Sandra Boynton, especially “But Not the Hippopotamus” which was a favorite of mine and the kids. I was reading that book to my son every night at one point, to the point where he and I could do dramatic interpretation without looking at the pages. It’s an excellent introduction to absurdism for young minds.
May 23, 2012 — 7:11 PM
Randall G. Hauk (@RandallGHauk) says:
Good call @AuthorJDaniels on “Charlie Parker Plays Bee Bop.” Fun to read. We’ve had it well over a year and it does not get old.
May 23, 2012 — 7:11 PM
Kay Thomas says:
My now 16 year old’s favorite book was How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen. We read it every night for about 5 years. He ADORED this story. And the illustrations were fabulous. I understand there is now a series. How Do Dinosaurs…Eat Their Food? Play w/Their Friends? Clean Their Rooms? Say I Love You? plus many more
Here’s the B/N link…board books included. Happy Reading!
http://preview.tinyurl.com/clkx8ts
May 23, 2012 — 7:13 PM
Tamela says:
Me and The Turtle LOVE Goodnight Gorilla! For some reason, I am obsessed with the little mouse with the banana and so the little guy can point him out on each page regardless of what else is going on. We’ve also given the zoo keeper’s wife a name. We call her Mildred.
Another fun one to read is Tikki Tikki Tembo and the little guy LOVES Llama, Llama Red Pajamas– but you got to act it out. :))
Whatever you do, don’t try and read Dr. Seuss’s Fox in Socks… you will get a migraine that will not go away for DAYS. No lie.
May 23, 2012 — 7:17 PM
madhousemirror says:
I’ll assume half have recommended Mo Willems, so I’ll recommend Sandra Boyton. My 6 yr old still reads Your Personal Penguin in bed after tuck-in with his “hidden” flashlight. Also, a Spanish/English book called Chameleon Races by Laura Hambleton. Also Mommy Hugs and Daddy Kisses by Anne Gutman and Georg Hallensleben.
May 23, 2012 — 7:37 PM
Karen says:
Goodnight Gorilla was my son’s favorite followed by anything by Sandra Boynton. He also liked the Max & Ruby books. When he’s a little older invest in Mark Teague’s books. They’re clever! Imaginative and have amazing illustrations.
May 23, 2012 — 7:43 PM
Lucie says:
I’ll just go with some of our household favorites (my boys are 2 and 4):
Green Eggs and Ham
My Mommy Hung the Moon
I Love You Stinky Face
Crocodile Tears (art is GORGEOUS)
How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight/How do Dinosaurs say I love You (personal fave)
Boss Baby
Llama Llama Red Pajama
May 23, 2012 — 7:45 PM
Shiri Sondheimer says:
Bedtime Train, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Not a Box. Also, Weird Al wrote a kid’s book called “When I grow up.” Some people might thing they’re a little long for toddlers, but my son is 2 1/2 and he’s been sitting through them since he was 12 months or so.
May 23, 2012 — 7:55 PM
Sarah E Olson (@saraheolson) says:
The Mo Willems (pigeon ones and others) were a huge hit with my 2 year old. She’s gotten sick of them now, but they’ll probably make a comeback soon.
Barnyard Dance and Green Eggs and Ham are her 2 of her current favorites.
My favorite book as a kid was The Monster at the End of This Book. They now have an iPhone/iPad app for it, which is even better than the book b/c it’s interactive. You can knock down the walls and untie Grover’s knots. Fun stuff.
BTW – my 27-month-old daughter can run my iPad like a pro. She also has the Mo Willems pigeon app and a couple of Elmo ones and she can unlock the iPad and go into the Books folder to pick out her books. Although, now she just goes on YouTube and searches for anything that strikes her fancy. Mostly Disney cartoons dubbed in other languages and Indian versions of nursery rhymes. It’s crazy.
May 23, 2012 — 10:02 PM
Sheri Hart says:
If your boy likes GOODNIGHT GORILLA, you must try 10 MINUTES TIL BEDTIME, also by Peggy Rathman. On one of the pages, you see characters and a scene from Goodnight Gorilla.
Another vote for the Boynton books, especially THE BELLY BUTTON BOOK and BUT NOT THE HIPPOPOTAMUS.
Also, anything by Julia Donaldson (THE GRUFFALO, THE SNAIL AND THE WHALE, DAY MONKEY/NIGHT MONKEY, and so many more. I love reading these.)
I LOVE YOU STINKY FACE is another favorite in our house.
May 23, 2012 — 11:07 PM
Reay Jespersen says:
My 19-month-old has loved books for the vast bulk of her life so far. The Sandra Boynton stuff is generally really well done (big ups for Pajama Time and Snuggle Puppy if you like singing books rather than merely read them; I’m a big fan of But Not The Hippopotamus), 10 Minutes Til Bedtime is done by the same writer/artist as Goodnight, Gorilla (lets you create your own description/narrative as you go, and studying the details in the artwork is very rewarding), Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes is quite good, Kiss Goodnight is a more recent favorite, and I’d put in a huge recommendation for If I Were A Lion: unusually good writing and great visuals, though I don’t know if it’s available as a board book.
May 23, 2012 — 11:24 PM
Dylan C says:
Kat Kong.
http://www.amazon.com/Kat-Kong-Dav-Pilkey/dp/0152420371
That’s all.
May 23, 2012 — 11:47 PM
Steven W. Black says:
It seems folks have been mentioning a lot of the favorites.
While not board books, and they need to be read with an adult (flaps and things can be yanked off by small hands), my daughter (now three) has always loved:
Dog by Mathew Van Fleet
http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Matthew-Van-Fleet/dp/1416941371/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1337838717&sr=8-3
Cat by Mathew Van Fleet
http://www.amazon.com/Cat-Matthew-Van-Fleet/dp/1416978003/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b
My son, now 10 months, isn’t all that picky. He likes books that are in good taste. Which is to say, he likes to mouth his books.
Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton is a classic (from 1939) that makes me teary every time I read it. (Not quite suitable for a one year old, but a good story about a man and his robotic steam-powered companion.)
Actually, what am I saying. A significant number of children’s books make me teary every time I read them.
At one flap books can be a lot of fun, but you have to watch that they don’t yank the flaps completely off the book. My daughter was a big fan of the flap books by Karen Katz. (Amazon lists 52 products by Karen Katz.)
May 24, 2012 — 2:14 AM
The Liz, who else? (@theliz13) says:
So I tried to read the above comments to avoid listing books already mentioned, but I spaced out at about comment 30.
My Monster is 5 and has a variety of books.
One favorite, “The Monster at the End of the Book” by Sesame Street and Little Golden Books. This one’s a great dramatic Read. Lots of big font shouting! 🙂
I love “Go Dog Go”, and Dr. Suess “Oh the thinks you can think.” and “I Can Read with my Eyes Shut”.
And the sentimental favorite, “Guess How Much I love You”
May 24, 2012 — 2:42 AM
Sarah Dreyer says:
Someone way above said Green Sheep: YES. The Gruffalo books: YES These are so much fun for grown-ups to read, you want your kids to want them, even if they don’t. Choosing books you enjoy reading more than twice: YES YES YES. We inherited a book for older kids called Flat Stanley.
Me: “What shall we read tonight?”
Mr 6: “Flat Stanley!”
Me: “Again? For the love of all that’s good and holy, do you really hate me that much??” *sobs*
Richard Scarry – any and all: I LOVED these when I was a kid. Mr 6 has probably all of them, god help me. I HATE them now. Do not go there.
Not that I’m in a grouchy mood tonight or anything.
May 24, 2012 — 4:19 AM
Jenn says:
Yeah, Crockett Johnson’s Harold and the Purple Crayon books were some of my favorites when I was young, and my son loves them now.
Also the Gruffalo, The Gruffalo’s Child, and Room on the Broom, all by Julia Donaldson, are nifty keen.
Let’s not forget Slinky Malinki, Hairy McLairy, etc by Lynley Dodd. Or Dr. Seuss’s classic books. Something about those rhymes and drawings is truly appealing.
But my son’s number one favorite book at the moment is The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew it was None of His Business. I doubt it’s just because of my “outraged mole” voice, either. He’s 5, and bodily functions are both hilarious and interesting, but I think your youngster will like it too, even though he’s only one year old.
May 24, 2012 — 6:38 AM
Tory Michaels says:
I didn’t have time to read all the comments, so sorry if these are duplicates. But anything by Marcus Pfister (though maybe a little young still for those stories…they have plots, little ones, but plots just the same) – he does the Rainbow Fish books.
Another fabulous series of books is the “How Do Dinosaurs…” ones by Janet Yolen. My boy fell in love with “How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food” and “How Do Dinosaurs Go To School”.
May 24, 2012 — 8:40 AM
MaryJoBeug says:
The Critterland Desert Adventures were favs in my family. We used to almost chant them (and Scarry Larry is running through my head now dammit!) Cute original stories, fun to read and some had songs in the back which were hilarious…I think they are only available used now as they’ve been out of print for a while.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Critterland+Desert+Adventures
May 24, 2012 — 9:11 AM
Steve says:
GOODNIGHT MOON by Margaret Wise Brown immediately comes to mind. My kids loved the sound of that book before they understood the words.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodnight_Moon
May 24, 2012 — 2:11 PM
Lynna Landstreet says:
Wow – tons of replies!
I’ll second a few that have already been posted, like Where the Wild Things Are and Each Peach Pear Plum. (The latter is sort of a chain of fairy tale events, wherein each leads to the next, and each illustration has a hint of what’s coming next, so it’s fun for the kids to try and spot them.)
And I asked my 4-year-old what some of his favourite books were when he was younger, to get his recommendations. The first one he said, without hesitation, was The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. With a bit more discussion, he also added the following (in addition to the two mentioned above):
Baby Danced the Polka by Karen Beaumont – this one is a really fun little book with fold-out panels, about parents trying to get their baby to nap, while the baby wants to have a dance party with his stuffed animals, which are real animals to him. Cute illustrations, and kids love shouting out the names of the animals as each one appears (the names are hidden inside the foldouts). Also a bit anarchistic because the baby wins in the end. 🙂
The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear – a classic, but there’s a particularly nice version out there with gorgeous illustrations by Jan Brett.
And a few that might not be ideal at 1 year old, but he might like when he’s a year or two older:
Let the Lynx Come in by Jonathan London – this is my personal favourite kids’ book EVER, and my son really loves it too. It’s a real change from a lot of other kids’ books – beautiful and poetic rather than cute and funny, with lovely illustrations, about a little boy in the north woods going on a dream journey to the moon on the back of a giant lynx. Might be better when he’s a year or so older, though.
Fox by Kate Banks – another really beautiful one, about a baby fox growing up, set against the backdrop of the changing seasons.
And finally, I have to mention the book my son has been totally obsessed with for the last couple of years, which has the distinction of being the target of the most banning and library-removal requests of any book in the US for most years since it was published (my baby reads banned books – I’m so proud!): And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. This is the now-infamous story of the baby penguin with two daddies, in the Central Park zoo. My son loves this book, and ever since I first got it out from the library when he was 2 or so, has asked me to read it over and over and over (obviously we got our own copy before long), decided that his stuffed toy penguin was Tango, and has asked me to tell him all kinds of other Tango stories (which I make up as I go along), ranging from Tango becoming the first penguin in outer space to Tango meeting Batman. I don’t think he cares in the slightest about the gender of her parents – he just loves the story of Tango being born and cared for. It’s a really sweet book, and for all the controversy, the main focus of it is really about love making a family.
May 24, 2012 — 2:19 PM
Sammie says:
All four of my sons loved: “Good Families Don’t” by Robert Munsch It is about a sweet little girl and Farts. And “The Monster at the End of this Book”
May 24, 2012 — 3:31 PM
Alan Smithee says:
I’m a big fan of “Jimmy Zangwow’s Out-of-This-World Moon-Pie Adventure” by Tony DiTerlizzi. He’s got to have a DiTerlizzi gateway drug sooner or later.
May 25, 2012 — 7:51 AM
Cara M says:
The Jolly Postman! Actually, a lot of the Allan Ahlberg books are great, and they only get better as you get older. Each Peach Pear Plum and the rest.
The Katie Morag books are also really great!
May 25, 2012 — 1:03 PM
Lisa Hendrix says:
Family faves, sort of in order from younger to older kids:
But Not the Hippopotamus (or pretty much anything by Sandra Boynton)
Biscuit (Alyssa Satin Capucilli)
Pookins Gets her Way (Helen Lester)
Avocado Baby (John Burningham)
Good Night, Owl (Pat Hutchins)
The Maggie B (Irene Haas)
It’s Not Easy Being a Bunny (aka PJ Funnybunny) (Marilyn Sadler)
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (and all the related books) (Laura Joffe Numeroff)
Tacky the Penguin (Helen Lester)
When I Was LIttle (Jamie Lee Curtis)
The Adventures of Isabel (Ogden Nash)
Tacky the Penguin (Helen Lester)
Earl’s Too Cool for Me (Leah Komaiko)
And finally, (and totally appropriate for the Wending household):
Weird Parents (Audrey Wood)
May 25, 2012 — 10:55 PM
James Hamilton says:
I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen is the best children’s book ever, ever.
May 26, 2012 — 7:55 AM
Gaea says:
The Sandra Boynton books, including Blue Hat Green Hat are great for the little ones. Also my boys loved 10 Little Ladybugs and The Very Hungry Catapiller.
May 26, 2012 — 8:40 AM