Best Books for Young Children

These books have a fun, distinct stylized illustration style that really seems to resonate with my daughter.  Each book focuses on learning specific information.  The Hungry Caterpillar is about counting and the Very busy spider covers farm animals and sounds.  

Now that she is beginning to understand these concepts, she gets super excited to name every animal and food type. 

These books are considered classics for a reason.  I highly recommend them.

Another classic.  There are thousands of books out there to teach the alphabet.  We have several of them.  This is the most fun of any alphabet book we have.  

We tend to read this book daily, and my daughter is beginning to identify the letters of the alphabet and keeps trying to sing the song. She gets to G before trailing off.

I got this book on a whim to help my daughter learn about animals.  I was not disappointed.

Giraffes Can’t Dance is a fun book about confidence delivering the message everyone can dance.  It is a really fun book.

Currently my daughter’s favorite, Who Goes Roar is a book about the sounds dinosaurs make.  This is probably her favorite book because I make the dinosaur sounds while we read and it becomes a game.  It is super fun. 

Okay, a classic is a classic for a reason.  Just about any Dr. Seuss book is well received by young children.  His cadence and fantastical stories are super fun.

My favorite is Green Eggs and Ham.  It was the first book I ever read for myself, and I still have that exact copy on my shelf.  

Penguinaut! was a gift from the grandparents.  What a wonderful gift!  She wants to read it every day to identify the animals.  Animals and a space story together?  Fantastic!

It’s a quick read too.  We can read it 3 or 4 times in a row and not delay bedtime too much.

There are 3 books in this series, and all teach really valuable lessons.  They don’t really resonate with my 2-year-old right now, but she still reaches for and tries to understand the books.  I imagine by next year this will be one of her favorites. 

And the illustrations are gorgeous!

Effiant!  Effiant! Effiant!  

That’s all I hear every time a Babar book comes out.  She gets so excited to identify every elephant and try to figure out what they are doing.  

The stories are great, but the font they use can be hard to read if you are dyslexic like me. 

It is a big, red dog!  A DOG!

We are going through a bit of a dog phase, so these are a hit.  The stories are good too.

I loved these stories growing up, and now I get the opportunity to share them with my daughter.  I do wish they were more gender-inclusive, but they are mental health inclusive, so there are stories that do worse on representation.

Children need to hear it is okay to have “bad” feelings too. Not everything is happy all the time.

Short and magical, these come packed with adorable illustrations.  The books are on the small side and are easy for children to hold and handle.  She loves turning the pages.

The Spiderwick Chronicles have been a favorite of mine for a long time.  If you stumble upon them, pick up a set.

The books are nothing like the movies.  They have the same feel to them, but the stories are totally different.

I love how these stories focus on confidence.  Follow the oddball kid who doesn’t fit in as he tries to find his place in the world.

The only downside is there are no girls in the stories at all.  It is a little frustrating, especially since we know women were just as likely to be warriors in Viking culture as men.

I am unashamedly part of the Harry Potter generation.  I love these stories, they shaped my childhood and resonated through my teenage years.

The illustrated copies are beautiful, and I honestly can’t wait to read them to my daughter.  I’ll probably read them to her when she is 3.

I got the Narnia box set for Christmas when I was 12.  We opened presents at 4 in the morning.  I was done with the second or 3rd book by dinner.  

What a wonderfully fantastical world!  Narnia is the kind of place you are sad to leave when it is over. 

The language is simple and the stories straightforward.  Young children should be enamored with the characters.  Unfortunately, there are no pictures in these books, but I don’t think that matters with stories this good.

Lord of the Rings was written as a long-form bedtime story to his children.  That’s why you can find the books in the children’s section of the library.  

The language is difficult enough that I likely won’t start reading these to my little one until she is 5.  But they are definitely on the list!

This is a sweet tale about a robot building a family.  I think of it as the “Finding Dory” of chapter books.  There is no real violence, and nearly every motivation is circumstance driven. 

No villains, only problems caused by the nature of the world.  

• All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
• Cars and Trucks and Things that Go, Richard Scarry
• Child of the Universe, Ray Jayawardhana
• The Day You Begin, Jacqueline Woodson
• Hair Love, Mathew A. Cherry
• Just Like Me, Vanessa Brantly-Newton
• Last Stop on Market Street, Matt de la Peña
• The Little Engine that Could, Watty Piper
• Llama Llama Misses Mama, Anna Dewdney
• We’re All Wonders, R. J. Palacio
• Hey Grandude!, Paul McCartney
• The Girl and the Dinosaur, Hollie Hughes
• Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment, Parker and Jessica Curry
• Lupin Leaps In: A Breaking Cat News Adventure, Georgia Dunn
• We’re Not From Here, Geoff Rodkey
• The Alphabet’s Alphabet, Chris Harris
• Friday Night Wrestlefest, J.F. Fox
• Catch that Chicken!, Atinuke
• Old Rock (Is Not Boring), Deb Pilutti
• The Box Turtle, Vanessa Roeder
• Lift, Minh Le
• Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea, Meena Harris
• Exquisite: The Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks, Suzanne Slade
• The Paper Kingdom, Helena Ku Rhee
• Vinny Gets a Job, Terry Brodner
• How big is Zagnodd, Sandra Boynton
• You’re My Little Baby, Eric Carle
• Play With Your Plate!, Judith Rossell

Chapter Books

• The One and Only Bob, Katherine Applegate
• Ways to Make Sunshine, Renee Watson
• What About Worms!?, Ryan T. Higgins
• See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog, David LaRochelle
• Class Act, Jerry Craft
• History Smashers: The Mayflower, Kate Messner
• Prairie Lotus, Linda Sue Park
• From the Desk of Zoe Washington, Janae Marks
• City Spies, James Ponti