What Children’s Books To Read At Different Stages From Newborn to Toddler (2 Years Old)
One of my favourite parts of the house is my son’s reading nook. It’s got a library of books that is growing quickly and a comfy couch where we end each day reading together (as well as negotiating how many books are to be read before a certain someone agrees to sleep!).
In an effort to minimise TV / screen time at home, I am diligent about spending lots of time reading with my son. I have integrated reading into his daily routine (usually at bedtimes and mealtimes) and now that he’s a toddler he’s familiar with books and seeks them out on his own.
I started reading to my son when he was about 2 months old because I just couldn’t figure out any other way to really interact with him apart from dangling toys and shaking rattles in front of him. And at the time it felt quite silly to me because he was too small to react or really notice what I was doing.
But that awkward feeling changed quickly by the time he was 4 months old and he could sit in my lap when I read a book to him. He started touching the pages of the book, staring intently at the pictures and cooing along as I read. I felt way more connected to him and enjoyed his adorable baby reactions to all the shapes and colours and textures in the books.
As he’s gotten older, I have adjusted his library to suit his interests and it’s been simply incredible to see his growth and development as a result of reading. So I thought I’d share the different kinds of children’s books I have for my son from newborn all the way to toddler in the hopes that it might be useful to another mom or mama-to-be 🙂
2 months to 4 months
I was recommended by my experienced mom friends to first introduce high contrast board books with black and white images and large simple text to my infant son because they are easy for a young baby’s eyes to focus and stare at and help with development.
I also had a few popular story books that I read to him just to switch things up every now and then.
4 months to 12 months
During this period my son changed a lot. He went from sitting like a little blob in my lap, looking at the pictures and listening to me read to enjoying books with shapes, colours, flaps, sounds and textures and finally to being able to recognise book titles and telling him which one he wanted to read.
I introduced more touch-and-feel and life-the-flap books into his library.
I also found he really enjoyed the board books by Sandra Boynton because they’re short, colourful with funny rhymes and whimsical animals.
I also established reading as part of his daily routine during this time. So I read to him every single night before bed and give him books to look at during mealtimes when I fed him. I also keep a book in his diaper bag at all times so if we’re out and about and he’s bored or gets cranky, I can distract him easily.
12 months to 18 months
From 12 months on my son slowly started showing preferences for certain topics over others. In my case, he loves (aka is obsessed with) all kinds of cars and vehicles so I got him a lot of different kinds of books about cars and he loves flipping through them.
In general for all topics, I found he responded with the most enthusiasm to the picture books by Roger Priddy, which offer books on every topic and subject with lots of pictures and simple words. I think my son learned a lot of his first words from these books.
He also really enjoyed (and still does) books by Sandra Boynton because they’re short, colourful with funny rhymes and whimsical animals. They’re also great for traveling purposes.
18 months to 2 years
I moved to reading slightly longer story books with catchy rhymes and poems. At this point my son started remembering the last words in some sentences and saying them out loud with me. So whenever I notice he’s really into a particular book and wants to read it every night, then I’ll read the book and leave out certain words and see if he can remember what they are and say it instead. I also noticed in particular during this stage that he liked reading the same couple of books over and over again — maybe because he now knows what to expect and looks forward to reading it out loud.
In addition to books by Sandra Boynton, he also really liked books by Julia Donaldson and Nick Sharratt.
I find he’s responded very positively to the simpler smaller board books by Dr. Seuss. The books are also available in a travel-size box set.
He also loves the The Little Blue Truck series of books.
2 years onwards
At this point my son has developed a mind of his own. He knows the books and stories he likes and I encourage him to choose his books for reading from the library every day.
I also added longer and more complex books to his collection because I think he’s ready to sit and listen for longer periods of time. Books such as The Cat In The Hat and Oh! The Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss are longer and he’s actually seeking them out on his own. I don’t think he really understands them but he’s very curious and interested. Sometimes while I’m reading the longer stories he’ll go back into his library and choose another book and quietly flip through it by himself and it’s pretty cute to see him independently “reading”.
Other long-form story books favourites:
Do you have any other recommendations? Please share in the comments below 🙂
