Best Books for Toddlers

All the letters of the alphabet race up a coconut tree in this silly, zany rhyming book for 3-year-olds and older. This video version of the bestselling picture book is so much fun, you’ll find yourselves laughing to the rollicking words again and again. 

If your kid loves this, they might also like “Chicka Chickadee’s 1 2 3,” available on Epic in video and audiobook format.

High on our list of favorite toddler books is the hilarious yet instructive “Interrupting Chicken.” This Caldecott Medal Honor book winner is about a young chicken who continually interrupts her father as he’s trying to read a bedtime story. Hilarity ensues as the interrupting chicken jumps (uninvited) into the stories of Chicken Little, Little Red Riding Hood and other fairy tales that her father is trying to read to her. 

On of our favorite books for toddlers and early grade schoolers is “Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site.” This soothing bedtime story is about hard-working trucks saying goodnight after a long day. The vibrant illustrations and gentle rhyming text will delight your truck-crazy tot as they drift off to sleep.  

If they enjoy the book, they might like to fall asleep to the animated story book version, also available on Epic.

It’s the first day of school in the forest, but Chester Raccoon is afraid to go. So his mother, Mrs. Raccoon shares a family secret, the kissing hand, to remind him of her love any time things get scary.

This heartwarming book is perfect for reassuring little ones experiencing the anxieties of separation, whether they’re starting daycare, going to camp or attending kindergarten for the first time.

Get the tissues handy and snuggle up with this nostalgic, long beloved picture book. At times filled with funny antics and at other times touching and sweet, this book tells the story of a mother’s love for her child from cradle to adulthood. It culminates in a gentle twist that reveals the enduring, lifelong and tenderly reciprocal bond between parents and their children.

The soothing rhythmic prose makes this one of the best read-alouds for kids of all time, especially as you’re tucking your little one into bed.

He’s got a monster under his bed, alright. And he’d sure love to find him. A boy who loves monsters draws a picture and compares the sketch with an assortment of silly monsters, until he finds the perfect match—his beloved stuffed green monster toy.

This is a fun, imaginative way for kids to practice comparing colors, not to mention checking whether tails are long or short, if claws are scratchy or if teeth are sharp.

Narrated by Billy Dee Williams of Star Wars fame, this adorable audiobook follows the awkward giraffe Gerald, as he tries and tries to dance. But his long, skinny legs buckle whenever he starts to get down and boogy. Maybe at this year’s annual Great Jungle Dance, he’ll find his own special music.

Adult fans of the classic kids’ book, “Where the Wild Things Are,” will remember Max, whose imagination transports him far away to a magical forest filled with wild things after he threatens to eat his mother (eek!) and she sends him to bed without supper. 

Fortunately, the wild things don’t eat Max, and instead make him their king. In the end Max realizes that king or not, he still needs the love of his parents.

An imaginative little boy asks his mother if she will love him if he turns into a skunk, a meat-eating dinosaur, a swamp thing and other outlandish, unpleasant creatures in this sweet and humorous book. It teaches kids about unconditional love in a way that will inspire plenty of giggles along the way. This is the first of several titles in the popular Stinky Face series.

From author Bill Martin Jr. and late illustrator of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” Eric Carle comes this endearing animal book. With rhythmic text and the delightful, boldly colored collage illustrations Carle is known for, this endearing Read-To-Me book teaches little ones how to identify colors by looking at the cascade of animals and birds.