Reading to your baby is one of the most important developmental experiences for your little one. she will teach them sounds, language, arts, cause and effect, object-word associations, counting, colors, emotions, social cues, and about love and friendship.
You are reading: Best baby books 2020
Books are such an important building block for your baby’s brain development, and you’ll be glad to know there are tons of great, fun, colorful, and engaging books to read and enjoy.
Whether during the day or at bedtime, reading to your baby will leave you and your child smiling and wanting more. We’ve rounded up over 50 of the best baby books available, including not only classics like The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Goodnight, Moon, but also relatively new ones like Blue Dot’s incredible line of children’s books, and current topical books like colors from us and love for hair.
Some of our all-time favorite baby books are at the top, but otherwise this list is in no particular order and includes options suitable for both babies and toddlers. They are all fantastic and highly recommended! we hope you enjoy! Also check out our new list of the best bilingual books in English and Spanish for babies!
full disclosure: some of these baby books, including colors of us, leafy creatures, hair love, under my tree, numbers, colors, shapes, and ivy bird, were sent as a free trial. manufacturer’s samples.
here are the best baby books of 2022!
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
by eric carle
eric carle uses bright mixed media collages with primary colors to illustrate a simple story about, you guessed it, a very hungry caterpillar! great artwork, interactive book design, and delicious snacks!
Goodnight Moon
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margaret wise brown
This is a classic baby book with lovely rhymes and beautiful, simple illustrations. It’s perfect for bedtime and to say good night to the world inside and outside.
Press Here
by hervé tullet
This interactive book is so much fun and invites your baby to press the dot and see what happens! teaches cause and effect, with dots moving, multiplying, and dispersing at the touch of your baby’s finger!
The Colors of Us
by karen katz
an important and timely celebration of the diversity and beautiful differences in skin tone that characterize the world around us. Join Lena, age 7, as she explores the colors that paint ourselves, our cultures, and our neighborhoods. a great first read on race, belonging, and the power of difference.
Good Night, Gorilla
by peggy rathmann
This fun and light-hearted book tells the story of a mischievous gorilla who grabs the keys from the zookeeper and sets all his fellow zoo animals free for a secret night sleeping in the zookeeper’s house!
The Pigeon Needs a Bath!
by mo willems
mo willems makes some of the cutest and most useful books for babies and toddlers as they question their uncertain worlds, learn to express emotions and independence, and navigate complex social relationships.
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?
by bill martin, jr.
another beautiful picture book from eric carle, with striking primary colors and adorable animals, the grizzly bear answers the question “what do you see?” while traveling through his world.
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
by bill martin, jr.
This is a great book for teaching the alphabet in a fun-filled, rhythmic way. Watch as the letters race past each other across the coconut tree and fill the top in an alphabet adventure!
Leafy Critters
by yvonne lacet
the author uses nature (leaves, twigs, flower petals) to make beautiful creatures like lions, pigs, flamingos and one of the most beautiful butterflies we have ever seen. simple, creative and inspiring interactions with nature.
Pajama Time!
by sandra boynton
Our all-time favorite bedtime book, this book will lull your little one to sleep with clever rhymes and lots of silly fun. Put on your bottoms, put on your top, and get ready for pajama-bee-bop!
Beautiful Oops
by barney saltzberg
everyone makes mistakes and it’s important for your baby to know that it’s a natural and beautiful part of the learning process. This book turns tons of little mistakes into a beautiful, interactive collage of beauty!
Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site
by sherri duskey rinker
This fantastic bedtime baby book is a New York Times bestseller, for very good reason. uses beautiful images of a construction site and its expressive crew getting ready for a good night’s rest.
If Animals Kissed Goodnight
by ann whitford paul
animals kiss each other goodnight in this easy story with rhymes about mommy and daddy animals kissing their little babies goodnight.
I Kissed the Baby!
by mary murphy
bold contrasts and simple words guide babies through the magical experience of animals sharing their excitement at the arrival of a new baby.
If you Give a Mouse a Cookie
by laura joffe numeroff
This classic tale of cause and effect describes the chain reaction that occurs if you give a mouse a cookie. things quickly get out of hand as the mouse keeps asking for more!
Where the Wild Things Are
by maurice sendak
one of the best stories for children, the hero max has a romp and gets into a little trouble, and ends up in bed without dinner. He watches and listens as Max explores an imaginary forest growing in his room and his adventures with the wild creatures of the forest!
Hair Love
by matthew cherry
A wonderful book for young children about the important relationship between a black girl and her father, this book won the feminist book project award and was nominated for the naacp image award and the irma black award. a beautiful story that positively represents black men and their daughters, and a great read for all colors and genders!
The Day the Crayons Quit
by drew daywalt
Duncan opens his box of crayons to find a series of notes written by each crayon, telling him that they stopped! what will duncan do to get his crayons back!?
Little Blue Truck
by alice schertle
blue is a muddy blue truck who gets into hilarious misadventures as he travels down a bumpy country road with all his animal friends.
Corduroy
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by don freeman
This book is a classic tale about a stuffed animal and its missing button, and the little girl who loves it, it will make you feel good inside!
My Very First Mother Goose
by iona opie
This book of nursery rhymes and animal characters is a great introduction to rhymes, song language, and some favorite nursery rhymes.
Close your Eyes
by kate banks
This bedtime story about a mother tiger who sits down with her restless cub for a long, dreamy night’s sleep is one of our favorite baby books of all time!
Is your Mama a Llama?
by deborah guarino
lloyd the llama explores the forest and asks his friends if his mom is a llama. Her clues about her mom are a real treat and teach babies about beautifully illustrated creatures.
Rainbows in Bloom: Discovering Colors with Flowers
by darroch and michael putnam
This book explodes with vivid and beautiful colors represented in flowers, plants, fruits and vegetables. each page opens to reveal a wonderful collage that brings together the colors of plant life, with fun little treasures on every page!
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
by eileen christelow
one fell and hit his head! An exhausted monkey mommy takes care of her silly monkeys before bedtime, taking a bath, putting on her pajamas, brushing her teeth and jumping on the bed.
Guess How Much I Love You
by sam mcbratney
A bunny and his dad try to outdo each other by expressing their love for each other. Illustrated with beautiful watercolors, this story will make your heart warm.
Busy Penguins
by john schindel
This book has real photos of penguins going about their daily activities, like splashing, running, crouching, and even pooping! a fun treat with beautiful images from professional photographers.
Where is Baby’s Belly Button?
by karen katz
This fun flip-up flap book for babies is a colorful first lesson about our bodies, revealing body parts hidden under hats, shirts and bubble baths! A fun game of hide and seek for babies and parents alike!
More More More Said the Baby
by the way b. williams
vera williams tells the story of multiracial babies set to music, with Asian-American, African-American and Caucasian babies, showing the universality of love.
Gossie
by olivier dunrea
This book tells the story of gossie, an adorable yellow gossling who wears her signature red boots. In this story, Gossie is on a mission to find her missing boots.
Dear Zoo
by rod campbell
i wrote to the zoo to send me a pet… this book tells the story of a boy who requests a pet from the zoo and the silly series of animals they send him. some too heavy, some too mischievous, until the perfect pet arrives.
In the Tall, Tall Grass
by denise fleming
Beautiful and simple illustrations fill this fun book about animals and insects in your garden. the story is told from the caterpillar’s perspective, looking at the large, curious boy looking down.
Are you my Mother?
by p.d. this
A baby bird falls out of the nest and sets off on a journey to find its mother. are you my mother? this book is a classic and a story about devotion, love and the animal kingdom.
Love you Forever
by robert munsch
a story about growing up and the special bonds between mother and child, from baby to adult. a beautiful story about love, generations and fatherhood.
Under My Tree
de tallandier & fujisawa
Beautiful artwork combined with an inspiring story about Susanne and her exploration of the natural world around her, this book guides children through a multi-sensory exploration of the natural world around them.
Peek-a-Boo
by roberta grobel intrater
This book has vibrant photographs of baby faces from all walks of life, with all emotions and multiracial representation.
The Snowy Day
by ezra jack keats
a story about the wonder and fun of a snowy day, with snow angels, snowmen, snow globes, and lots of fun after a blizzard blankets the neighborhood.
Time to Get Dressed
by elivia savadier
baby solomon decides to get dressed, but he puts his clothes on in a very silly way. This book about the spirit and independence of young children is sure to resonate with parents!
Pat the Bunny
by dorothy kunhardy
This classic interactive baby book is so much fun with multi-sensory interactions, including smelling flowers, feeling daddy’s face, pouring hide-and-seek and touching the soft bunny.
Wheels on the Bus
by raffi
all over town… this popular children’s song has been turned into an adorable book that parents and babies can sing along to!
Runaway Bunny
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margaret wise brown
This is a beautiful story about a mother’s unconditional love for her baby bunny who wants to run away. a funny story of imaginary chase, with a mother who is willing to travel to the ends of the earth to keep her baby.
Eyes, Nose, Fingers, and Toes
by judy hindley
Stand up and jump with this fun book that gets your baby moving and identifying body parts. This book is beautifully illustrated and super fun to follow!
Numbers, Colors, and Shapes
by roger priddy
roger priddy is back with another board book full of bold colors and adorable pictures of everyday things, this one focuses on teaching numbers, colors and shapes.
My Heart is Like a Zoo
by michael hall
This book is about the complex emotions that characterize each and every day of your baby’s life and yours, and how love is a constant at all times. Find the hidden heart on each page for a fun interactive activity!
Opposites
by xavier deneux
With die-cut pages that invite baby’s fingers to explore, this is a great hands-on multi-sensory book that will get baby thinking about opposites like day and night, small-large and heavy-light.
Opposites
by sandra boynton
From one of our all-time favorite baby book authors, Sandra Boynton, this book involves some serious silliness with beautifully illustrated animals that teach all about opposites like big-little, short-tall.
Ivy Bird
mccartney & racklyleft
Another amazing book from the folks at Blue Dot Kids Press, Ivy spends an imaginative day with the birds, singing like they sing, eating like they eat, and flying like they fly. a rich and creative journey that is both creative and educational.
But not the Hippopotamus
by sandra boynton
This silly tale about a shy hippo who doesn’t want to participate in fun activities ends with the hippo making a big splash!
First 100 Words
by roger priddy
roger priddy is back with another learning book with bold colors and adorable pictures. In this one, she focuses on 100 simple first words for babies, inviting the baby to play and find the objects.
Baby Signs
by joy allen
Baby Signs can teach your baby to communicate their basic needs with simple gestures, teaching baby and parents about the interactive nature of communication beyond the spoken word.
Fuzzy Fuzzy Fuzzy!
by sandra boynton
another amazing book by sandra boynton with interactive textures ranging from smooth, jagged, fuzzy and rough. This is a great book to spark your baby’s curiosity and sense of touch.
Hoppity Frog
by emma parish
Your baby will love moving the slider to reveal the underwater creatures hiding in the pond, from tadpoles to swans, ducks and fish, this book is full of beautifully illustrated sea animals!
Moo Baa La La La
by sandra boynton
Learn all about animal noises in the lighthearted and fun book with some fun twists and turns. Keep your baby on her toes by correcting all the silly mistakes in this baby book!
Trucks
by roger priddy
For the baby who loves all things automobile, this book about trucks and tractors is a surefire hit! slide the doors open to reveal all sorts of machinery, colors, and controllers!
Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book
by dr. seuss
in this classic dr. seuss, a tired little bug is dozing off and his yawn sets off a chain of yawns for some very silly looking creatures. Experience cool rhymes and illustrations that are sure to make your child yawn!
A Book of Sleep
by il sung na
This beautifully illustrated book takes your child on a journey through nature to see how different creatures sleep. except the owl!
Time for Bed
by mem fox
Beautiful watercolor illustrations make this book an instant classic. follow along as all kinds of baby animals snuggle up for a restful night’s sleep.
I’m Not Sleepy!
by jonathan allen
baby owl doesn’t want to go to sleep, but he sure is tired! A story most parents can relate to, follow along as baby owl does his best to resist the inevitable.
Hush Little Polar Bear
by jeff mack
This dreamy polar bear will guide you through a vivid dreamscape, through lands of tall grass and deep sea. Its sleepy, rhyming images will get your baby off to a great night!
Hey Sheep Let me Sleep!
by sigal adler
counting sheep backfires in this silly book depicting brightly colored sheep that show up to dance and party the night away!
Goodnight Darth Vader
by jeffrey brown
For Star Wars fans, this book depicts the silly antics of Darth Vader’s children, Luke and Leia, who refuse to go to sleep.
A Sick Day for Amos McGee
by felipe c. place
Amos has great friends at the zoo, and every day he visits them to play a special game. What happens when you stay home sick and your animal friends miss you? they return the favor!
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