50 Books My Toddler Loves

It could be the story..
So interesting or so funny..

Or maybe the pictures.. Or the hidden creatures..

But my 2-year-old Lance wouldn't go to bed..
Unless at least 3 of these books were read.

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And if you could also, please..
We would love to know what's on your list!

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1. Away in my Airplane

by Margaret Wise Brown and Henry Fisher

A little boy takes his airplane to fly..

And tells about his adventures up in the sky.

2. Baby Beluga

by Raffi and Ashley Wolf

When we realised it was a song,

Lance would no longer stop singing..

"Baby Beluga.. Oh, Baby Beluga.."

3. Chu's Day at the Beach 

by Neil Gaiman and Adam Rex

When Chu sneezes, big things happen.

And Lance would go Aah.. aaah.. aaaah.. achoooo!

4. Corduroy

by Don Freeman

Corduroy is a bear for sale in a department store.

He is missing a button, 

But he finds a friend in a little girl who likes him just the way he is.

5. Daniel Finds a Poem

by Micha Archer

Daniel asks the animals in the park..

"What is poetry?"

Their answers are beautiful.

And so are the illustrations of this book.

6. Day Dreamers: A Journey of Imagination

by Emily Winfield Martin

Magical creatures and imaginations..

He looks at them one by one..

The jackalopes, griffins, dragons, and unicorns.

7. Dear Zoo and Dear Santa

by Rod Campbell

Santa wraps gifts and the zoo sends pets..

And Lance gets excited to lift the flaps to see what he gets.

8. Deep in the Forest

by Josef Anton and Lucie Brunelliere

In this gorgeously illustrated forest he loves to find..

The red ants, the leech, and the lioness lurking behind.

Under the ground and up the tree..

Did you know there's such an animal as an Okapi?

9. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

by Mo Willems

Pigeon: Hey, can I drive the bus?

Lance: Bus driver said no..

Pigeon: How 'bout I give you five bucks?

Lance: No..

10. Each Peach Pear Plum

by Janet and Allan Ahlberg

Where the characters of nursery rhymes and fairy tales come together.

The title alone makes him laugh.. 

And he goes to bed babbling..

"I spy Bo-Peep. I spy Mother Hubbard."

11. Escargot

by Dashka Slater and Sydney Hanson

Escargot is a beautiful French snail who wants to get to his salad.

Lance: Daddy, read funny, I want to laugh.

His Dad would read it with a broken French accent, and he would be laughing.

Escargot: And so, I kiss you! Mwah!

He kisses him back.

12. Gallop!

by Rufus Butler Seder

Not much of a story..

But the animal images move when you turn the pages.

And he finds it fascinating.

13. Giraffes Can't Dance

by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees

Lance: Mommy, let's dance!

And so we dance like Gerald the Giraffe.. 

Like nobody's watching.

14. Go! Go! Go! Stop!

by Charise Mericle Harper

Little Green and Little Red are opposite signal lights..

But they have to work together to get things done at the construction sites.

15. Goodnight Bear

by Joshua George

A very simple book about a Bear looking for his friends in the dark.

Just that, Lance enjoys using the "magic torch" to search for the animals.

16. Goodnight Moon

by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd

Seems so simple yet captivating to the little boy..

Who says goodnight to all he sees and all his toys.

17. Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site

by Sherri Duskey Rinker

Cement mixer yawns..

Lance yawns..

And then he kisses the sleeping trucks goodnight!

Lance: Mommy, don't touch, he's sleeping!

18. Happy Birthday To You!

by Nicola Slater

He listens to the animals play the violin, guitar, flute, and piano..

And blows the birthday cake candle that perpetually glows.

"Happy Birthday Little Otter.."

Lance now sings this to the otters at the zoo.

19. High? Low? Where Did It Go?

by Tish Rabe, Aristides Ruiz and Joe Mathieu

This is all about animal camouflage..

And he is thrilled whenever he finds all of them.

20. I Know a Rhino 

by Charles Fuge

Beautifully illustrated and he really enjoys..

Watching the little girl play and have fun with her animal toys.

21. If Animals Kissed Good Night

by Ann Whitford Paul and David Walker

We imitate how the animals kiss good night.

We klick-a-klack, klick-a-klack..

We kiss.. and growl.. and kiss.. and howl.

22. Iggy Peck, Architect and Rosie Revere, Engineer

by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts

Iggy Peck and Rosie Revere both love building things,

And their stories inspire children to..

To do what they love, to persevere, and to never give up.

 

23. Jabari Jumps

by Gaia Cornwall

As Jabari struggles to make his first dive, his dad encourages and tells him..

"It's ok to feel a little scared."

And soon, he overcomes his fears.

Such a powerful message.. I believe.

24. Little Blue Truck

by Alice Schertle and Jill McElmurry

A group of farm animals help a little blue truck help a dump truck who got stuck in the mud.

The rhythm of this book is so good that Lance memorised it so fast.

25. Lost and Found

by Oliver Jeffers

A little boy finds a penguin at his door.

Thinking it was lost, he returns it home to the South Pole,

Only to realise that home is where they are together.

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