Our favorite books to read with our daughter
We have been reading books to our girl since before she was born- and especially during her NICU stay. Once she came home and we settled into our routine, we started reading to her every evening during bedtime. We’d read a few books to start, but it has fluctuated quite a bit over the last 3 years. When she first entered the very mobile phase, we kept it up, even though she wasn’t really into it – we just read to her while she moved around. For the past year and a half now, she is a total bookworm! She’ll choose books over toys MOST of the time. She has been “reading” books to us for well over a year now (of course, it’s mostly from memory or she’ll tell us the story of a page, but she has been sounding out the letters for a while too – which absolutely amazes us!)
So, what books should you read for your little ones? Well of course that depends on your family, what you enjoy and value! But, I wanted to share some of our family favorites on the bookshelf. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Let’s get into it!
We just got this one recently and it has become a bit of a summer bucket list of sorts.
This is Nashville by Dawn Burns is a sweet little book with adorable watercolor illustrations about some of the big spots in Nashville that make it, well, Nashville! It’s an easy read for the little ones and has the classic rhyming lines (which I love for kids books!) We can’t wait to check out the spots in the book with our daughter so she can learn all about her hometown and relate even more to the book! (I am not affiliated with this author and do not earn from purchases, I just love the book and the cause she supports and want to share with other local Nashville families who may also enjoy it!)
How cute is this cover!?
Author Pat Blankenship lives in Murfreesboro TN. This sweet book is fun to read with the rhyming lines and gives the littles lots of new big words to learn. I love how it starts out with the definition of the title, so they’re not just learning new words but also what they mean and how to use them.
Another adorable cover, right?!
Author Jean M. Malone is another local Middle Tennessean. This book is about Dexter, the top goat at a petting zoo who needs to act brave and overcome his fears.
This was in our local author stack, she’s not quite local to Middle TN, but she’s only a few hours away in Mississippi and this book was too good not to include! As soon as we finished, my daughter asked if she can look like me… talk about a bonding moment! This is a sweet little story about a mommy and daughter and it has the sweetest ending! Check it out for sure!
The next books aren’t local to me authors, but still great reads and who knows, maybe if you’re reading this from somewhere other than Nashville, Murfreesboro, or Middle TN in general – they might be local to you!
Continuing strong with a big favorite – this one is best once they’re at the giggling age, but has remained in the list of favorites because it’s just so fun (and funny) to read! We’ll hear her using some of the goofy words throughout the day because they’re just so funny to say!
Next up, the Baby University Board book set. Our daughter loves these, they’re very easy to read, but teaches the very basics of the subject. Who doesn’t think a toddler shouting physics facts is the cutest thing ever?!
I’m a big fan of rhyming books, because they’re fun and easy to read aloud. I’m also a big fan of a meaningful lesson or message, because who doesn’t need a little help teaching a little toddler all these important things?! This book satisfies both of those! It’s a sweet message with great photos and fun words to say!
Along the lines of the book above, This is one is very fun to read (especially in silly voices!) and conveys a great message to toddlers about the importance of brushing their teeth.
This is a cute bilingual book to help learn some basic Spanish words! Our little one has been learning Spanish since she turned 1, and we love it when we can find a book that helps us incorporate her second language at home! We’re slowly but surely learning as well, but she’s much faster than us!
This is a classic with a modern twist – I highly recommend having special family members (we had grandma and grandpa on both sides) record a page or two until you fill the book. This let’s everyone help read at Christmas to your little one, and the recordings should last forever! Such a special memory for our little one to keep!! She likes to listen to them all throughout the year!
We have several (and have borrowed others from the library), our little one loves to read about Ladybug girl and her big adventures! These are just fun little stories of her day to day journeys!
This is a very sweet inspirational book for littles. The illustrations (by Gabriella Barouch) are absolutely stunning. This just reinforces the idea that “You are the only YOU there will ever be” and I love the message to a little one who’s just starting to discover who they really are.
This one is just sweet. It melts my heart every time we read it. The content is about the love a parent feels for their child, how could you go wrong with that?!
No toddler book list would be complete without a few of the classics! The last one is just that…
The classic, Goodnight Moon, is such a fun and easy book to read. Our toddler picked up on the story very quickly and recites it to us vs us reading to her these days. It’s a nice book to read quietly to wind down the night for bedtime.
I could go on for days about all the books we love – so what do you think? Do you love some of these as well? Are they new titles to your ears?! Would you like a second roundup? Let me know!
If you’ve got some family favorites that you’d love to include in your family session get in touch and let’s plan your next session! We incorporated books in our family photo session and our family video just to really capture some of her favorites, and I highly recommend it!
Fun! love this list!