Reading together isn’t just about reading the words on the page, it’s an opportunity to bond with your child, to show your child that reading is fun, to explore, and to learn. In addition to reading at bedtime, interactive books such as lift the flap books, peek through books, and soft chewable books provide your child with the opportunity to develop gross motor skills and improve cognitive development through high contrast images and sensory exploration.
Storytime is one of my favorite ways to spend time with Noah; we read stories together at home, and we attend story time at the library. These are some of our favorites! These books are perfect for babies, toddlers, and kindergarten students!
Favorite Bedtime Stories
Quick Reads
I Love You to the Moon and Back
I Love You to the Moon and Back is another great bedtime story. We have the board book version. It has beautiful illustrations too. Buy on Amazon
Guess How Much I Love You
We read this book when we came home from the hospital, and Noah loves his Little Nutbrown Hare plush. This is a great short bedtime story. The story is all about how much Little Nutbrown Hare loves Big Nutbrown Hare and vice versa. It’s perfect for relaxing and cuddling at the end of the day. Buy on Amazon
The Little Engine that Could
The Little Engine That Could is a classic that should be in every child’s book collection. Not only does this book teach kids about perseverance, but the repetition (I think I can, I think I can) makes it memorable and comforting. Buy on Amazon
Goodnight, Moon
Another classic, Goodnight Moon, has a slow calming rhythm designed to put little ones to sleep. Buy on Amazon
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type is a silly rhythmic book. This book teaches children that temper tantrums won’t solve anything. It also shows children how to stand up to those bossing them around. The upbeat nature of this book doesn’t exactly lull babies to sleep, but it’s a nice lighthearted end to the day. Buy on Amazon
Great Stories
These bedtime stories are longer, and they have more words per page, so the picture doesn’t change as often. Your baby might not have the attention for them until they get a little older. Noah and I read for about 20 minutes each night. He didn’t have the patience or attention for these books at first, but now, at two months old, bedtime stories are part of his routine, and he quite enjoys listening to these longer stories.
Sweet Dreams, Roo
We love this book. Sweet Dreams, Roo is a collection of short bedtime stories within an overarching story. Roo is having trouble falling asleep, and the story begins with Kanga telling Roo a bedtime story. Roo still isn’t sleepy, so Kanga enlists the help of her friends. Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, and Rabbit all tell Roo a bedtime story, and each story ends with “The End,” providing a multitude of easy stopping points. Noah’s only outlasted Roo once. We’ve read this story many times, and we have a number of Winnie the Pooh stories, so I’m getting pretty good at the different voices too. Buy on Amazon
Corduroy
Corduroy is another one of our favorites. The little 4-inch Corduroy from the Corduroy Gift Set makes story time so much fun, and he’s the perfect size for Noah to cuddle. Our stuffed Corduroy does have all of his buttons (unlike the one in the story!). This book teaches us that friends are more important than things. We’re also enjoying Corduroy: Lost and Found, and we look forward to trying out some of the other Corduroy stories. Buy on Amazon
Llama Llama Red Pajama
Noah and I absolutely love this book, and I find myself reminding Noah that “llama llama’s mama” came back, and I will too. The book is simple and fun to read. The words roll right off the tongue, and we love books that talk about how much baby loves mommy! Noah enjoys cuddling with his Baby Llama Llama. Since we loved Llama Llama Red Pajama so much, we added another book from this collection to our bookshelf. Buy on Amazon
5-Minute Winnie the Pooh Stories
There are 5-Minute Bedtime Stories for all of the popular kids characters. Because we LOVE Winnie the Pooh, the Pooh collection is our favorite, but they’re all great. These stories take about five minutes to read and contain bright colorful pictures. Buy on Amazon
Favorite Interactive Stories
Lift-the-Flap Books
Pooh’s Secret Garden
This lift-the-flap book has a good storyline. It’s a longer story, so it’s better for babies or children with longer attention spans. This book should remain interesting for quite awhile. The pages are thick and almost plastic-like, so it’s far more durable than most paperback books. Buy on Amazon
Llama Llama Hide and Seek
This Llama Llama story doesn’t have the best storyline; we like the original story better! But, Lift the Flap books are engaging, making this book a fun activity. We prefer to read this story during the day as it’s too exciting to put Noah to sleep! Buy on Amazon
Brown Bear, Brown Bear
The board book version of Brown Bear, Brown Bear has cute little windows for you to slide open and “find” the next animal. Buy on Amazon
Peek Through Books
Peek-a-Who
Peek-a-Who is tons of fun, but it does require “extra” narration. If you just read the book, there’s not much to it. The book acts as a sort of guided game of peek-a-boo, so take your time turning the page, and don’t forget to act surprised on each new page! The final page includes a mirror for peek-a-you! The last page is definitely Noah’s favorite! Buy on Amazon
Bee Mine
This peek through book has more to read than most peek through books, and the cut-outs are really creative. Each page has an insect. When you turn the page, that insect turns to “kiss kiss” with one on the next page. Buy on Amazon
My Animals
This high contrast peek through book is impressive. Each page has a small peek through hole, revealing something small and seemingly insignificant (like a line). Turn the page and discover that the line is a frog’s smile, the circle is a crocodile’s eye, etc.
Goodnight, Starry Night
This book was really well done. It’s a perfect way to introduce your baby to historically significant paintings such as Starry Night, and the book itself is really creative. The rhythm of the words remind me of Goodnight moon, making it a really soothing bedtime story too. Buy on Amazon
Favorite Chewable Stories (Softbooks)
Zoo Baby Book
This soft book has a lot of different sensory attachments — a mirror with a fuzzy back, tags of different textures, crinkly pages, a smooth plastic teether, a fuzzy squeaker, and a perfectly noisy rattle. He quite enjoys kicking this book when I hang it using links, and it also makes a good lap toy for the car.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Foods
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle is a classic that should be on every child’s bookshelf. Unfortunately, Noah was terrified of The Very Hungry Caterpillar for the first six weeks or so. Actually, he was afraid of all things Eric Carle. But, after the librarian read The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats Breakfast, he overcame his fear! I’m not sure if we’ll add the new versions when the caterpillar eats breakfast and lunch; he eats some weird stuff!
This version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a soft chewable book with different textures on each page and two rings for bookmarks. Noah enjoys feeling the pages, and the bright colors are exciting! Buy this on Amazon
Animal Friends
This soft book has more words than most. It’s easier to read “as a story” than other soft books, and like most soft books, has crinkly pages.
Peek-A-Boo
This high contrast soft book is perfect for very little babies. It’s small, contains a lot of black and white contrast images, and has fun flaps to play with. Buy on Amazon
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