Gift Guide: 9 Books for the Baby Book Lover

I'm going to be honest with you: Reading books to babies can get so boring. Obviously, I love reading and I want my son to love reading, but when I first read Pajama Time! to James when he was about 6 weeks old I felt like my brain was falling out. Now that he's older (21 months) reading is SO much fun with him. He gets excited when his favorite pages come up (I love that he has favorite pages) and will try to make the sound effects along with me.

That being said, I definitely have a preference for some books more than others. In general, I like books where the writing flows well (we have a few that James LOVES but I don't enjoy because of how clunky the writing is), and has interesting illustrations that hold his attention.

One additional note- I read about 15-20 board books to James a day and the library has been a lifesaver to keep me from reading our same books over and over again. I check out tons of books at a time (I think I have 17 checked out right now) and it really helps keep our reading time interesting. Just look for books that aren't stained or chewed on and you should be good!


Here are some books we love:

1. Alligator, Bear, Crab
My favorite alphabet book ever. Super simple with pretty colors, it also assigns each letter to an animal, and I loved that the animals are ones I don't usually see in board books, like iguanas and loons.

2. Chu's Day
Something I enjoyed about this book was that it told a story. So many easy board books aren't stories, but this one was fun and simple. James loves saying "AhhhCHOO" along with me.

3. Brown Bear, Brown Bear
Definitely a classic for a reason- it has fun illustrations, lots of animals, and simple writing. James always gets so excited when I pull this one out.

4. Hop on Pop
To specify, this is the easy reader board book edition, NOT the real Hop on Pop, which is about 15 pages longer. This one has cute rhymes and has taught James words like "cup" and "pat". It's short and fun.

5. Steam Train Dream Train Colors
James is just barely learning his colors and we've enjoyed this book that has a train, animals, and colors. All three are big deals with James right now so this one is a winner.

6. Row, Row, Row Your Boat 
I swear there is baby catnip in this book because James is obsessed with it. I enjoy it too- all the extra verses are fun and I often sing this one to James if he's fussy in the car.

7. Orange Triangle Fox
This book is so fun. It uses shapes, colors and animals for the pictures and we both love going through the pages. I've even seen James attempt to say "yellow star frog" on his own, which is adorable.

8. But Not the Hippopotamus
One huge caveat with this one- Brock does not like it, so it clearly is not for everyone. But I really enjoy the silly rhymes about the hog and the frog and the cat the rats. It is one of my top favorite Boynton books.

9. Olivia Counts
This is a fun counting book, and the illustrations in this one are so great to me- I love the black and white with pops of red. James is barely (aka not really) learning his numbers and loves to say "five!" along with me.

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