I have loved reading for as long as I can remember. My parents have my collection of Dr. Seuss books stashed away at their house along with a bookshelf full of books I bought as a teenager. My bookshelves here at our house are full of a variety of books, as is my Kindle. So I always knew that I’d want to pass that love of reading down to my children.
When I started my registry last year, I didn’t include a ton of books, but I got a few and slowly started buying more after Emma was born. She’s currently in a phase where she wants to hold the book so she can chew on it, but aside from that she does really well just hanging out while we read to her. We read her two books at bedtime every night, and aside from that I try to read to her every couple of days at least.
Since we have a decent collection of books built up, I thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite books with you guys! They’re not all the super popular books you see people have, so hopefully you’ll find one you haven’t heard of before.
For Fun
Hiccupotamus: This is one of the first books I bought after Emma was born, and we absolutely love it.I’ve read this one to Emma so many times I have it memorized. It’s about a hippopotamus that has hiccups and the chaos that happens because of them! Aside from being a cute story, the illustrations are just beautiful to look at.
In My Room: This is one I found at Target a few months ago, and I thought it was so unique I had to grab it. Instead of flipping the pages like a normal book, it flips like a wall calendar (just in the opposite direction). I really love how it promotes creativity and imagination. There are several other books in this series that I want to get as well.
Flamingos Fly: We found this one at the Nashville Zoo, and Emma was visibly excited when we opened it up. She loved the bright colors, so of course we bought it. It’s pretty short but still a fun way to learn about animals. If we don’t want to spend too long reading before she goes to bed, we’ll grab this one and another short bedtime book.
Hoot Hoot Pop Up Fun: I’ve read that interactive books are a great way to keep baby’s attention while reading, so I’d been on the search for a good pop up or similar book, and I’m so happy my husband found this one at Target last month. If she’s in a decent mood, Emma will get excited about the animals popping up. There are a few other books in this series as well, and we have our eye on one about fish!
For Bedtime
Night Night Farm: I started Emma’s bedtime routine back in January, and we only had one other bedtime book, so I grabbed this one then, and it’s been a favorite ever sense. This is another one I’ve read so many times that I can recite it by heart. I also love how simple yet beautiful the illustrations are.
Llama Llama Red Pajama: This is probably the most popular book on this list, and it’s one of the more recent books we bought. Has anyone seen the raps of this book? A friend of mine from college shared them on Instagram several months ago, and my husband has brought up this one (by “brought up” I mean he started singing it) anytime we’ve seen this book in stores. So, we finally bought it. I love the message of this too!
Sentimental Books
I’ll Never Let You Go: One of my favorite sentimental books. I love reading this one to Emma because I just love the message. The illustrations are just amazing in this one. We recently picked up the other book by these authors, which I’d had on my Amazon Wish List for a while.
Bear Hugs: Another one of the first books I bought for Emma after she was born. I absolutely love this one, and I used to have it memorized. It’s a great sentimental / bedtime book. The illustrations are simple, and it’s a shorter book so we think it’s great for babies.
Other books on our radar:
Emma probably has two dozen books or so from what we’ve bought and what family members have bought her, but we have so many on our list of books we want. Here are just a few:
Tacos!: If you know us at all, you know that we will obviously be getting this for Emma soon. We looove our Mexican food, so it’ll be great to teach Emma to make tacos asap! Just kidding… a little. This is super cute because it’s very interactive. We haven’t picked it up yet because we think she needs to be just a little older.
Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth: I spotted this one at Target a few months ago, and I almost bought it but just like Tacos! I don’t think Emma’s old enough for it since it’s a little more educational. This is just about Earth, and it has really beautiful illustrations, so I’ll definitely be getting it when she gets a little older.
Pantone: Box of Color: I’m a designer, so obviously any baby books from Pantone are books I want to have. We actually have a colors book by them, but Emma’s not quite old enough to enjoy it, which is why I haven’t bought these. When she starts learning about color, you better believe I’ll be getting these as well!
Counting With Frida: I recently found this one on Amazon, and I quickly added it to our Wish List. I love the idea of exposing Emma to a second language while she’s young, and this book is a great way to do that. It’s a counting book with both English and Spanish.
The Ocean (Touch and Explore): My husband almost went to college to be a marine biologist, so he’s super into fish, the ocean, and so on. We don’t have any books about fish yet, but this will definitely be one we’ll grab soon. I love how it’s educational, and it’s a book she can interact with by touching. They also have one of these types of books for pets, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we grab both of them.
I know there are a lot of great popular baby and kid books out there, but I hope this opens your eyes to some that are great even though they’re not the classics! If you have any favorite baby books that I haven’t mentioned, please leave their titles in the comments!