My Favorite Books for 2-Year-Olds

As I mentioned in a previous post, 2020 has not been a great reading year for me. But while I didn’t read very much for myself, I did read a ton to my toddler. I’ve rounded up our favorite finds of the year. My toddler likes us to read mostly picture books at this point. We still sometimes read board books, but his interest is more with picture books now, so you’ll see that reflected in the choices below.

There’s a Dinosaur on the 13th Floor
Mr. Snore checks in the the Sharemore Hotel, but has a hard time falling to sleep as he finds himself sharing a room with first a mouse, then a pig! Will he ever get a good night’s sleep?

 

 

What a Wonderful World
This stunningly illustrated book brings the lyrics to Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” to life.

 

 

Creepy Carrots!
O really likes this one and went through a phase of insisting that things were “creeping,” which wasn’t creepy at all! Jasper Rabbit insists something is creeping too…carrots! He’s seeing them everywhere! Is it just his imagination, or are carrots really following his every move?

 

Kindness Makes Us Strong
This is a board book, but I highly recommend it because of its message and beautiful illustrations. The book talks about what kindness is in simple phrases with relatable and vibrant illustrations.

 

City Moon
A great New York City book (though it could be any city…I just really think it’s New York based on the illustrations). The book describes a mother and her son going for a walk at night to find the moon.

 

 

Baby Goes to Market
Mama and baby are going to the market together. Baby is so friendly that sellers at the market keep giving him gifts: bananas, oranges, roasted sweet corn. Mama’s basket is filling up, but she doesn’t notice…yet!

 

 

There Are No Bears in This Bakery
This noir parody features a cat detective getting to bottom of some nighttime visitors to the bakery.

 

 

Welcome to Jazz
O loves books that make music. We have a lot, but this is probably my favorite. It uses “Oh When the Saints Go Marching In” to teach the principles of jazz and the instruments used to play it. We also have the Symphony book from this series, and our 2-year-old can now identify a cello, clarinet, trumpet, and double bass, among others, by sight or sound!