30+ Best Books for 2-year-olds 2021 – (Free worksheets)

Looking for best books for 2 year olds? Here is a list of carefully chosen popular toddler books that may become favorite books of your two year old.

It is not necessary to have all of them but you can choose some from this list of best books for two year olds as per your kid’s choice. Also, these books can serve as best gifts for two year olds on their birthday.

HERE ARE 40+ MOST POPULAR BOOKS THAT MOMS REALLY BUY

If you are in a rush and want to see all books we love and that would be suitable for your child between 2 to 6 years of age – Click here to explore our handpicked books on Amazon.com and Click here to explore our most loved book on Amazon.in

I have also answered some FAQs around choosing books and reading towards the end of the article. So do check it out.

As I always say – You can start reading to your kid as soon as you are ready. It is never too soon to start. Babies enjoy listening to their parent’s voice rather than the story at this age 🙂

And even at 2 years short simple story books with lot of pictures work best. If you did not get below books when your kids was a baby – I would suggest start with below first.

• Touch and Feel Playbook (The Very Hungry Caterpillar)
• Or you can get the finger puppet version of The very Hungry Caterpillar
• Baby Touch: Peekaboo Board book
• Baby Touch: Happy Families
• Where is Baby’s belly Button
• Good night moon
• First 100 words
• Dear Zoo (Lift the Flap Picture Book)
• Spot’s Noisy Farm Board book
• Peek a who – Lift the flap book
• Baby Touch and Feel Animals board book
• Head shoulder knees and toes
• First 100 animals book
• Baby Touch: Snuggle Cloth Book
• Press Here (Baby Board Book)
• I Love You Through and Through 
• Potty – Leslie Patricelli board books
• The going to bed (Boynton book)

If you are visiting us from outside India, click here to see all above books on Amazon.com

In reading we take steps based on our kids interest and general guidance rather than fixed age wise progression. What I mean is if we are starting reading then we would start with simple books and then move to a little longer story books. So if you introduced books when your kid was one year old then by the time they are 2 – they are ready for next step. Otherwise if you are starting at 2 – first start with simple books.

✅  Best Books for 2 year olds toddlers

If you have already started reading books with your toddler, continue the practice, very soon you will start seeing the results. If you have not yet started then I will suggest you start with some recommended books for one year old.

Based on my analysis, research, and experience here is a carefully compiled list of best books, or I can say great books for 2 year olds to read.

See Today’s Best Books for 2 year old List

See, Touch, Feel: A First Sensory Book (Best touch and feel book for toddlers and babies)

This is the best touch and feel for babies and toddlers. This sturdy board book, with bright photographs of happy babies, is specially designed to stimulate curiosity through sensory play. Each page has a colorful picture activity that is vibrant and colorful and invites the baby to touch and explore. 

An amazing book loved by babies, teachers and parents. In India this book is expensive so you can try out other touch and feel books like these

Check out the latest deal on Amazon.in | Amazon.com

I Love You to the Moon and Back

This is one the cutest book ever. And a must have in your children’s book shelf.

This is a perfect book for toddlers and babies. So if you do not yet have it on your bookshelf – you can order this today

Check the latest price on Amazon.in | Amazon.com

Good night Moon (best book for bedtime reading for toddlers)

One of the classic children’s books that almost everyone has one of their bookshelves. An excellent bedtime book that you can read to your 2 year old every night.

One of the best board books for toddlers

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Potty Leslie Patricelli board books – Best toddler book on potty training

One of the best and highly recommended toddler books. A great tool useful for the milestone all parents look forward to – potty training .

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Just Go to Bed (Little Critter) (Great book to introduce toddlers to their bedtime routine)

I am yet to come across a kid who wants to go to bed. So both parents and kids would love and relate to this cute book

Check out the latest price on Amazon.in | Amazon.com

Corduroy (Must have on your children’s bookshelf- Best teddy book for toddlers)

A lovely beautiful story of a teddy bear in a departmental store. Truly a heartwarming story and a must-have in your collection. If you love Corduroy – you will also love this Corduroy bear.

Check out latest price on Amazon.in | Amazon.com

If you love bear books and adventure books – you would also love this one. It is also available in India here

Dear Zoo – Best lift the flap books for toddlers

Kids love lift the flap books. I mean starting as a baby till they are 5 year olds. There is something about lift the flap books that keeps kids engaged.

This is a great books for kids who love animals so if you do not have this in your bookshelf yet – you can get this.

I have handpicked other good lift the flap books from Amazon.in and Amazon.com. You can click on below links to check them out.

Click here to see Best lift the flap books in India

Click here to see best Lift the flap books if you are visiting from outside India

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom – Best Alphabet book for kids

It is one of the most loved alphabet book for kids. If you are planning on introducing alphabet to your toddler you may want to get your copy

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Where Does Maisy Live – By Lucy Cousins

Maisy, a jovial mouse in a stripy top, dungarees, and red boots disappears after the first page leaving readers with the task of lifting up various flaps of hen houses, pig pens, and stables to determine where she lives. All the places are occupied but Maisy is nowhere to be seen.

On the last page there’s a house with a green door when once lifted reveals a smiling Maisy.

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Brown Bear Brown Bear what do you see? – Eric Carle – (Great for learning about colours and best animal book for toddlers)

A very simple book about various animals and what do they see. It starts with the lines Brown Bear Brown Bear what do you see? And then each page is dedicated to one animal. Kids love the rhythm and beautiful, simple, and bold illustrations in this book.

Great for learning Colours and animals. Due to repetition it is easy for kids to read along with time.

This book is a must have in the collection of babies first library.

Download these free animal printables to make cute animal puppet props when reading this book. Click here for FREE Download

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Amazing Machines Story Box – Amazing airplanes, Flashing fire engines, Roaring rockets, Tremendous tractors, Terrific trains (must-have toddler books for vehicle lovers)

We loved this story book set. To be honest there are not stories but more fun facts in a rhyming way, but somehow my toddler loved this set.

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The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Eric Carle (Classic children’s book for toddlers and preschoolers)

A lovely small story by Eric Carle. Undoubtedly this is the all-time most favourite story of kids. The illustrations and story of this book are so charming and attractive, kids love to listen to it anytime and anywhere.

Through a small story, Eric Carle has taught so many important aspects that to in an interesting way. The book teaches the kids the days of the week, counting till 10, names of fruits, butterfly life cycle. A small compact pack with so many opportunities to learn. After reading this story to the kids, I am sure your kids will be caterpillar lovers.

To make this story more entertaining and interesting you can make many activities and props. Check out more Hungry caterpillar crafts here

I would say a must buy book for kids.

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The Very Busy Spider – (Best Seller in Children’s Environment Books or Halloween book for kids)

A wonderful book for kids from 2 to 5 years.

It’s a story of a spider who spins her web. One by one the animals of the nearby farm tries to distract her, but she keeps working diligently at her work. And when she is done she is able to show everyone is what she created is not only beautiful but also useful.

This is one book that is loved by kids. It is a ‘touch and feel’ book. Kids are not only able to see the pictures but also feel them.

Do check out customers’ reviews of the very busy spider (click here) especially negative ones, as few people were unhappy as they mistake have ordered a smaller copy. So if you want to buy the bigger version get the Board book here.

Check out the latest price on Amazon.in | Amazon.com

The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s 123: By Eric Carle – Best Number book for toddlers

With this board book, make your kids learn numbers with The Very Hungry Caterpillar and lots of animal friends.

A perfect way to introduce your kid to the world of numbers. The book starts with one giraffe and ends with 10 lovely animals (including The Very Hungry Caterpillar himself!).

The book makes the counting a fun as we go ahead one by one. As usual the illustrations and pictures of book are catchy loved by kids. The book ends with famous character of Eric Carle’s book the hungry caterpillar.

Even the numbers are beautiful in Carle’s bold, textured artwork. This is a wonderful picture book to learn numbers through fun.

We also enjoyed this book by Eric Carle for learning Counting. This is also available in India here, I remember this book always used to be in our car, next to our car seat.

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Naisha Toddlers story pack – toddler picture books in India

This is a good series of picture books for kids. Good for buying especially if you are in India as it helps toddlers learn various words in a fun way.

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Early learning activity book – best activity book for toddlers in India

Believe me when I say – Kids love this activity book. It covers all concepts toddlers need to learn in a fun format. It is also available in a reusable wipe and clean format

Click here to check the latest deal on Amazon.in | Check reusable version here

 World of Eric Carle, Hear Bear Roar 30 Animal Sound Book – Best Interactive Sound book for toddlers

A must have interactive books for toddlers. Kids love pushing the buttons to hear sounds. Great illustrations and good animal sounds.

This book is not available in India, but if you are from India you can get this book

The Gruffalo

A funny, animal themed story by Julia Donaldson. The story is about a quick – witted mouse who very smartly saves his life from other animals in the woods. This is the award winning story by Julia Donaldson and no kids’ library is complete without this book. The book has special place in hearts of parents and kids.

If you like this book you can also get the next in the series The Gruffalo’s child here.

Both these books are also available on Amazon prime so for elder kids, you can show the story to them 🙂 (More details here)

I personally have this pack of Julia Donaldson books and I love them. You can read detailed review and list of most popular Julia Donaldson books here

Check out the latest price on Amazon.in (You can also get this combo pack) | Amazon.com

Where The Wild Things Are – By Maurice Sendak – A timeless classic perfect for the toddlers

Where the Wild Things Are is a timeless classic that continues to win over the hearts of children.

The simple, rhythmic text and expressive illustrations are just as appealing today as they were when I was a child.

Where the Wild Things Are is a heartwarming story of a young boy named Max and his adventures. The story is just 338 words long and despite its short length has gone on to win many accolades along the way.

This story begins when Max dresses up as a wolf and wreaks havoc in his own home. He is severely scolded by his mother and is sent back to his bedroom without supper. Max is dejected and upset and that is when he watches his bedroom undergo an astonishing transformation. He watches as his bedroom turns into a jungle and an ocean appears out of nowhere. Max sails into that ocean and reaches an island inhabited by nasty beasts simply called, The Wild Things. His adventures there make up the core of the story.

The book Where the Wild Things Are is one of the most popular animal themed books amongst kids. It’s a must read book for your toddler and preschooler.

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TRENDING >> Best sellers in Children’s SELF ESTEEM books

Use Your Words Sophie: By Rosemary Wells

Sophie knows lots of words, but she doesn’t always use them.  It’s more fun to speak in hyena talk or space language.  “Use your words, Sophie!” urge her parents, but Sophie just won’t.

Nobody can understand Sophie when she speaks jellyfish language, and Mama and Daddy can’t get the new baby to stop crying. Sophie is the only one who can find out what her baby sister really wants.

Rosemary Wells’s simple story and charming illustrations are comforting and popular with young readers. This is a popular book for toddlers. It’s a book you can read to your toddler when planning your second child.

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Guess How Much I Love You – By Sam McBratney

Little Nutbrown Hare and his dad try to give words to the special love that exists between parent and child.

Warm and comforting, this is the perfect book to snuggle up with before nap time.

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Giraffes Can’t Dance – By Giles Andreae

In case you’re wondering why Melman of the Madagascar fame initially can’t dance, only on the third installment of the franchise did he learn to dance with the aid of Gloria the hippopotamus, then you might want to get the Giraffes Can’t Dance and read it together with your child to learn more about the reason why giraffes can’t dance.

Gerald the Giraffe, like Madagascar’s Melman, is one clumsy 4-legged, long-necked mammal. Because of his rather slender and quite inflexible legs, dancing isn’t really one of his fortes. Unlike the rocking and rolling rhinos and the tango-esque lions, Gerald lives a rather sad existence, having been rejected by the other animals in the story. But things did change as Gerald started to make those dance moves that can even make John Travolta and the other stars of Footloose blush.

The story is all about trying to fit in. And while the recommended age of the book is between 3 and 6 years of age, we found it very helpful for young readers to realize that it’s perfectly okay to be different as well as how they can achieve something in an entirely different way.

Giraffes Can’t Dance is one of the most popular animal-themed books for toddlers and preschoolers. It also gives a moral apart from a great story. A must-have book in your collection

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If Animals Kissed Good Night – By Ann Whitford Paul

We all bid our kids a good night’s sleep with a kiss. Do you ever wonder what animal mommies do to their own kids as they are put to bed?

The book If Animals Kissed Good Night is every toddler’s dream. This book provides an excellent combination of childish animal pictures in a nursery rhyme-y type of bedtime chat. It’s perfect for bringing our kids to sleep, while providing them with the necessary stimulus for optimum brain and cognitive development.

The playful rhyming verses provide an introduction to prose which young kids may also find appeasing, mimicking the full rhythm of life itself. The read-aloud experience is sure to help in growing and enhancing your child’s vocabulary, paving the way for the optimum development in his or her language and speech skills.

The illustrations are done in soft watercolors providing a calmer and more soothing ambience to reading at bedtime.

Animals Kissed Good Night is one of the most popular and best bedtime storybooks that I have come across. A must-read book for your toddler or preschooler.

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Collection Of Stories For 2 Year Olds – By Parragon Books

Toddlers are never known for having great patience.  In fact, their attention span is so short that reading to them a very long story might only have the reverse effect: they’ll get bored and will no longer be interested in reading.

As such, don’t be surprised to find the Collection of Stories for 2-Year-Olds to be made of three short, yet well-loved children’s stories plus a handful of nursery rhymes. What you will get is just the right amount of words enough to stimulate your toddler’s curiosity without boring him or her to death.

We found quite a number of people who rated the book a bit negatively because of the very short stories that the book contains. Mind you, this is designed for a 2 year old and as such, Parragon is spot-on when they decided to narrow the collection to short verses and, instead, beef it up with surprisingly delightful and colorful  drawings.

Collection of Stories for 2-Year-Olds should make for a fabulous bedtime read for toddlers. You’ll have plenty of fun telling the story of Goldilocks, the Three Little Pigs, and Little Red Riding Hood. Be ready to create the appropriate sound effects yourself as you read to your tot these classic tales.

A Must read for your little one.

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Make a Wish, Midas! – By Joan Holub

My toddler loves this series of re-imagined Greek myths from Joan Holub.

Midas wants everything he owns to be yellow, but when he takes things too far, he needs some help setting it right again.

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Old MacDonald Had a Farm – By Nosy Crow

I’ve never met a toddler that doesn’t like music.

This adorable board book is just one of many sing-along stories to get your two-year-old clapping and swaying with the tune. It has nice sturdy interactive pages that toddlers love

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First 100 Numbers, Colours, Shapes- By Roger Priddy – Best learning book for toddlers

One of the developmental tasks of toddlers is to widen their vocabulary of everyday things. While this can be easily done by exposing your young kid to these objects, sometimes it’s not just feasible to do so. A more practical solution is to give them the First 100 Numbers, Colors, and Shapes.

This colorful book of 100 very detailed and highly colorful pictures will introduce your kid to the very first words that pertain to numbers, shapes, and colors that he or she will ever need to make through childhood in a more successful manner.

And if, in case you’re wondering if the book is tough enough to take abuse, each page is made of high quality toughened board while the cover is sufficiently padded to give your little tot comfortable reading.

First 100 Numbers, Colours, Shapes is a must-have book for toddlers that helps in the early learning of kids.

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My First Learning Library Box Set: 20 Board Books Gift Set for Kids – Best learning book for toddlers India

If you are in India and find other international books a little expensive. You can always go for books by Wonder house books publications, They are good 🙂

Little Hands My First Scribble – By Alex Toys (First coloring book for toddlers)

While it is not necessarily a storybook nor any piece of kiddie literature for young minds to read, the Little Hands My First Scribble nonetheless, deserves a place in our top 10. Why? My First Scribble is, as the name suggests, the very first thing that any toddlers or older babies will be scribbling on.

For some parents, it might look like an overly expensive 50 page activity learning book but when you look at it from the viewpoint of a 2 year old, you’ll see that it does provide some functionality.

Part of development is the ability to express one’s thoughts. Because young kids don’t have the necessary speech and language faculties yet to convey their thoughts or even to express themselves, they can do this by scribbling or even by doodling.

We found many moms being delighted by the fact that their kids absolutely loved the My First Scribble. You’ll just have to buy for them a set of kid-safe crayons and let them be.

You can then help them create their very own stories out of the different activities that they accomplished in the My First Scribble.

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My Big Animal Book – By Roger Priddy

Two-year-olds love animals, and this giant board book has pages of them.

It groups animals into various categories such as pets and farm animals. Toddlers will recognize their favorite animals and learn some new ones too.

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Press Here – Best Interactive book for toddlers

This is a fun interactive book for toddlers. It is simple but engaging and thus perfect for toddlers. A much have on your bookshelf 🙂

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Duck & Goose, 1,2,3 – By Tad Hills – Best counting book for toddlers

Count clouds, feet, and eyes with the help of Duck and Goose.

These little birds have won over the hearts of many toddlers, including mine. My kids demanded to read this book so much I can (and do) read it with my eyes closed.

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Read it yourself (Level1 ) – Ladybird

These cute, small, and very handy read it yourself books from Ladybird would be the stars of your kid’s library.

The books have colourful and attractive illustrations which make the books interesting for small kids, Repeated and rhythmic sentences grab the attention of small listeners and they tend to listen to the stories with great interest. Must buy for small kids.

This is the cutest alphabet book I’ve ever seen.

Adventures With Barefoot Critters – By Teagan White

This is the cutest alphabet book I’ve ever seen.

The adorable illustrations, short sentences, and gentle rhyme make it a favorite with toddlers as well.

A salty sea pup tells the tale of a mysterious island, bursting with pirate booty.

Captain Purplebeard and his cut-throat crew have already set sail in search of the treasure, before they’re made aware of the hideous pirate cruncher who guards the gold.

Barry the Fish with Fingers – Sue Hendra

A very cute and lovely story about a fish named Barry who has fingers. What ? A fish with fingers? Yes, that’s the central point of the story- a fish who has fingers and who loves to play around with his friends and do lot more with his fingers.

The story starts with a puffer fish who loves to blow bubbles of different shapes and sizes. Fish from miles come to see her bubble blowing show. But nobody was interested in her show when they met BARRY. What happened next and how they all become good friends that’s the story. Book has a good story line and a learning.

Definitely a good buy and I am sure your kid going to love this book to the core.

Little Kippers Series – Mick Inkpen

Kipper is the all-time favorite story character of my kiddo. The writer Mick Inkpen has written all the stories wonderfully. The illustrations and conversations are short and funny which a two-year-old loves to see and listen to.

Series has many good stories, you can choose as per your kid’s interest.

We have bought Sandcastle, Rocket and Swing , as my kid loves all these things and trust me he loves to read these books anytime.

Reading books for your kids is a practice every parent should follow. Let them understand the world through pictures, through imaginary situations, through your voice, let them learn the life lessons through moral stories, let them make books their best companion.

✅ Best Interactive books for kids

Apart from usual story books here I have made a list of best interactive books for 2 to 5 years old that you can invest in.

Click here to see the list of best interactive books for kids if you are outside India

Click here to see the list of best interactive books for kids if you are in India

What is an interactive book?

Interactive books are where kids can do something with the book apart from the story for e.g. magnet books, wipe and clean books, puppet books, sound books, book with toy sets, lift the flap books.

✅ Best early learning book for 2 to 5 year olds (preschoolers)

All books help kids learn something, but here is a list of books that you can sue to help your child learn about alphabet, numbers, science, your body, space, animals and many such topics

Click here to see our handpicked list of Best learning books for kids from Amazon.com

Do you know you can combine activities and games along with reading to make reading more interesting? For e.g. after reading a book about Giraffe you can combine it with a matching activity or hand painting activity in which you can make a Giraffe with your little one. Do check out some ideas for Games, activities and Toys for two years old.

What is the Reading level of a 2 year old?

All kids are different and there is no standard answer when it comes to age wise questions.

But from my experience, 2 year olds are just learning to talk and expecting them to start reading at that age is not the right expectations. We need our kids to learn and read at their own pace 🙂

At 2 years old our focus is to read books to our kids – to encourage them to speak, to give them the vocabulary to express their feeling and be able to say what they want. And reading helps us starting a conversation, spending a good time together and introduce kids to new experiences.

What to Consider When Buying Books for 2-Year-Olds

• Bright, Colourful and Simple illustrations
• Repetitive rhythmic words and story line (for e.g. Brown bear Brown bear what do you see)
• Simple and short stories (Even when reading books you may need to simplify them based on your kids interest)
• Interactive books – where apart from stories, kids can do something with the book (like puppet books, lift the flap, sound books)

My child shows no interest in books what can I do to encourage

All kids are naturally curious. If they are not showing interest just sit down and read the book and enact as if you are having loads of fun :-). You will soon find your toddler trying to understand what you are doing.

Also if they are not interested in the story – let your kid just flip the book and show him/her pictures. Talk about each picture. Or you can get interactive books and lift the flaps and press sound buttons.

You can also plan some activities around the books using its stories. It gets kids interested as there is some hand on activity planned.

It takes time for a child to understand and show interest in story of the book. So please adjust your expectations – there is no short cut.

Is it normal for 2 years old to memorize books?

Again it depends on the child and how early you started reading to your child. There are few kids who do memorize the book by the age of 3 – just because they have heard the book so many times 🙂

What should a 2 year old know?

Given that every child is special and develops at his own pace, there are a few accepted parameters for skill development in kids at various stages of growth.

 At 2, the child will be able to :

• run, kick and throw a ball
• Stand on tiptoes
• Climb up and down stairs with or without help
• Carry several toys while walking
• Scribble at will
• Build a small tower of blocks 
• Turn over a container and pour out its contents
• Point to things or pictures when they are named.

He may:

• Know body parts and objects names
• Know the names of family members
• Follow simple instructions
• Repeat frequently used words
• Say small sentences with 3-4 words
• Get excited around other kids
• Show growing independence
• Copy others around
• Be more aware of himself as a separate individual
• Be able to recognize and differentiate between various shapes and colors.
• Sing small rhymes

Free Preschool worksheets

• FREE printable Things that start with a, b, c, d, and all alphabet for introducing Alphabet
• Free Alphabet playdough mats printable
• FREE Alphabet beginning sounds clip cards. (Phonic activities for kids)
• Free missing Alphabet worksheets for kids
• 52 FREE Alphabet matching clip cards (Great for learning upper case and lower case letter matching)
• Free Colour matching activities for toddlers and prenursery kids
• FREE Number Counting mats for toddlers covers numbers 0 till 10
• FREE Number counting mats for 9 till 20. Great for teaching concept of Tens and One
• Free printable Number Counting clip cards (Christmas themes)
• Free ADDITION with pictures clip cards for those beginning to Add
• FREE Addition Clip cards Activities for Kindergarten kids

DO NOT MISS MANY MORE FREE worksheets and printable pdf here

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Do tell us what are your favorite toddler books or books that you will recommend for 2 to 3 years old. If you want to add any children book to the list of must-have books for 2 year olds. Let us know using the comments below, we would love to hear from you.