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.
Best Books for 2 year olds
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 to start with some recommended books for one year old.
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.
Do you know you can combine activities and games along with reading to make reading more interesting? For eg. 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.
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.
Where The Wild Things Are – By Maurice Sendak
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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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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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.
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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 story books 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 lengthy 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 2 year olds. 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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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.
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First 100 Numbers, Colours, Shapes- By Roger Priddy
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 on a round the clock basis. A more practical solution is to give them 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 helps in the early learning of kids.
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Little Hands My First Scribble – By Alex Toys
While it is not necessary a story book 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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Duck & Goose, 1,2,3 – By Tad Hills
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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The Pirate Cruncher – By Jonny Duddle
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.
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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
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.
This book is a must have in the collection of babies first library.
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The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Eric Carle
A lovely small story by Eric Carle. Undoubtedly this is the all time most favourite story of kids. The illustrations and story of 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 the caterpillar lovers.
To make this story more entertaining and interesting you can make many activities and props.
I would say a must buy book for kids.
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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.
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Edward Goes Exploring – David Pace
A funny and lovely story book from David Pace, who talks about a bot named Edward. He is an explorer and wants to discover a new animal. With this thought with some required stuff he left hos house and started exploring. On the way he met few animals and kept them all in his bag.
The book basically talks about the various animal sounds which parents can mimic while reading a book to their kids.
Book has good illustrations, small sentences and cute sounds makes the book attractive and enjoyable for kids.
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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 love to see and listen.
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.
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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 the stories with great interest. Must buy for small kids.
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