our favorite baby books

i don’t think i’ve ever gotten more requests for any post than this one! if you follow my instagram stories, then you’re well aware of our nightly ritual where arlo chooses between two books before bedtime. he definitely has favorite books that he’s loved for basically his whole life, and usually he either immediately takes to a new book or doesn’t, but we read to him so often i am always trying to introduce new ones (i get sick of them real fast when i have to read them 4 times a day).

a lot of people have also asked about how we got him into reading, and basically we have no strategy. we just started doing it regularly when he was about 3 months old, and around 4 months he started paying attention and now that we’re at 8 months — he really loves books!

board books and flap books

as you can assume, he is definitely most into the interactive books, i pretty much only buy him “pretty” books, but he has a few that he loves dearly that are not my favorites to look at and display. so i didn’t include them in the photo, but they are :

arlo needs glasses this is probably his all time favorite. we read this one daily, and sometimes when he’s in the worst mood possible, i can pull it out and he stops crying. he absolutely LOVES it. we just think the illustrations aren’t the best, at all.

baby animal flap book easy and quick to read and arlo really thinks it’s fun. we must have gotten this one as a gift but it’s definitely top 5 faves.

(and now the rest, left to right, row by row)

a tiny little story : zoo i’m always on the hunt for cute soft books but there really aren’t that many. i like this one!

baby tiger finger puppet book a v quick and easy read, i like to do this one as a last quick little read after a couple others, arlo enjoys it so much i got another one from the series too

the hueys in a new sweater a cute story with cute illustrations, it’s not arlos absolute favorite, but he likes it!

squares & other shapes with josef albers a pretty art board book, not the best story but it’s a cute read

can you keep a straight face? i love this one — it’s so fun and i want to get more like it.

hi! (animal sounds) a quick read with simple rhymes, arlo is a big fan of this one.

circle, triangle, elephant a v pretty beautiful book that’s simple and nice to read

opposite surprise arlo’s top five for sure, i really love the design of this flap book

pancakes (cook in a book) i thought arlo would really love this one but he’s only mildly into it right now — hoping he will soon because i enjoy it.

before & after a fun little board book

tails we got this one for christmas and arlo immediately was into it, he enjoys it a lot and even though the writing is corny, i have fun reading this one in dumb voices.

you may notice there are no eric carle books, we own a bunch of them, but arlo really isn’t huge into them and tbh neither are we. i think they’re cute to look at but the writing… leaves a lot to be desired lol. we also have a ton of random little touch and feel books about kittens and animals and what not, but arlo prefers these ones for sure.

bigger kid books he actually likes

it’s weird when he enjoys story books because sometimes he has no patience or interest in them, and then randomly sometimes he loves them. so we just try to show him all his books and see what he likes and what he doesn’t.

toto’s apple honestly don’t know why he likes this one so much because it’s actually pretty minimal compared to what he normally is drawn to — but he likes this one a lot! (and i do too, it’s so pretty)

i want my hat back this one is definitely his other favorite besides arlo needs glasses (and also this is his favorite for gid to read and arlo is his favorite for me to read). another one where i don’t know why he likes it so much — but he LOVES IT. he is so cute when they read this

home cute, sometimes not his favorite if he’s fussy but he enjoys it here and there

round and round and square pretty, not the most interesting to read but i like it

they all saw a cat i love this one, it’s really actually interesting to read and fun

we found a hat he definitely likes “i want my hat back” better, but he’s ok with this!

big kid books he’s not into yet

and then we have some other story books that he’s not at all interested in. i keep these ones in the closet and once he gets older i’ll pull them out — but i can’t resist buying books for him as you can see.

the book with no pictures excited to read this with him when he’s older! it seems so fun

i wasn’t invited to the birthday party this book is so pretty, but it’s reaaally long so it might be a while

press here again, excited about this one when he’s older — it seems fun

all kinds of cars he loves cars, so we got this for him thinking he’d enjoy it but he doesn’t seem to like the list types of books yet.

triangle one of the prettiest baby books for sure, but he’s really not into it yet

a greyhound a groundhog

stuck

hope your baby loves some of these too! please let me know if they do, and let me know if there’s a great one i missed.

i will come back and add more books later or do a follow up post when he’s a little older.

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21 Comments

  1. Thanks so much for sharing this!! Been lookin for pretty books for my daughter and these are perfect!

    1. Gives me a sense of what I’m in for in the next couple months (hello sleep training, haha). He’s adorable! Thanks for continuing to share your creative vision and experience as a mom!

    1. Yes, where is the book shelf from??

  2. Hi Molly,

    What a great post! I just wanted to share that I’ve really been enjoying your blog and Instagram stories. I found your site a couple years ago as a great place for design inspiration (I’m a designer as well) and I just recently became a mom as well—my baby boy is now 2 months old. So I’ve been following your adventures with Arlo now too. Gives me a sense of what I’m in for in the next couple months (hello sleep training, haha). He’s adorable! Thanks for continuing to share your creative vision and experience as a mom!

  3. My little one loves Wolfie the Bunny and Gaston. They are both very colorful but the illustrations are great!

  4. Check out the Chris Haughton books, specifically “Shh We have a Plan” *favorite and “Oh no George!” Great art and real simple. We didn’t discover these until later but they’re real fun when the kiddos talk, my boys “read” them to us all the time.

  5. Yay thanks, I love kids books so much and can’t get enough for my boy (take all my money Book Depository). Where are the shelves from, I’ve been looking for them!

  6. I love this post! 8 months pregnant, and your suggestions look great. I love to read, but am not as well versed in baby books or children’s stories. ALSO, I would love to know where you got your nursery book shelves. Thank you!!

  7. Thanks for sharing Molly, great post! My son Louis is two days younger than Arlo. I enjoy following your insta stories (when I find time for it I mean, between stinky diapers, 50 loads of laundry/day and singing Raffi on repeat 10 times in a row ^^). You guys rock!!
    Anyway, the soft book Louis loved since he was a newborn is Puppy Tails by Jellycat. Simple design, bright colors, funny textures, it’s a big hit. There is no story to read inside, so now that he’s into stories we improvise a different one everytime, so fun. Also, he’s v into Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell right now. Not the cutest book I’ve seen, it was a gift from friends, but it works 🙂
    I personnaly LOVE any book by Xavier Deneux, they are SO BEAUTIFUL! Even though my little guy is not into them yet, I can’t stop buing them for later. Enjoy!

  8. None of these books are “pretty” per se, but my 16 month old LOOOOOVES them: Little Blue Truck (this book is actually what started him walking, no lie!), Brown Bear Brown Bear, any of the “That’s Not My [Truck/Bear/Bunny/Whatever]” books, Love You Forever (long for him but he loves it, I cry), Dear Zoo, Hop on Pop, Babies Love Animals, Making Faces, and Where’s Spot.

  9. My favourite children’s book author is Claude Ponti – his books are witty and fun and there’s always a thousand details in the illustrations (and the stories are actually really good and sweet), my mum has kept all of his books 🙂 Not all are translated to English but I can definitely recommend them. Maybe for in a couple years though, I think they’re most enjoyable around 3 years old, but don’t forget about them until then! 🙂

  10. These are great suggestions! Also, where are the book display shelves from? Sorry if you wrote about them before – I can’t find it! Thanks!!!

  11. Lol we’re all dying to know where those cute book shelves are from!

  12. Taro Gomi books are beautiful and lovely – some of my girl’s early favs and she still loves them at 17 months. Isn’t it interesting how they like some “big kid” books when they’re still just little? Also “Pancakes” is her absolute fav book right now – just wait! It’s great but Mama is starting to tired of making pancakes 50 times a day, lol.

  13. These are great. One of my kids favourites was Sparkle and spin by the graphic designer Paul Rand and his wife. brilliant photographs by the way.

  14. I love this, I’m always on the lookout for new books for my little one. Our favourites at the minute are the “that’s not my” series and the “where’s mr/mrs” books. She’s only 3 months at the minute and she pays a bit of attention, but I’m hoping her love for books only grows as she gets older!

  15. Both my little guy and I are obsessed with The Pout-Pout Fish! Also the classics – Coreduroy, Good Night Moon, Where The Wild Things Are 😉

  16. Amanda Roberts says:

    Im sure your little one will love The Book with no pictures. I got it for my daughter when she was small and she had no interest till about 4yrs old and now we read it constantly! All the Herve Tullet books are so great too. Maybe try Mix it Up.