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Expert Reviewed By - Choosing the right books for your 1 year old can be overwhelming with so many options available. But fear not, as we’ve got you covered with our tried and tested book recommendations.
16 Best Books For 1 Year Old Toddlers
Forget the sales pitch and Amazon reviews, our honest recommendations come from trusted friends, family members, and experts in the field of parenthood and childcare.
Nurture your child’s mind and love for books with our no-nonsense guide to the best books for 1 year old toddlers:
1. ROAR! By My Little World
This book has bright artwork, finger holes, and a cheerful rhyming story that makes learning come alive.
It's also a great book for this age group as it has sturdy pages. It will hold your 1 year old's attention with its bright coloured engaging illustrations and opportunity to copy animal sounds.
2. Peek A Who? By Nina Laden
Peek-a-Who! takes the most loved baby and toddler game and puts it in book form. The simple rhyming text helps baby guess who is peeking through the die-cut windows in this fun book.
This book is perfect for young readers with its sturdy pages & brightly coloured beautiful illustrations. Peek-A-Boo is a favourite game for this age group & Peek A Who cleverly uses this concept to offer a fun interactive book that your little one will return to again and again.
3. I Love You Through And Through By Caroline Jayne Church
This is a rhyming story about the unconditional love between a toddler and a teddy who declare to each other… “I love you through and through!”
It is a wonderfully sweet book for your young reader. It is very simple and has a straightforward message while teaching your little one about opposites too.
4. Moo Moo Baa La La La! By Sandra Boynton
This is a time-old classic that has been around for 30 years, which is a testament to its appeal. Re-released with redrawn illustrations, this book is full of silly fun rhymes and introduces babies to animal sounds in a unique way with funny sounds.
Moo Moo Baa La La La's principle is simple… make it a fun book to share with your little one as they learn animal sounds and delight in clever humour!
5. Pop-Up Peekaboo! By DK
This is a charming brightly coloured book with rhyming text from the great Pop-Up Peekaboo range guaranteed to give you and your toddler lots of reading fun.
They will delight in the bright colours and delightful pictures. Each page is dedicated to a colour with lift-up flaps to reveal surprises underneath and encourage your toddler to be curious.
The sturdy pages of this board book make the pages easy to turn whilst your little one is refining their motor skills and the rhyming text will keep your little one engaged time after time.
6. The Very Hungry Caterpillar By Eric Carle
This is a timeless classic story from Eric Carle. With dye-cut pages, it tells the story of a hungry caterpillar that eats its way through the days of the week.
No children's library would be complete without a copy of this all-time favorite book. I have yet to come across a young child that is not drawn to this book again and again.
Although there have been many more books in the hungry caterpillar story, to my mind you can't beat this 2018 edition of the original board book, which is ideal for the very young.
7. Where Is Baby’s Belly Button? By Karen Katiz
Where's Baby's Belly Button is a great lift-the-flap book, ideal for young readers that teaches parts of the body in a fun way.
It is a sturdy book with flaps that your little one can lift and handle with ease. This is also a great book for learning parts of the body and being able to interact and point at the pages will keep your toddler hooked.
8. PeeK-A-Boo! By Janet And Allan Ahlberg
This book takes your little one on a rhyming Peek-A-Boo journey, through the day in the life of a baby boy. With a series of holes peeping through to the next page, you get a glimpse of what is to come in the next stage of baby's day.
This book has become a classic for toddlers and parents. I love the wonderful illustrations that provide fun and promote investigation and your little one will love to join in with a joyful ‘peepo' at every turn of the page.
- Interactive and easy to use with little ones
- Detailed illustrations with lots to talk about
- Simple easy to understand language
- A unique quality of never becoming boring for readers or listeners
9. Never Touch A Dinosaur! By Make Believe Ideas
This book is sure to be a firm favourite as it's a dinosaur-themed touch-and-feel board book.
Your 1 year old will love that this interactive board book says ‘Don't touch the dinosaur' and then allows them to go on to touch it. I love the easy-to-read silly rhymes with touch-and-feel silicone on every page.
10. Where’s Spot? By Eric Hill
Where's Spot is an all-time classic children's book that is ideal for young readers with its lift-the-flap features and heartwarming story.
They will love to take part in the story lifting the flaps to see what lies beneath as they look for the elusive Spot. This will without a doubt become a firm favourite that teaches the concepts of inside, underneath and so much more.
This Where's Spot book set also comes with a plush Spot toy so that you can play your own game of hide and find with Spot together for years to come.
11. Counting Kisses By Karen Katiz
Another wonderful board book from Karen Katiz teaches counting with the help of kisses.
I love the fact that this book allows you to interact with your little one in such a wonderfully touching and bonding way. Your little one will love to be kissed and this book has the added bonus of teaching simple counting too. It's a charming book.
12. Dear Zoo By Rod Campbell
Dear Zoo is a perfect board book for little hands to learn about zoo animals.
It is the perfect book size and sturdy enough to withstand toddler hands lifting the flaps to reveal the animal surprise beneath. I have loved this simple book for many years and so will your little one.
13. First 100 Words Board Book Set By Roger Priddy
A great trio of small chunky board books that will kick start your toddler's vocabulary.
I love these books as they are an ideal size for little hands and are just perfect for building vocabulary and developing speech. They are great to read alone or with your help.
14. Goodnight Moon By Margaret Wise Brown
This charming book, tells the story of a little bunny who says goodnight to all the familiar things around him one by one.
The subject matter, pace, rhythm and repetition of this book make it an ideal bedtime storybook for young toddlers. I love this story, I think it's a charming read for all children.
- Sturdy board book ideal for little hands
- Simple relatable storyline
- Clever use of illustrations as they alternate between colored and inked which darken towards the end and the final goodnight.
- A true classic bedtime story book
15. Guess How Much I Love You By Sam McBratney
This book comes in many forms from hardback, pop-up, and board books to soft and cuddly. Whichever you choose it is sure to be a hit with your little one for many years.
This book was my son's favourite as a child and I recently bought him the anniversary edition for him to keep and read to his own children one day. It has a simple message that your child will love now and in the future. For me, the message in this book proves that love is not an easy thing to measure and it is very special.
16. Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? By Bill Martin Jr & Eric Carle
A lovely board book with bold beautiful illustrations that introduces your little one to animals from North America as a baby bear looks for his mother.
What I like most about this classic book is the easy-to-remember singsong text and the simplicity of the story. It is an ideal book for young toddlers. They will love the bold bright colors and the repetitive easy to remember text.
When To Start Reading To Baby
When I get asked about when to start reading to baby, my response is always the same…
“It is never too early to introduce your baby to the wondrous world of books.”
Even newborns can begin to look at baby books. From the moment they are born, you can start sharing this bonding activity with your little one with books from your baby registry.
Reading books for 1 year old toddlers will provide endless developmental opportunities and there is nothing nicer than snuggling up with your little one to look at a book together.
I would say that nurturing a love for books is one of the greatest gifts you can give your child and it should feature in your daily routine, such as quiet times and at bedtime.
Remember that when you read a book to your little one their brains are absorbing it all… From the words that you speak to the colorful pictures and patterns they see.
By 1 year old, your baby will have developed a love of books and you can teach them so much by choosing the right ones for them at this stage in their development.
Make books easily accessible for your baby so that they can read ones that cannot be destroyed. And take books with you when you are travelling or out & about because as a source of entertainment when your little one is bored… they are far preferable to a phone or tablet.
Looking to get your little one to sleep quickly and effortlessly? Check out my Bedtime and Nap Cheat Sheet and master the art of making daytime naps and bedtimes as seamless as possible.
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How To Read Books To Your 1 Year Old
If you have nurtured your little one’s love of books then reading to your 1 year old should be easy. They will associate reading with being close to you and having your undivided attention.
They will love to listen to you read and they will take in everything that you say.
Fortunately, most of the classic and well-loved books for 1 year olds (like The Hungry Caterpillar!) are available in board book form which is perfect for your little one to enjoy with or without you.
The most important thing is to make book reading fun.
Follow these simple tips to get the most out of reading time with your 1 year old:
- Be animated in your speech
- Make looking at books together fun
- Make different voices for different characters
- Encourage your little one to turn the page or lift up the flaps
- Ask them to choose a book
- Accompany your reading with actions
- Encourage your little one to copy animal noises and actions with you
- Ask your baby to point at things on the page
- Make reading part of your daily routine, especially before bed
- Be prepared to repeat your little one’s favourite book over and over again!
What To Look For When Choosing The Best Books For 1 Year Old
The best books for 1 year olds need to be robust, interactive and engaging. They should also be focusing on familiar words and everyday activities that they can relate to.
They will love the types of books that they can interact with by lifting flaps, pointing and looking for specific items on the page. Touch and feel books for 1 year olds are also great… as well as books with rhyming text.
When choosing great books for 1 year old toddlers, consider the following:
- Look for books with bold clear pictures
- Board books are best for 1 years old hands as they have sturdy pages and rounded edges
- Look for books with flaps, peepholes or pop-ups
- Choose books with words and pictures of familiar things
- Choose books with few or no words
- Books should be short and sweet
- Choose books with repetitive or rhyming text
- Introduce books about animals, babies, families, colours and counting
- Interactive textured books are also great for this age
Choosing books for 1 year old toddlers is fantastic fun and I hope this article has inspired your to start building out your little one’s library.
Need More Parenting Help?
- Download our FREE Perfect Sleep Cheat Sheet. It’s a free, easy-to-use and proven formula designed for parents of 0-5 year olds to master the art of consistently undisturbed and restful sleep without the yelling, nagging or exhausting long-winded evenings.
- Check out our Parenting Toolbox. You’ll get access to expertly-chosen products that you can guarantee are the best for your little one and your wallet.
- Ready to create the calm, peaceful evenings you deserve? Then checkout our most popular course - The Bedtime Battles Masterclass
A bedtime & nap cheat sheet so good your little one will ask you to put them to bed...
Laura Williams "This is a life saver! I'm so glad I downloaded your bedtime & nap cheat sheet. My little one actually asked me to put him to bed last night! Unbelievable! Thank you so much!"
Click Here For The FREE Cheat Sheet
