20 Books To Engage & Educate Your Toddler {2-3 Years Old}

Our bookshelf is overflowing with books for children. Board books, learning books, read-alouds, and picture books. We have been so blessed to receive many hand-me-down books so we haven’t had to walk into a bookstore to purchase any (yet).

At Intentional By Grace we want to keep things simple and, of course, intentional. It is important to make sure you are intentionally seeking the best books possible for your children.  Rather than a new parent trying to decide which books are good, educational, age appropriate and not offensive (showing favoritism to other beliefs such as magic, or rude words), we would like to help by sharing what we have already figured out satisfies that criteria.

Leigh Ann has shared a list of her family’s favorite children’s books and now it is my turn! Here is a list of books we have read over and over again and truly cherish in our home! These are enjoyed by my 18 month old and my almost 3 year old, but they are primarily geared toward a 2-3 year olds. Here they are, in no particular order:

Are You My Mother?

If you are anything like me, this book has a soft spot in your heart from when you were a child. The classic illustrations and simple.  Straightforward wording make “Are You My Mother?” a classic that truly isn’t going anywhere!

My Very First Encyclopedia (Nature)

Winnie the Pooh is just about as cute as a cartoon character can get. His simple, casual approach to life has always intrigued me. Now he is teaching your little one about nature! My almost three year old, Shelby, is enthralled! Learning about the seasons and Pooh’s cute stories that go along with it have her on the edge of her seat!

My Very First Encyclopedia (Animals)

As with Winnie the Pooh’s Nature Encyclopedia, this one is for animals. Both of them are packed full with real life photographs and tied together with cute little Disney tales. What isn’t to love? And it is long enough that they will want to start over once they finish the book and you won’t be sick of it!

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

I must clarify that this book is great for children younger than two. You can sing it…chant it…yell it…and trust me, you will memorize it! Shelby (almost 3) “reads” this to Karli (18 months) from memory. It is so fun to experience! This is written in such a way that children will memorize quickly which gives them confidence in reading before they even know all of their letters!

101 Favorite Stories from the Bible

This book is a read aloud. We keep this on our kitchen table and read a story each morning with breakfast. Ahem. Most mornings. I will say some of it is more advanced. However, it takes a Bible passage and states it in such a way that makes it easy for me to summarize. I can substitute words, add extra adjectives, or simply add sound effects to capture each daughter. This book allows you to do this in an easier manner than reading directly from the Bible. However, I still like to read directly from the Bible to the girls. It is NEVER too early to start getting them used to hearing the Bible and reading it every. single. day!

The Wonder Pets!

Wonder Pets! is Shelby’s favorite show in the entire world. We don’t watch much TV (and now that we are potty training, we ONLY watch as a reward for going #2) but when we do, it is always “Linny, Tuck, and Ming Ming too!” If you just sang that last portion, then I know your child also likes the Wonder Pets! It is one of the few shows I actually enjoy sitting down and watching with them. It is simply adorable! We could not have been more thrilled than to discover they had books! Now Shelby can enjoy Wonder Pets when she is going #2 also!

Noahs Ark

This is a picture book. Literally, there is a poem (about Noah’s Ark) in the beginning of the book, but the rest are just pictures. Don’t let that fool you. These pictures are amazing! This allows you and your child to explore this book and story together! You will be amazed at what your little one will teach you about Noah’s Ark! And this is a great chance to tie it into the real story from 101 Favorite Stories from the Bible!

Dr. Suess’ The Eye Book and two others

Oh Dr. Seuss, how I love you! Simple, catchy, stick-with-you words. We can dance to these books. Memorize them, sing them, love them! The Eye Book, Oh the Thinks you can Think and Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb has taught Shelby so much about what things are called. And we have had a lot of fun in the process! These books are great for kids younger than 2, but they can really “get it” and master these books in their 2′s!

I Love You, Little One

Warmly referred to “The Bunny Book” in our house, I Love You, Little One is a simple tale of unconditional love. And you learn about nature!

Who’s Hiding on the Farm?

This one is so fun and the art work is adorable. As you may gather from the name, it is an “open the flap” book so your little one has fun seeing who is hiding! Animal sounds and identification are a blast with this book.

In the Forest

This is another animal book with a “lift the flap” feature. One that is so cool you just have to see it for yourself. You wonder what is hiding underneath and it truly isn’t what you expect. This is all about “feeling” what it is (that cute bunny tale on the front is actually soft and furry!). Texture, color and animals are what you will learn in this book!

God Loves You

“You can be silly, or you can be sad…God loves you just as you are!” Oh, we know this entire book by heart and it is still always pulled from the bookshelf with excitement! Your child will learn about character traits which presents a wonderful opportunity to teach good versus bad but knowing that God still loves you regardless! This is just plain old quality time together!!

Little Crab

Let me just say, this book is a finger puppet book! You (or your child) make the crab move throughout the story. Can we say “so cool!”? This crab always ends up tickling the girls, and they love it!

Kitten’s First Full Moon

Something about the simple art work and lack of bold colors makes this tale of a kitten chasing the moon exciting. It is a read aloud that will comfort and soothe your little one. It is a very sweet story!

Nobody Laughs at a Lion!

This is a hoot! Oh, I mean a roar! This poor lion thinks everyone else gets to have all of the fun until he discovers that….well I can’t give it away. You need to read it yourself. Fantastic read aloud with great big pictures!

I Love You So…

How much do you love me? I love you so…This book is a read aloud that will teach your children about unconditional love from you. No matter what they do and how they disobey or how they try to be, they still get loved by you. This is a great opportunity to teach them about God’s unconditional love too!

 George & Martha

This is just TONS of fun. George and Martha take you on several adventures that your little one won’t want to miss. And what little one doesn’t just LOVE elephants??

The 3 Little Dassies

This book is a spin on The Three Little Pigs and it takes place in Africa. You may be familiar with other Jan Brett books. She is truly an amazingly talented children’s author! Your little one learns about African animals and gets excited about what will happen next!

What are your favorite toddler books?

Shared at Women Living Well

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