Start building your family library with these classic books for babies. The books on this list will grow with your child – they will find them more and more entertaining as they enter toddlerhood. My family owns every book on this list and we consider all of them essential reading.
As I worked to put together this list I checked out my Amazon order history and I couldn’t believe how many of these books I’ve bought multiple times over the years. I keep buying them for friends and family as they welcome their newest little one!
Check out the list below and let us know what board books are essential in your house!
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- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? By: Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar By: Eric Carle
- Goodnight Moon By: Margaret Wise Brown
- Dear Zoo By: Rod Campbell
- Little Blue Truck By: Alice Schertle
- Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site By: Sherri Duskey Rinker
- But Not The Armadillo By: Sandra Boynton
- You Are My Sunshine By: Caroline Jayne Church
- Guess How Much I Love You By: Sam McBratney
- Pat The Bunny By: Dorothy Kunhardt
- If Animals Kissed Goodnight By: Ann Whitford Paul
- Good Night, Gorilla By: Peggy Rathmann
- Corduroy By: Don Freeman
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom By: Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
- Moo, Baa, La La La! By: Sandra Boynton
- Where’s Spot? By: Eric Hill
- One Love Based on the Book by Bob Marley and Adapted By Cedella Marley
- The Going To Bed Book By: Sandra Boynton
- Busy Doggies! By: John Schindel
- The Pout-Pout Fish By: Deborah Diesen
- Llama Llama Red Pajama By: Anna Dewdney
- Giraffes Can’t Dance By: Giles Andreae
- Olivia By: Ian Falconer
- Press Here By: Herve Tullet
- The Very Busy Spider By: Eric Carle
- We’re Going on a Bear Hunt By: Helen Oxenbury and Michael Rosen
- Babar and His Family By: Laurent de Brunhoff
- Trashy Town By: Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar By: Eric Carle
- The Peas Say Please By: Tori Hane
- Every Little Thing Based on the Song By: Bob Marley Adapted By: Cedella Marley
- But First, We Nap By: David W. Miles
- Who Has Wiggle Waggle Toes? By: Vicy Shiefman
- Freight Train By: Donald Crews
- Eyes, Nose, Fingers, and Toes By: Judy Hindley
- Runaway Bunny By: Margaret Wise Brown
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star By: Caroline Jane Church
- Roadwork By: Sally Sutton
What would you include on our list? What do you love to read to your baby?
Need more inspiration for one year old gifts? Check out our post on gifts for one year olds.