On this World Book Day I’d like to share a list of baby friendly books LO has enjoyed in her first year. The purpose of this list is to serve as a guide to help you select books for your little ones. We have a mix of books that we own and books that we borrow from the local library.

In the baby’s first year, I’d recommend board books, indestrucibles and cloth books, preferably in that order. Cloth books can be tricky for babies to flip the pages unlike board books. Also the categories mentioned below are not mutually exclusive; the books can often belong to more than 1 category.

High contrast books:

These types of books are for the earliest readers whose vision is still developing.

• Hello, Bugs! by Smriti Prasadam-Halls
• Look look! by Peter Linenthal
• Baby sees first colors by Akio Kashiwara

Books with few words:

Typically these books have 1 or very few words in a page.

• My mom loves me by Marianne Richmond
• My dad loves me by Marianne Richmond
• Cheep cheep! by Soumya Menon
• Toot toot beep beep by Emma Garcia
• Baby’s first book of birds and colors by Phyllis Limbacher Tildes
• Eating the alphabet by Lois Ehlert

Books with simple storyline:

• The very hungry caterpillar by Eric Carle
• Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? by Eric Carle
• Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
• Nana’s garden by Larissa Juliano
• Bear snores on by Karma Wilson
• On the night you were born by Nancy Tillman
• Wow! said the Owl by Tim Hopgood

Touch and feel board books:

These type of books include texture books, die cut books.

• Baby touch and feel animals
• Touch and feel: Farm
• Colors by Xavier Deneux
• Shapes by Xavier Deneux
• Numbers by Xavier Deneux
• Opposites by Xavier Deneux

The purpose of introducing die-cut books by Xavier Deneux is mainly to provide opportunities to the child to explore / feel the die cuts.

Interactive board books:

These type of books include finger puppet books, lift the flap books, pop up books, books with peepholes, mirror sheet.

• Itsy bitsy spider
• Baby orca
• I’m a tractor by Jack Redwing
• A little horse by Brick Puffington
• Farm friends by Jack Redwing
• Little blue boat by Ginger Swift
• Little green frog by Ginger Swift
• Little yellow bee by Ginger Swift
• Little red barn by Ginger Swift
• Plant and grow by Jack Redwing
• Where is baby’s belly button? by Karen Katz
• Peek-a-who? by Nina Laden

Other baby friendly books – Cloth books, Indestructibles

These books are chew proof, rip proof and washable too!

• Peek-a-boo forest
• The itsy bitsy spider by Maddie Frost
• Busy city by Maddie Frost
• Baby animals by Stephan Lomp
• Things that go by Stephan Lomp
• Baby, let’s eat by Stephan Lomp
• Baby, find the shapes! by Ekaterina Trukhan

While our books are predominantly board books, we try to incorporate elements such as rhymes, seasons, diversity, faith, native language.

Rhyming books:

• Felties: Twinkle twinkle little star and other nursery rhymes
• You’re my little cuddle bug by Nicola Edwards
• I love you funny bunny by Barbara Herndon
• You’re my heart by Marianne Richmond
• Play this book by Jessica Young
• Head, shoulder, knees and toes and other action rhymes by Zita Newcome
• Dum dum dho
• The twelve days of Christmas, a peek-through picture book by Britta Teckentrup

Bedtime books

Although we read a variety of books during bedtime, these are exclusive bedtime reads.

• Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
• If animals kissed good night by Ann Whitford Paul
• I would tuck you in by Sarah Asper-Smith
• Good night sleepy caterpillar by Patricia Hegarty
• Good night farm, a touch and feel storybook by Patricia Hegarty

Books on seasons:

• Leaf man by Lois Ehlert
• In the middle of Fall by Kevin Henkes
• Apples and pumpkins by Anne F. Rockwell
• Winter is here by Kevin Henkes
• The mitten by Jan Brett

Books that embrace diversity:

• Baby faces – SMILE! by Roberta Grobel Intrater
• Ten little fingers and ten little toes by Mem Fox
• All the world by Liz Garton Scalon
• Thanking the Moon by Grace Lin
• Hanukkah by Roni Schotter

Books on culture:

• My divine friends
• Dashavatara
• Divine Vaahana

Tamil books:

• Paapavin mudhal Tamil puthagam – Uyir ezhuthukkal
• Paapavin mudhal Tamil puthagam – Mei ezhuthukkal
• Nirangal
• Paati veedu

The purpose of reading to your baby is to enjoy those bonding moments, to allow the baby to explore the books (this is why baby friendly books are important) and to foster a fun and positive experience. That’s how the love for books and reading begin to develop. ❤

Disclaimer: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and for some of the books listed above, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.