Reading to babies and toddlers isn’t always the great experience we imagine it will be. They throw, rip, and eat the books. I remember with my first child thinking that I will start reading right away…and she couldn’t sit for longer than maybe 30 seconds at a time! How do you read to this age?

After finding a Montessori book at a garage sale when she was 6 months old, my perspective changed. The Montessori method of education encourages the type of activities that include the entire person- including movement, real-life work, thought, play and book learning. With this in mind, I started to try introducing books to my children primarily through songs, actions and touch.

Touch and feel/ open flap and rhyming & songs books engage the entire toddler and teach them that books are something to interact with (in a way that isn’t eating them. 😉 )

The beautiful thing about children is that they love and crave repetition, so even with a small home library, you can nurture your baby and toddlers love for books!

A few of my my Favorite Toddler Books:

Mother Goose Anthology (so many good choices!)

Where is Spot?

Usborne “Is that my Lamb?” (and all the others in the series)

Usborne “Peek Inside” Series

Hide and Seek Forest

Moo Baa La La La! (and other Sandra Bynton

Good Morning, Goodnight! A Touch and Feel Book

Peekaboo Zoo

And of course…Goodnight Moon!