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Best Kids Books

The Best Board Books for Babies

Babies are like adorable, wobbly scientists in the world’s lab. Every day is a new experiment to learn about their surroundings! After all, before we learn through words, we learn through our senses. To bridge the gap, you need a medium that uses both.

Say hello to their new favorite gadget: board books. 

Tactile and interactive, board books are good books for babies at the start of their reading journey. Combining image, touch, and language, these enchanting tools will plant seeds of literary love and build motor skills. Start with our favorite hands-on stories and your baby will see (and feel) that board books are anything but boring.

Book cover for Busy Numbers

Busy Numbers

By Martha Costa

Just starting on the 1-2-3s? Build a bridge to counting with the charming construction sites of Busy Numbers! Colorful bulldozers, cranes, and trucks drive this numerical journey. After counting a given item on the page—like how many orange hats or red trucks there are—little readers can spin a number wheel to show their answer. (No idle hands or minds on this worksite!) Before you know it, your 12- to 24-month-old will be pointing out numbers and colors on the page like a hard-hat professional. And if your child is a fan, author Martha Costa has an entire board book series waiting for them, from Busy Shapes to Busy Colors.

Book cover for Light Up the Stars!

Light Up the Stars!

By Gabrielle Clima

Baby’s hands are always busy—reaching for Mom’s hair, snagging a banana slice on the high chair tray, or pointing gleefully at every puppy in sight. Light Up The Stars! illuminates ten million more directions to reach for. Slide down shimmering rainbows and cruise across constellations as you explore the language of night and day. Your 1- to 3-year-old will unlock their motor skills to pull tabs, grow flowers, and even light up a city sky with its high-contrast illustrations.

Book cover for Everybody needs a Buddy

Everybody Needs a Buddy

By Ellen Jackson

We’re pretty sure it’s a scientific fact: Baby brains (and adult brains) love adorable animals. Wielding the power of cuteness, Everybody Needs a Buddy is one of the good books for babies starting to internalize key lessons. Watch your little ones learn the importance of friendship as they guide their furry friends through lessons of kindness. On each sturdy board page, Maddie Frost’s illustrations capture companionship across the animal world while Ellen Jackson’s rhymes add memorable musicality. When you read together, your baby may just roar and crow with every lyrical line.

Book cover for What Makes a Rainbow

What Makes a Rainbow?

By Betty Schwartz

Rainbow, schmainbow. As adults, we may forget just how beautiful the colors of those arches are. But for your baby? Every new hue is like a laser light show at a Wiggles concert! Explore the wonder of colors through our hoppy friend the Little Rabbit in What Makes the Rainbow? Watching him bounce from color to color and friend to friend, your budding reader will get to practice story sequences as they work to construct a magnificent rainbow!

Book cover for My Magical Dragon

My Magical Dragon

By Yujin Shin

Alphabet letters, colors, and numbers are all important early-life skills. But what about bravery? Or imagination? My Magical Dragon ignites that adventurous spirit, wrapping your child in a mystical, cloud-filled escapade. Spin wheels and slide panels while following this sparkly dragon into his enchanted land. Tactile details keep curious hands engaged, while special holographic foil adds a shimmer that draws your reader’s attention. If your little one loves fairytale books, My Magical Dragon will introduce them to their imagination and their love of reading.

Book cover for I'll Love You till the Cows Come Home

I’ll Love You Till the Cows Come Home

By Kathryn Cristaldi

How much do I love you? To the moooooon and back! Kathryn Cristaldi’s sweet board book is the perfect bedtime send-off for your favorite newborn or toddler. Let your little one know how much you love them as they sail off to Mars with their favorite spotted friends. Sturdy pages, touching illustrations, and the perfect dash of humor make this nighttime read a verbal and tactile dream. They’ll be requesting this bedtime story until the cows come home!

Burrow into Board Books for Baby Bookworms with Literati

With wide eyes and curious hands, babies are meant to enjoy board books like Dora enjoys exploring. That’s what makes board books such good books for babies entering the literary world. Little ones can pull, grab, examine, learn from (and maybe even chew on) each page to immerse themselves in the fantastic world of a story. 

At Literati, we believe it’s never too early to start enjoying the magic of literature. Introduce your child to the wonder of words through our Literati Kids Book Clubs, where we send handpicked titles for their reading skills and favorite topics. From enchanting board books to soothing picture books, our titles will always lend something more to enjoy. 

Open the literature lab with our personalization quiz to find the book box with their name on it.

Authored by Charlie DeTar
November 17, 2022

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