I wrote this toddler book list almost ten years ago, so it was time for an update. Check out my updated list of best books for 2-year-olds with the additional 10 books for 2-year-olds I’ve added!
The best way that you can promote reading with your children is to read every single day starting as soon as possible. These 50 books are our favorite books for 2-year-olds. It was tough to narrow it down to 50. Is your favorite on the list? If not, add the title in the comments, and we’ll keep this list growing. Click through the links to see our original review!
- Planes
by Byron Barton
- How Big Is a Pig?
by Claire Beaton & Stella Blackstone
- In the Town All Year-Round
by Rotraut Susanne Berner
- Secret Seahorse
by Stella Blackstone
- Doggies
by Sandra Boynton
- Moo Baa La La La
by Sandra Boynton
- Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
- Goodnight Moon
by Margaret Wise Brown
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar
by Eric Carle
- Peek-a-Zoo!
by Marie Torres Cimarusti
- Hooray for Fish! by Lucy Cousins
- Ladybug Girl Dresses Up!
by Jacky Davis
- Dog’s Colorful Day
by Ema Dodd
- Eating the Alphabet: Fruits & Vegetables from A to Z
by Lois Ehlert
- Alphabet Under Construction
by Denise Fleming
- Corduroy
by Don Freeman
- Babies
by Gyo Fujikawa
- Tip Tip Dig Dig
by Emma Garcia
- Is Your Mama a Llama?
by Deborah Guarino
- Harold and the Purple Crayon
by Crockett Johnson
- The Babies on the Bus
by Karen Katz
- Hush, Little Alien
by Daniel Kirk
- The Little Airplane
by Lois Lenski
- It’s Mine by Leo Lionni
- Baby Says “Moo!”by JoAnn Early Macken
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
by Bill Martin Jr.
- Chicka Chicka ABC
by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
- Dig Dig Digging
by Margaret Mayo
- Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers and Marla Frazee
- I Love Colors
by Margaret Miller
- Mortimer by Robert Munsch
- The Paper Bag Princess
by Robert Munsch
- The Family Book
by Todd Parr
- Good Night, Gorilla
by Peggy Rathmann
- Curious George Goes to the Hospital
by Margaret and H.A. Rey
- One Duck Stuck
by Phyllis Root
- Yum Yum Dim Sum
by Amy Wilson Sanger
- Where the Wild Things Are
by Maurice Sendak
- No, David!
by David Shannon
- Dinosaur vs. the Potty
by Bob Shea
- One, Two, Three
by Tom Slaughter
- Dinosaur Roar!
by Paul and Henrietta Stickland
- I Love Trucks!
by Philoemen Sturges
- The Loudest Roar by Thomas Taylor
- Owl Babies
by Martin Waddell
- Apples, Apples, Apples
by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
- Apple Farmer Annie
by Monica Wellington
- Mr. Cookie Baker by Monica Wellington
- Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
by Mo Willems
- Trashy Town
by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha
Updated for 2022
Here are my additional 10 best books for 2-year-olds that I’ve added to this favorite list in the last ten years.
- Rex Wrecks It by Ben Clanton
- The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
- Ten On A Sled by Kim Norman
- Love Makes A Family by Sophie Beer
- Bathe The Cat by Alice B. McGinty
- Apples and Pumpkins by Liz Rockwell.
- Christmas in The Manger by Nola Buck
- Puddle by Hyewon Yum
- Leaves by David Ezra Stein
- I’ll Wait, Mr. Panda, by Steve Antony
laura says
Yip!snap!yap! by charles fuge
Penny Loves Pink by corie doerrfeld
Allison McDonald says
I’ve heard good things about Penny Loves Pink – I need to find it because my daughter is pink obsessed. Thanks.
Amanda says
My son loves Winston was Worried by Pamela Duncan Edwards. He has even started using the words “great, big, huge, enormous” to describe things around us.
Allison McDonald says
That is so cute!
laura says
Great list, and awesome resource! Two of my children’s and my classroom favorites are It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G Shaw, The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big, Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood.
Allison McDonald says
I knew I’d forget a few of my own favorites and It Looked Like Spilt Milk is the first of my own I forgot! Great suggestions , thanks!
Georgina says
This is an amazing list – thanks!
Emily. R says
My son loved “My Truck is Stuck” by Kevin Lewis and “We’re Going on a Lion Hunt” by Margery Cuyler at this age. The repetition in the story was perfect for him and these were the first books he started to “read” on his own.
Maja says
My daughter loves Julia Donaldson’s books, eg. Chocolate Mousse for Greedy Goose, Gruffalo, Stick Man and also David Wojtowycz and of course Dr Seuss, and Big Red Bath by Julia Jarman.
Denise says
We love Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell…it is a great lift and look book!! Thanks for the list! It is a great resource.
Nikki says
Great list! Both of my kids also love(d) Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb.
jess @ fushmush says
The Pear in the Pear Tree by Pamela Allen is a current favourite in our house. She is a Kiwi author / illustrator and her books are fantastic to read aloud. They are lots of fun too.
Thanks for the list and thanks for introducing me to Sandra Boynton. My 2 year old daughter loves her. I love it when she reads Fifteen Animals to me. (Bob, bob, bob, bob and bob….)
Kali says
Love this! Can’t wait to check them all out…we have an almost two-year-old so this is perfect timing. 🙂
Katy says
I’m really excited about this since I’ve decided it’s time to do some more reading with the twins. Thanks!
KarenElissa says
I have a class full of two year olds and a huge love of books so we have quite a collection of favorites. In addition to many of the authors already named, here are a few more of our favorites:
Baby Beluga by Raffi (our absolute favorite, especially fun with the music to go with it)
Piggies by Audrey Wood
Freight Train by Donald Crews
Skip to My Lou by Nadine Bernard Westcott
Mice Squeak, We Speak by Tomie dePaola
Mrs. Wishy-Washy by Joy Cowley
Here Are My Hands by Bill Martin Jr
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow
Allison McDonald says
How did I forget Freight Train?? Urgh. My son loved that book . I debated on Baby Beluga but stopped at 50 🙂 Love your other suggestions too!
Elena says
My nephew loves The little mouse.I love your blog!
Casey says
A few if our faves to add…
Jam berry
Mouse Paint
Time for Bed
The Napping House
The Llama Llama books
Angie says
Thanks for this great list! My son LOVES Little Blue Truck and many of his favourites are on your list. Can’t wait to read some new titles with him.
Liz says
Where going on a bear hunt.
Ten fingers, ten toes.
Where is the green sheep?
You are special -by Max Lucado
The story of the little mole who knew it was none of his business.
The Hairy MacLary series
Allison McDonald says
All good additions!
lynne bell says
Dont forget the “there was an old lady who swallowed” collection. Mine loves “there was an old lady who swallowed a bat”
Allison McDonald says
Great suggestion!
Michelle in OK says
Our favorite for two-year olds is I Love You, Stinky Face. It was a baby shower gift and we have now owned 3 copies. The first one was loved to pieces, the second is now in use and the third is in reserve (just in case they stop publishing it).
Kim says
Nancy Tillman
Where Ever You are My Love Will Find You
On the Night You Were Born
It’s Time to Sleep My Love
My LO kisses the polar bear every night. And knocks out after “It’s Time to Sleep”.
Allison McDonald says
Thanks for these titles!
Larissa says
This is such a great list! I would add Where is Ben? by Marisabina Russo, and Jump Frog Jump by Robert Kalan. Also, Ask Mr. Bear by Marjorie Flack.
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50 BOOKS FOR 2 YEAR OLDS
How many of these have you read? This is a great list!
Holly Mommaerts says
Your #2 is actually written by Stella Blackstone & illustrated by Clare Beaton. I was searching our libraries online catalog & no search results were found for ‘laire Beaton’ But when I did a search for Stella Blackstone farther down your list “How Big Is Pig” was listed there.
Allison McDonald says
This has me puzzled because I own this book and there is NO mention of Stella Blackstone at all except in the very small print. She is indeed the author though, how odd that her name would be omitted!
Robin Guyette says
My kids always loved If You Give A Mouse A Cookie and the others like that. I loved those books. Also, The Rainbow Fish. Too many to list. Now I have 2 14 month old twin granddaughters to start all over again. Love reading to them.
Carrie says
Thanks so much for putting this together! My daughter goes through books soooo many books and it really helps to have the guidance of a list of good books that are age appropriate rather than just looking through the shelves. I’ve already ordered a bunch of these that weren’t in our local library through our interlibrary loan system. Your work is appreciated.
Tessa says
I have a 1 year old and a 2 year old. We Love many of those book and among our favorites
Llama Llama Red Pajama
JamBerry
The Little Blue Truck books
and
King Jack and the Dragon.
The best part is they are pretty fun to read. If you have kids like mine, who love to read a book over and over, it’s important to me to enjoy reading them too.
Michelle says
I love you, goodnight
Shelley Welch says
Love You Forever , By Robert Munsch
Children Of America says
As a preschool teacher, I am always looking for a new books so thank you so much for this list! Children Of America
Sharon says
Any books written by Leslie Patricelli (Boo is fun at Halloween time and has nice pictures of faces with different emotions) Tickle makes kids laugh because they’ve been tickled by their parents and siblings.
Lots of Lambs by Laura Numeroff
Peek a Who by Nina Laden
I Kissed the Baby and Say Hello Like This by Mary Murphy
Lu Vail says
My two to three year old class loves Owl Moon by Jane Yolan, Caps For Sale by Esphyer Slodbodkina, they love saying his name, and Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton. They also love lots of the books on your list. Thanks!
Heather says
What an excellent, comprehensive list! My daughter’s favorite is “Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type.” I don’t think she fully understands farms OR typewriters (and maybe she won’t ever!), but she does like to say MOOOOO.
I mentioned your post on my blog here: https://learntoreadbooks.wordpress.com/2016/06/03/books-for-a-2-year-old/
Thank you for the awesome blog!
Ritika says
Good night train is the current favorite here!
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