Toys & Gifts Books The Best Board Books for Your Littlest Reader By Brienne Walsh Brienne Walsh Brienne Walsh is a freelance writer and photographer who has contributed to The New York Times, Art in America, Interview Magazine, The Huffington, and more. Learn about our editorial process Updated on April 18, 2022 Medically reviewed by Tyra Tennyson Francis, MD Medically reviewed by Tyra Tennyson Francis, MD LinkedIn Tyra Tennyson Francis, MD, is a board-certified family medicine physician and currently serves as the medical director of an outpatient clinic. Learn about our Medical Review Board Print We independently research, test, review, and recommend the best products. Healthcare professionals review articles for medical accuracy. Learn more about our process. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission. It’s no secret that reading is great for children beginning at a young age, and board books are a wise choice for reading with babies and toddlers. These books are made paperboard, which is like thick cardboard, with a slick coating that makes the pages even more durable. Little kids love being able to turn the pages themselves, allowing them to participate in the reading process. When your baby is very little, they may be more interested in the book itself than its contents. Consider board books that are engaging and durable, so they can be read into toddlerhood. We carefully considered material, any age recommendations, durability, and engagement when reviewing products. Here are the best board books for your little one. Our Top Picks Best Overall: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? at Amazon Jump to Review Best for Newborns: Baby Faces at Amazon Jump to Review Best for 1-Year-Olds: Where Is Baby's Belly Button? at Amazon Jump to Review Best for Toddlers: First 100 Words at Amazon Jump to Review Best Classic: Goodnight Moon at Amazon Jump to Review Best Sensory: Pat the Bunny at Amazon Jump to Review Best for Bedtime: My Dreams at Amazon Jump to Review Best for Learning Sign Language: My First Baby Signs at Amazon Jump to Review Best for Potty Time: Potty at Amazon Jump to Review Best for Parents: Bus Stops at Amazon Jump to Review In This Article Expand Our Picks What to Look For FAQ Why Trust Verywell Family Best Overall Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Amazon View On Amazon View On Walmart "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" ranks high on our list because this book has a little bit of everything—colors, animals, clever verse, and drawings of other children. Written by Bill Martin, Jr., and illustrated by the legendary Eric Carle, whose other books include the classic "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", this board book will enrapture your child from infancy through toddlerhood and beyond. Carle’s collages are a great way to teach your child about colors and animal sounds—featured creatures include a purple cat, a blue horse, and a yellow duck. Best for Newborns Baby Faces Amazon View On Amazon View On Christianbook.com Studies have shown that babies as young as one hour old stare at face-like images for longer than they stare at any other type of pattern. In fact, by the time they are 4 months old, babies can process faces even though they still can’t figure out most of the rest of the world. The reason? Likely evolution. We need to read and understand the faces of our caretakers in order to survive. The first faces a newborn falls in love with is their parents'. A close second? Baby's own face, which they see mirrored in all of the other babies they encounter. That's why Baby Faces, a DK board book, is perfect for your newborn. Along with showing babies processing all sorts of emotions, from happiness to sadness to befuddlement and more, the board book features bright, primary colors that will be sure to capture your newborn’s blossoming color vision. Best for 1-Year-Olds Where Is Baby's Belly Button? A Lift-the-Flap Book Amazon View On Amazon View On Walmart By the age of one, your child is exploding with new tricks, from learning how to say “mama” and “dada,” to taking their first steps. With encouragement, many babies are able to identify their body parts, from their nose to their ears to their belly button. Where Is Baby’s Belly Button? is the perfect way to teach your child about their body. Illustrated and written by Karen Katz, this board book features bubbly drawings that are irresistible to children. Each body part is hidden behind a wide, easy to maneuver flap that is difficult to rip. “I really think it will help her learn where her body parts are and what they are called!” one customer wrote. “The flaps are nice and big so she can do them all by herself.” Best for Toddlers First 100 Words: A Padded Board Book Amazon View On Amazon View On Kohls.com View On Target Babies start saying words anywhere from six months onwards, but at 18 months, many children undergo a vocabulary explosion. First 100 Words is a great tool for teaching your child words. Divided into categories including “things that go,” “bath time,” “myself” and “clothes,” each word in the board book is accompanied by a photo set on a brightly colored background. If your child is really into this book, there are a bunch more books in the series including First 100 Animals, Numbers, Shapes, and Colors, and more. The 11 Best Educational Workbooks of 2023 Best Classic Goodnight Moon Photo © Amazon View On Amazon View On Walmart View On Barnesandnoble.com The best thing about Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown is that everyone in the family—from grandparents to parents to older children—will be familiar with it. First published in 1947, the board book continues to entrance babies because of the rhythmic, soothing way it is written. Along with being a surefire way to calm your child before bedtime, the book is also great for teaching about various objects in a room. Best Sensory Pat the Bunny Courtesy of Amazon View On Amazon View On Barnesandnoble.com Another classic is Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt. Originally published in 1940, this board book has features that entice all of the senses, from a cut-out bunny that is soft to touch to a bouquet of flowers that smells if you scratch it. The novelty of interacting tactilely with a board book never gets old. This book also has many different versions, including a stuffed book option, and you can also buy a stuffed bunny that mimics the one in the book. Best for Bedtime My Dreams: Baby Basics Amazon View On Amazon View On Betterworldbooks.com Featuring simple black-and-white drawings that lead readers on a magical adventure through fields of flowers and castles, My Dreams by Xavier Deneux is the perfect story for bedtime. But its true value doesn’t reveal itself until you turn off the lights, and realize that the illustrations glow in the dark! The board book is great to leave with your toddler as they fall asleep—when the lights are out, the illustrations slowly fade, leaving behind a gentle darkness. Best for Learning Sign Language My First Baby Signs: Baby Sign Language Book, Pull Tabs, Early Vocabulary, First Words Amazon View On Amazon View On Barnesandnoble.com Sign language has become an essential tool for toddlers. There are many board books that teach both children—and their parents—how to sign, but none is as fun as My First Baby Signs by artists Phil Conigliaro and Tae Won Yu. Featuring moveable flaps that show animated children making the signs for “more,” “all done,” “thirsty,” “tired,” and more, the book is a great tool for teaching. “I adore this book!,” raved one buyer. “So cute to have movable hands, I've never seen such an innovative pop-up book!” A word to the wise—the flaps are easy to rip off, so this might be best reserved for when your child is in a high chair. Best for Potty Time Potty Amazon View On Amazon View On Walmart Everyone has to go through it, but that doesn’t make it any easier for a toddler to learn how to use the potty. Fortunately, there’s Potty by Leslie Patricelli, which outlines the various thoughts toddlers have while considering whether or not to use a toilet. “I have to go potty,” says the baby in the book. “I could go in my diaper. Should I go in my diaper?” Unlike other board books about potty training, which can be longer and wordier, Potty appeals to a toddler’s short attention span. “He thought the babies' expressions were hilarious,” one customer wrote of her son’s reaction to the book. Another mentioned: “It helped to get my son interested in potty training. He enjoys it and wants it read to him while going potty... small steps in the potty training realm.” Best for Parents Bus Stops Amazon View On Amazon View On Walmart Let’s be honest—in order to get excited about reading to your kid, you have to enjoy the board book too. For this, almost any board book by Sandra Boynton works—they’re funny no matter your maturity level. But if you want a board book that you can read again and again without ever getting bored, try Taro Gomi’s Bus Stops. Featuring gorgeous watercolor drawings that are rich with details, the book takes the reader on a journey through various landscapes, from a marketplace to a movie set to a junkyard. Relatable for kids, the book reads something like a travelogue for adults—a travelogue written in haikus. Best Learning I Hear a Pickle: and Smell, See, Touch, & Taste It, Too! Courtesy of Amazon View On Amazon View On Barnesandnoble.com With this adorably illustrated book, your child will learn about all of their senses through how the children in the book interact with the world. "I hear the bee. Uh-oh," or "I don't like to smell cow poop" are some of the clever things they'll come across. Your little one and you will have a fun time flipping through I Hear a Pickle pages and learning about what they hear, smell, touch, taste, and see. This book will help encourage them throughout the day in thinking of what are some of the things they encounter and how they react to them through their sense. Final Verdict A classic board book story is Goodnight Moon (view at Amazon) as it was first published in 1947. Along with being a surefire way to calm your child before bedtime, the book is also great for teaching about various objects in a room. There’s also Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (view at Amazon). It earned our Best Overall pick thanks to a little bit of everything—colors, animals, clever verse, and drawings of other children. What to Look for in Board Books Age Level In general, board books are made for babies and small children, but some are made for younger babies, and some are best as your baby gets older, and moves into the toddler months. Younger babies will be drawn to books with bright colors, and they especially like to look at human faces. Older babies may enjoy books that help them learn words, and that require their parents to make sing or make funny noises. Durable When your baby is very little, they may be more interested in the book itself than its contents. You may find your baby sucking and chomping down on their favorite book. That’s okay, as long as it's made of material that can withstand these antics. Lift-the-flap books are popular with babies, but keep in mind that many little ones will tear off the paper flaps of these books, so if you want to preserve them, consider waiting until they are a little older to introduce these books. Engaging Babies usually aren’t too picky about what books they enjoy as long as they have bright colors and interesting pictures. But as your baby gets older, you may find that they have more refined interests. Your baby may be a truck or car fanatic, or they may be particularly interested in everything about going potty (one would hope!). So look for books that match your baby’s interests. Frequently Asked Questions When should I start reading to my baby? You might think of reading as an activity reserved for older children, but babies as young as 4 months old enjoy being read to, and the earlier you start reading to your baby, the better. Younger babies prefer shorter books with bright colors; they enjoy books that rhyme and that repeat different words or phrases. Older babies like books that name all the different objects and people in their lives. Some older babies may even be able to enjoy books with storylines. How long should I read to my baby? Younger babies will tend to have pretty short attention spans when it comes to books, which is why baby books tend to be short. As they get older, their attention span will lengthen. Singing the words to the book, making your reading funny and animated, and cuddling with your baby while you read to them can help them stay interested. What are the benefits of reading to my baby? Reading to your baby is a wonderful way to get cozy and bond. But it’s also a fantastic way to teach early literacy skills. Babies who are read to tend to develop strong reading and language skills down the road. Reading also teaches your baby important concepts like numbers and colors, and can help build their vocabulary. Why Trust Verywell Family Katrina Cossey has been a digital content producer and news and feature writer for more than six years. She has covered local and national news as well as writing and researching parenting topics. Katrina is a parent herself, and bought the First 100 Words book (view at Amazon) for her child once they turned one. She enjoys reading the book to her child and having them pick out words or colors, too. 3 Sources Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. American Academy of Pediatrics. Tips to help your child enjoy reading aloud. Nemours KidsHealth. Reading books to babies. American Academy of Pediatrics. Reading with children starting in infancy gives lasting literacy boost. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit